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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
1990s Danish Modern Lounge Chairs
Rope, Oak
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Chrome
1950s Italian Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass
Mid-20th Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
Late 20th Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Chrome
Late 20th Century American Modern Lounge Chairs
Upholstery, Mahogany
1970s French Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Upholstery, Foam, Leather
1990s Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal, Steel
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
1980s Danish Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather
Late 20th Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric
Late 20th Century American Modern Lounge Chairs
Chenille
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Plastic, Foam
Late 20th Century American Modern Lounge Chairs
Upholstery, Rattan
Late 20th Century American Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Wood, Paint, Feathers
1970s French Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Chrome
1980s Swiss Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Wood, Teak
1970s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Chrome
Mid-20th Century Danish Modern Lounge Chairs
Lambskin, Mahogany
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Down
1980s Danish Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather
20th Century American Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Sheepskin
1970s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather
1980s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Upholstery, Oak
1970s French Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Iron
Late 20th Century American Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather
Late 20th Century North American Modern Lounge Chairs
Chrome
1970s Danish Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Pine, Fabric
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather
Late 20th Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Upholstery
1990s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Mohair, Oak
Late 20th Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Wood
Late 20th Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
1970s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Aluminum
1930s Dutch Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Upholstery, Oak
1970s Austrian Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather
1980s North American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
1990s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Upholstery, Wood, Silk
1960s Scottish Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass
1970s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Lucite
1970s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Pine
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather
1980s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Velvet, Wood, Lacquer
1960s Dutch Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal, Chrome
Late 20th Century American Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
1970s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Chrome
1920s Italian Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Wood
1980s Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Chrome
1990s Swiss Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Wood, Teak
Late 20th Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Chrome
1960s Danish Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather
1980s Slovak Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Oak, Leather
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
1990s Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
1980s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric