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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
Late 20th Century American Modern Lounge Chairs
Upholstery, Rattan
1970s Danish Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Upholstery, Beech
2010s Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass, Steel
2010s Danish Modern Lounge Chairs
Sheepskin
2010s Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Lounge Chairs
Rope, Hardwood
2010s European Modern Lounge Chairs
Bouclé, Rattan, Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Upholstery, Beech
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Plastic
2010s German Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
1970s German Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
2010s Ukrainian Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Bouclé, Sheepskin, Wool, Velvet, Linen, Wood, Ash
Mid-20th Century German Modern Lounge Chairs
Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Lounge Chairs
Bronze, Chrome
2010s Philippine Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
2010s Ukrainian Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Bouclé
2010s Spanish Modern Lounge Chairs
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Lounge Chairs
Wood
1950s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Mahogany
2010s Philippine Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel, Stainless Steel
1930s French Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Rush, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Lounge Chairs
Textile
2010s Spanish Modern Lounge Chairs
Wood
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Oak, Foam
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
1940s Finnish Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Birch
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Upholstery, Hardwood
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
2010s Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Wood, Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass, Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Velvet
20th Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Aluminum
2010s Spanish Modern Lounge Chairs
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Lounge Chairs
Upholstery, Wood
2010s Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Upholstery, Beech
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Lounge Chairs
Textile
2010s Spanish Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
Early 2000s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Wood
1970s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Aluminum
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
2010s Ukrainian Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Wool
1960s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
1960s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Aluminum
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Upholstery, Hardwood
1990s Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Plastic
1970s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
1990s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Stainless Steel
2010s Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass
Early 2000s Dutch Modern Lounge Chairs
Upholstery, Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Lounge Chairs
Wood
2010s Spanish Modern Lounge Chairs
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather
2010s Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Upholstery, Beech
2010s Spanish Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel