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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
2010s Canadian Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Walnut
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Teak
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Lounge Chairs
Upholstery
Mid-20th Century Swiss Modern Lounge Chairs
Concrete
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Velvet, Wood
2010s Ukrainian Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Bouclé, Fur, Faux Fur
Early 2000s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Wood, Lacquer
1930s Czech Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal, Chrome
1950s Italian Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric
1950s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
1940s Italian Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Lounge Chairs
Upholstery, Wood
Early 2000s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal, Chrome
1960s Danish Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel, Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Lounge Chairs
Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Plastic
2010s South African Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass
Early 2000s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
1980s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Concrete
1990s French Modern Lounge Chairs
Bronze
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Wood, Teak
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Plastic
20th Century Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Chrome
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Hardwood
1990s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Wicker, Mahogany
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Upholstery
2010s South African Modern Lounge Chairs
Bouclé, Resin, Hardwood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Fabric
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Fabric, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Plastic
Early 2000s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Upholstery, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass
2010s Swedish Modern Lounge Chairs
Wood
2010s Danish Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Wood
1990s Swiss Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Wood, Teak
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Foam
2010s Argentine Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel, Stainless Steel
2010s Brazilian Modern Lounge Chairs
Teak, Upholstery, Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Lounge Chairs
Textile
2010s Australian Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Velvet, Foam, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather
1990s Dutch Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
2010s Philippine Modern Lounge Chairs
Aluminum
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Fir, Upholstery, Wood
2010s Asian Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Rope, Teak, Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Lounge Chairs
Cut Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Jute, Wood, Trimming
1970s Brazilian Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Bouclé, Wood
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass, Steel
2010s Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass
2010s Asian Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Rope, Teak
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Acrylic, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather
2010s Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Plastic
2010s Philippine Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel, Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Lounge Chairs
Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Upholstery
2010s Spanish Modern Lounge Chairs
Wood
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Mahogany
2010s Philippine Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel, Stainless Steel
2010s Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
2010s South African Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel, Chrome
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Teak
Early 2000s Danish Modern Lounge Chairs
Aluminum