Modern Lounge Chairs
The late 19th and early 20th centuries saw sweeping social change and major scientific advances — both of which contributed to a new aesthetic: modernism. Rejecting the rigidity of Victorian artistic conventions, modernists sought a new means of expression. References to the natural world and ornate classical embellishments gave way to the sleek simplicity of the Machine Age. Architect Philip Johnson characterized the hallmarks of modernism as “machine-like simplicity, smoothness or surface [and] avoidance of ornament.”
Early practitioners of modernist design include the De Stijl (“The Style”) group, founded in the Netherlands in 1917, and the Bauhaus School, founded two years later in Germany.
Followers of both groups produced sleek, spare designs — many of which became icons of daily life in the 20th century. The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics. While Bauhaus principals Marcel Breuer and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe created furniture from mass-produced, chrome-plated steel, American visionaries like Charles and Ray Eames worked in materials as novel as molded plywood and fiberglass. Today, Breuer’s Wassily chair, Mies van der Rohe’s Barcelona chair — crafted with his romantic partner, designer Lilly Reich — and the Eames lounge chair are emblems of progressive design and vintage originals are prized cornerstones of collections.
It’s difficult to overstate the influence that modernism continues to wield over designers and architects — and equally difficult to overstate how revolutionary it was when it first appeared a century ago. But because modernist furniture designs are so simple, they can blend in seamlessly with just about any type of décor. Don’t overlook them.
2010s Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass
2010s Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass
2010s Spanish Modern Lounge Chairs
Wood
2010s Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass
2010s Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather
2010s German Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
2010s Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
2010s Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass
2010s Danish Modern Lounge Chairs
Textile
2010s Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Aluminum
1990s Swiss Modern Lounge Chairs
Aluminum
2010s French Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
2010s German Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
2010s Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Velvet, Cane, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Foam
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
2010s Danish Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Lounge Chairs
Aluminum
2010s Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass
2010s Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass, Steel
1960s Danish Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Stainless Steel
20th Century Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Bouclé
1990s Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Aluminum
2010s Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass
2010s Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Belgian Modern Lounge Chairs
Wood
2010s Brazilian Modern Lounge Chairs
Teak, Cane, Fabric, Upholstery
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Upholstery
Early 2000s Danish Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Upholstery
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
2010s Ukrainian Modern Lounge Chairs
Fur, Fabric, Wool, Faux Fur, Ash
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Upholstery, Hardwood
1960s Danish Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather
Early 2000s Danish Modern Lounge Chairs
Chrome
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Stainless Steel
2010s Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Slovenian Modern Lounge Chairs
Wood
1950s Danish Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Oak, Teak, Leather
1970s Finnish Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Birch, Fabric
2010s Asian Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Rope, Teak
2010s Brazilian Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass, Stainless Steel
1960s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Aluminum
1960s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric
Mid-20th Century Danish Modern Lounge Chairs
Wool, Beech, Oak
2010s Spanish Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Wood
2010s German Modern Lounge Chairs
Oak
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
2010s Finnish Modern Lounge Chairs
Fiberglass
1990s Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
2010s Mexican Modern Lounge Chairs
Textile, Wool, Cotton, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Wool
21st Century and Contemporary Belgian Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Ukrainian Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Plywood, Foam
2010s Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Wood
2010s Spanish Modern Lounge Chairs
Aluminum