Modern Side 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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 Portuguese Modern Side Chairs
Fabric, Upholstery, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Side Chairs
Leather, Walnut
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Side Chairs
Wood
2010s Canadian Modern Side Chairs
Leather, Wood, Walnut
1960s Romanian Vintage Modern Side Chairs
Cane, Bentwood
2010s American Modern Side Chairs
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Side Chairs
Leather, Walnut
2010s American Modern Side Chairs
Steel, Iron, Wrought Iron
2010s Spanish Modern Side Chairs
Leather, Oak
2010s American Modern Side Chairs
Steel, Iron
2010s American Modern Side Chairs
Steel, Iron
2010s Italian Modern Side Chairs
Leather, Wood
2010s Portuguese Modern Side Chairs
Faux Leather, Wood
2010s Spanish Modern Side Chairs
Stainless Steel
2010s Canadian Modern Side Chairs
Leather, Wood, Walnut
2010s American Modern Side Chairs
Aluminum
2010s Portuguese Modern Side Chairs
Faux Leather, Wood
Early 2000s American Modern Side Chairs
Acrylic
2010s Portuguese Modern Side Chairs
Velvet, Wood
2010s North American Modern Side Chairs
Hardwood
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Side Chairs
Aluminum
2010s American Modern Side Chairs
Leather
2010s American Modern Side Chairs
Mahogany
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Side Chairs
Steel
2010s Unknown Modern Side Chairs
Velvet, Ash, Bentwood
2010s Portuguese Modern Side Chairs
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Side Chairs
Steel
2010s American Modern Side Chairs
Walnut
2010s American Modern Side Chairs
Brass, Bronze, Steel
2010s Italian Modern Side Chairs
Aluminum
1980s English Vintage Modern Side Chairs
Steel
1980s French Vintage Modern Side Chairs
Velvet
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Side Chairs
Aluminum
1980s American Vintage Modern Side Chairs
Wood
2010s American Modern Side Chairs
Steel, Iron
2010s Portuguese Modern Side Chairs
Faux Leather, Wood
2010s Italian Modern Side Chairs
Leather, Wood
2010s Italian Modern Side Chairs
Rattan, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Side Chairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Side Chairs
Oak, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Side Chairs
Steel
2010s Dutch Modern Side Chairs
Polystyrene
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Side Chairs
Plastic
2010s Dutch Modern Side Chairs
Polystyrene
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Side Chairs
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Side Chairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Danish Modern Side Chairs
Wood
2010s European Modern Side Chairs
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Side Chairs
Fabric, Wood, Oak
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Side Chairs
Leather, Walnut
20th Century Modern Side Chairs
Maple, Bentwood, Plywood
2010s American Modern Side Chairs
Hardwood
Mid-20th Century German Modern Side Chairs
Metal, Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Side Chairs
Aluminum
1970s French Vintage Modern Side Chairs
Leather, Oak
1990s French Modern Side Chairs
Beech
2010s Canadian Modern Side Chairs
Ash
2010s American Modern Side Chairs
Steel, Iron, Wrought Iron
2010s Portuguese Modern Side Chairs
Stainless Steel
2010s Portuguese Modern Side Chairs
Fabric, Wood