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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 Italian Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
1960s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Wood
1970s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Nickel
20th Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Upholstery
1960s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Nickel
1950s Danish Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Teak
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Plywood
1970s French Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Chrome
Late 20th Century American Modern Lounge Chairs
Bentwood
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather
20th Century American Modern Lounge Chairs
Upholstery, Wood
1970s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather
1990s Swiss Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Upholstery, Wood
1970s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Lucite
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Wood
20th Century Swedish Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
1940s Belgian Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Upholstery, Rope, Wood
Mid-20th Century American Modern Lounge Chairs
Oak
Late 20th Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Chrome
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Wood
20th Century Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Aluminum
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
1950s German Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Velvet, Wood
1990s Swiss Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Upholstery, Wood
1970s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Wood
1990s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Aluminum
1960s French Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Chrome
1950s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Mahogany
20th Century Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Upholstery
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather
Late 20th Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Faux Leather
1930s French Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Wood
Mid-20th Century Danish Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Beech
1950s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
1930s French Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Wrought Iron
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Wood
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Chrome
1970s French Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Chrome
1990s British Modern Lounge Chairs
Wool
1980s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Lambskin, Mahogany
1970s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Palisander
1950s Mexican Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Pine
1940s French Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Seagrass, Rope, Bentwood
Late 20th Century Austrian Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather
1940s Italian Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Bouclé, Walnut
1920s Italian Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather
1950s Indian Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Rope, Teak
Mid-20th Century American Modern Lounge Chairs
Walnut
Mid-20th Century American Modern Lounge Chairs
Walnut
Late 20th Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Wood
1970s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Fiberglass
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather
1980s Swedish Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather
20th Century Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel, Chrome
1950s Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Velvet, Hardwood
1960s Brazilian Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Canvas, Wood
Late 20th Century American Modern Lounge Chairs
Upholstery, Wood