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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather
1970s Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Cotton
2010s Brazilian Modern Lounge Chairs
Lacquer, Fabric, Cane, Upholstery, Wood
1970s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Chrome
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass
2010s Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Bronze
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Aluminum
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal, Steel
2010s British Modern Lounge Chairs
Composition
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Lounge Chairs
Suede, Upholstery
2010s Finnish Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Fiberglass
2010s South African Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
2010s Ukrainian Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric
1980s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Wood, Walnut
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Upholstery, Wood
Early 2000s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Chrome
2010s French Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather
2010s Finnish Modern Lounge Chairs
Fiberglass
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
2010s Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
2010s Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Plastic
2010s Finnish Modern Lounge Chairs
Stainless Steel
2010s Finnish Modern Lounge Chairs
Fiberglass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass
2010s Finnish Modern Lounge Chairs
Fiberglass, Leather
Late 20th Century American Modern Lounge Chairs
Bouclé, Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Stainless Steel
2010s Finnish Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Fiberglass
Early 2000s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Upholstery, Wood
2010s Finnish Modern Lounge Chairs
Fiberglass
1970s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Foam, Lucite
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Lounge Chairs
Textile
2010s Finnish Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Fiberglass
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Velvet, Walnut
2010s Ukrainian Modern Lounge Chairs
Fur, Fabric, Bouclé, Faux Fur, Sheepskin, Wool, Velvet
Early 2000s North American Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather
1970s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Chrome
2010s Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass
1970s French Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Resin, Foam, Wood
2010s Finnish Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Fiberglass
1960s French Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Glass
Early 2000s Indonesian Modern Lounge Chairs
Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
1980s Swedish Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Upholstery, Beech
2010s European Modern Lounge Chairs
Velvet, Wood
2010s Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Cut Steel
20th Century American Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Lounge Chairs
Upholstery, Leather, Textile
2010s South African Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass, Steel
2010s Ukrainian Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Bouclé, Fur, Faux Fur
2010s Mexican Modern Lounge Chairs
Wicker, Hardwood
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Wood
1940s Italian Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Wood