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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 Canadian Modern Side Chairs
Maple
2010s Dutch Modern Side Chairs
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Side Chairs
Wood, Linen, Upholstery, Velvet
2010s Italian Modern Side Chairs
Brass
2010s Chinese Modern Side Chairs
Fabric
2010s Spanish Modern Side Chairs
Wood
2010s Spanish Modern Side Chairs
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Side Chairs
Brass
2010s Canadian Modern Side Chairs
Maple
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Side Chairs
Wood, Linen, Upholstery, Velvet
2010s English Modern Side Chairs
Other
2010s Australian Modern Side Chairs
Copper
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Side Chairs
Metal
2010s American Modern Side Chairs
Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Side Chairs
Plastic
1990s Italian Modern Side Chairs
Oak, Plywood
2010s Portuguese Modern Side Chairs
Gold Leaf
2010s Portuguese Modern Side Chairs
Faux Leather, Wood
2010s Portuguese Modern Side Chairs
Gold Leaf
2010s Portuguese Modern Side Chairs
Gold Leaf
2010s Australian Modern Side Chairs
Copper, Enamel, Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Side Chairs
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Side Chairs
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Side Chairs
Brass
2010s Balkan Modern Side Chairs
Composition
2010s Portuguese Modern Side Chairs
Gold Leaf
2010s Portuguese Modern Side Chairs
Gold Leaf
2010s Portuguese Modern Side Chairs
Gold Leaf
2010s Dutch Modern Side Chairs
Resin, Oak
2010s Portuguese Modern Side Chairs
Gold Leaf
1950s German Vintage Modern Side Chairs
Coating, Acrylic, Oak
2010s Portuguese Modern Side Chairs
Gold Leaf
2010s Italian Modern Side Chairs
Steel
2010s Danish Modern Side Chairs
Leather, Wood, Oak
2010s Portuguese Modern Side Chairs
Gold Leaf
2010s Spanish Modern Side Chairs
Wood
2010s Portuguese Modern Side Chairs
Gold Leaf
2010s Italian Modern Side Chairs
Marble
2010s Portuguese Modern Side Chairs
Gold Leaf
2010s Danish Modern Side Chairs
Leather, Wood, Oak
2010s Portuguese Modern Side Chairs
Gold Leaf
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Side Chairs
Wood, Linen, Upholstery, Velvet
2010s Portuguese Modern Side Chairs
Gold Leaf
2010s American Modern Side Chairs
Oak
2010s American Modern Side Chairs
Leather, Ash
2010s Portuguese Modern Side Chairs
Gold Leaf
2010s Italian Modern Side Chairs
Bouclé
2010s Portuguese Modern Side Chairs
Gold Leaf
2010s Portuguese Modern Side Chairs
Gold Leaf
2010s Canadian Modern Side Chairs
Maple
2010s Italian Modern Side Chairs
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Side Chairs
Wood, Linen, Upholstery, Velvet
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Side Chairs
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Side Chairs
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Side Chairs
Brass
2010s Italian Modern Side Chairs
Leather, Wood
Late 20th Century North American Modern Side Chairs
Metal
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Side Chairs
Textile, Wood