Modern Office Chairs and Desk 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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 American Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Aluminum, Steel
2010s Swiss Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Chrome
Early 2000s American Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Steel
Late 19th Century North American Antique Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Chrome
1980s American Vintage Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Metal
2010s American Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Aluminum, Steel
2010s American Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Aluminum
1970s American Vintage Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Aluminum
2010s American Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Aluminum
2010s American Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Metal, Aluminum
Early 2000s American Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Aluminum
2010s North American Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Aluminum
2010s Polish Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Aluminum
2010s American Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Leather, Oak
Early 2000s Italian Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Aluminum
1980s American Vintage Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Steel
1960s American Vintage Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Aluminum
Early 2000s North American Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Aluminum
2010s American Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Steel
2010s American Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Aluminum
2010s American Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Aluminum, Steel
1960s American Vintage Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Steel
2010s American Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Aluminum, Enamel, Steel
1990s Italian Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Steel
2010s Swiss Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Leather
2010s American Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Leather, Oak
2010s Ukrainian Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Fabric, Textile, Bouclé, Sheepskin, Wool, Velvet, Faux Fur
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Steel
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Steel
Early 2000s German Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Aluminum
Early 2000s Danish Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Aluminum
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Metal
2010s American Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Aluminum
1990s Swiss Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Leather, Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Aluminum
Early 2000s American Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Steel
2010s Ukrainian Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Fabric, Textile, Bouclé, Sheepskin, Wool, Velvet, Faux Fur
1960s European Vintage Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Faux Leather
Early 2000s American Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Aluminum
Early 20th Century Danish Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Metal
Late 20th Century American Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Upholstery, Oak
Early 2000s American Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Aluminum
Early 2000s American Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Aluminum
2010s Swiss Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Aluminum
2010s Italian Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Leather, Fabric, Velvet, Faux Leather, Wood
2010s American Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Aluminum
2010s American Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Mexican Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Natural Fiber, Wood, Bentwood
2010s Swiss Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Aluminum
1970s Vintage Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Metal
Early 2000s Italian Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Steel
2010s American Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Steel, Chrome
2010s American Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Metal, Aluminum
Late 20th Century American Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
Upholstery, Oak