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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Cut Steel
2010s South African Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass
1970s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Chrome
Late 20th Century German Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel, Chrome
2010s Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass
1960s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Chrome
2010s Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Hardwood
2010s Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Wood, Fabric, Foam
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Resin, Foam, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Lounge Chairs
Bronze, Steel
2010s Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass
2010s Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass
Early 20th Century North American Modern Lounge Chairs
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Lounge Chairs
Upholstery
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Upholstery, Faux Leather, Foam, Maple, Oak, Walnut
2010s Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Wood, Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric
2010s Finnish Modern Lounge Chairs
Fiberglass
2010s Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass
Mid-20th Century North American Modern Lounge Chairs
Wood, Fabric
2010s Philippine Modern Lounge Chairs
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass
Early 2000s Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
20th Century Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
Early 2000s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Velvet, Wood
Mid-20th Century German Modern Lounge Chairs
Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric
Late 20th Century French Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Foam
2010s Finnish Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Fiberglass
20th Century Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Chrome
1980s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Upholstery, Wood
2010s Asian Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Rattan, Rope, Teak
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather
1960s Dutch Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal, Aluminum
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Oak
Early 2000s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
2010s Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Textile
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Faux Leather, Rubber, Plywood, Ash
2010s Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass
1940s Italian Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Velvet, Wood
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel, Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Upholstery
2010s South African Modern Lounge Chairs
Bronze
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Upholstery, Faux Leather, Foam, Oak
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
Late 20th Century American Modern Lounge Chairs
Upholstery, Rattan
2010s Danish Modern Lounge Chairs
Concrete
2010s Argentine Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
2010s Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Oak
2010s German Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
2010s Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather
2010s Brazilian Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Cane, Wood
1990s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
2010s Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Danish Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
2010s South African Modern Lounge Chairs
Ceramic, Upholstery, Walnut
2010s Indian Modern Lounge Chairs
Suede
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
20th Century American Modern Lounge Chairs
Wicker, Walnut
Mid-20th Century Danish Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Teak
1950s German Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
2010s Danish Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
1960s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Aluminum
Early 2000s Swedish Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Chrome
Late 20th Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Upholstery, Hardwood