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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 North American Modern Side Chairs
Hardwood
21st Century and Contemporary Chinese Modern Side Chairs
Lacquer
1970s German Vintage Modern Side Chairs
1980s Vintage Modern Side Chairs
Steel
2010s Chinese Modern Side Chairs
Fiberglass
20th Century Modern Side Chairs
Wood, Paint
2010s Unknown Modern Side Chairs
Ash, Bentwood, Velvet
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Side Chairs
Polyester, Wood
2010s Portuguese Modern Side Chairs
Faux Leather, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Side Chairs
Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary Chinese Modern Side Chairs
Aluminum
2010s American Modern Side Chairs
Leather
1920s German Vintage Modern Side Chairs
Metal
2010s Balkan Modern Side Chairs
Metal, Sheet Metal
1990s American Modern Side Chairs
Aluminum
Late 20th Century Modern Side Chairs
Chrome
1960s Vintage Modern Side Chairs
Steel
2010s American Modern Side Chairs
Brass
Mid-20th Century Indian Modern Side Chairs
Teak
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Side Chairs
Metal, Aluminum
2010s American Modern Side Chairs
Sheepskin, Walnut, Wood
Late 20th Century British Modern Side Chairs
Ash
2010s American Modern Side Chairs
Chrome
2010s American Modern Side Chairs
Chrome
2010s American Modern Side Chairs
Metal
2010s American Modern Side Chairs
Metal
2010s American Modern Side Chairs
Metal, Brass
2010s American Modern Side Chairs
Metal, Brass
2010s American Modern Side Chairs
Metal, Brass
2010s Dutch Modern Side Chairs
Polystyrene
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Side Chairs
Leather, Upholstery
1950s Italian Vintage Modern Side Chairs
Pine
20th Century Modern Side Chairs
Maple, Bentwood, Plywood
2010s Canadian Modern Side Chairs
Leather, Maple
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Side Chairs
Leather, Walnut
2010s Polish Modern Side Chairs
Metal, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Side Chairs
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Asian Modern Side Chairs
Fabric, Wood
Mid-20th Century American Modern Side Chairs
Leather, Wood
1980s Czech Vintage Modern Side Chairs
Iron
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Side Chairs
Wood
2010s Portuguese Modern Side Chairs
Fabric, Wood
2010s Portuguese Modern Side Chairs
Faux Leather, Wood
2010s Italian Modern Side Chairs
Leather, Wood
2010s British Modern Side Chairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Side Chairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Side Chairs
Aluminum
2010s American Modern Side Chairs
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Side Chairs
Polyester, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Side Chairs
Polyester, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Side Chairs
Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Side Chairs
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Side Chairs
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Side Chairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Side Chairs
Brass
Late 20th Century American Modern Side Chairs
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Side Chairs
Fabric, Wood
1990s Belgian Modern Side Chairs
Leather, Oak