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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
1980s North American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Hardwood
1970s Finnish Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Pine
2010s Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Wool
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Bouclé, Oak
1970s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Oak
1980s Danish Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Fabric, Velvet
1990s Modern Lounge Chairs
Foam, Latex
2010s Turkish Modern Lounge Chairs
Bouclé, Upholstery, Foam, Hardwood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Resin, Fiberglass
2010s Spanish Modern Lounge Chairs
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Chrome
Mid-20th Century American Modern Lounge Chairs
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Leather, Faux Leather, Wood, Wenge
21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Modern Lounge Chairs
Wood
1970s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Fiberglass
21st Century and Contemporary North American Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass
1980s German Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
2010s Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Bouclé
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Upholstery, Wood
1950s Italian Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary North American Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather
2010s Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Plastic
1990s Belgian Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Oak
1970s French Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Chrome
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Mahogany
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Lounge Chairs
Foam, Wood, Leather, Resin
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Foam
2010s Spanish Modern Lounge Chairs
Wood
2010s Belgian Modern Lounge Chairs
Granite
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather
2010s Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
2010s Mexican Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Cord, Rope
2010s Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Bouclé, Wool
1990s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric
1980s Dutch Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary North American Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass
Late 20th Century American Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Wood, Paint, Feathers
2010s Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Bouclé, Wool
Early 2000s Dutch Modern Lounge Chairs
Upholstery, Plastic
2010s Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Plastic
2010s Finnish Modern Lounge Chairs
Fiberglass
2010s Finnish Modern Lounge Chairs
Fiberglass
1990s Danish Modern Lounge Chairs
Rope, Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric
1980s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Chrome