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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
1950s Danish Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Linen, Wood
20th Century Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Upholstery
1970s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Chrome
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Walnut
1950s Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Upholstery, Beech
1980s Dutch Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
1970s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
1960s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Chrome
1960s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Aluminum
1960s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
1960s Danish Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
1950s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Wood
1970s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Aluminum
1960s Danish Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
1970s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Fiberglass
1950s Danish Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Oak
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Beech, Canvas
1980s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather
1970s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
Late 20th Century American Modern Lounge Chairs
Bouclé
1980s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Stainless Steel
1960s Danish Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
1950s Italian Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Chrome
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Plastic, Fiberglass
1970s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Fiberglass
1960s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
1970s Danish Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Aluminum
1970s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel, Nickel
1990s Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Stainless Steel
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
1950s Danish Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
1960s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Stainless Steel
1970s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Oak, Leather
1960s Slovak Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Beech
1960s Danish Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Aluminum
1950s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
1960s Swiss Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Faux Leather, Walnut, Bentwood
1990s Swedish Modern Lounge Chairs
Wicker, Rattan
1980s Danish Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Faux Leather
20th Century Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Chrome
1970s Danish Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Pine
Late 20th Century American Modern Lounge Chairs
Upholstery, Maple
1990s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Stainless Steel
1990s Swiss Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
1950s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Aluminum
1970s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Bouclé, Upholstery
1970s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Chrome
1930s Czech Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal, Chrome
1940s Italian Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Sheepskin, Walnut
1990s Dutch Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
1990s Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
Mid-20th Century North American Modern Lounge Chairs
Wood, Fabric
1930s Italian Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Wood
1960s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Chrome
20th Century Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Concrete, Stainless Steel
Late 20th Century American Modern Lounge Chairs
Bouclé, Upholstery
1980s European Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Aluminum