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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Side Chairs
Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Side Chairs
Leather, Foam, Wood
2010s Italian Modern Side Chairs
Leather, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Side Chairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Modern Side Chairs
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Side Chairs
Metal
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Side Chairs
Metal
20th Century American Modern Side Chairs
Leather, Oak
20th Century American Modern Side Chairs
Leather, Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Chinese Modern Side Chairs
Aluminum
2010s Argentine Modern Side Chairs
Leather, Wood
2010s American Modern Side Chairs
Steel, Iron
1990s French Modern Side Chairs
Beech
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Side Chairs
Ebony, Burl, Wood
2010s European Modern Side Chairs
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Side Chairs
Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Side Chairs
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Side Chairs
Upholstery, Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Side Chairs
Upholstery, Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Side Chairs
Plastic
2010s Portuguese Modern Side Chairs
Stainless Steel
2010s American Modern Side Chairs
Bronze
2010s American Modern Side Chairs
Maple
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Side Chairs
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Side Chairs
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Side Chairs
Leather
Late 20th Century Modern Side Chairs
Faux Leather, Lucite
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Side Chairs
Metal
2010s Portuguese Modern Side Chairs
Fabric, Upholstery, Oak
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Side Chairs
Fabric, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Side Chairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Side Chairs
Steel
2010s British Modern Side Chairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Side Chairs
Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Side Chairs
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Side Chairs
Upholstery, Oak
2010s British Modern Side Chairs
Metal
2010s American Modern Side Chairs
Iron, Wrought Iron, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Side Chairs
Plastic
2010s Spanish Modern Side Chairs
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Side Chairs
Leather, Foam, Wood
1970s French Vintage Modern Side Chairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Side Chairs
Leather, Foam, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Chinese Modern Side Chairs
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Side Chairs
Fabric, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Side Chairs
Plastic
2010s British Modern Side Chairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Side Chairs
Metal
2010s British Modern Side Chairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Side Chairs
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Side Chairs
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Side Chairs
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Side Chairs
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Chinese Modern Side Chairs
Sheet Metal
Mid-20th Century Belgian Modern Side Chairs
Wood
2010s Italian Modern Side Chairs
Wood, Velvet
2010s South African Modern Side Chairs
Brass
Late 20th Century Unknown Modern Side Chairs
Fabric, Wood, Lacquer