Modern Seating
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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 Turkish Modern Seating
Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Seating
Fabric, Velvet
2010s American Modern Seating
Wrought Iron
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Seating
Velvet
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Seating
Silk, Trimming, Wood, Velvet
2010s American Modern Seating
Bouclé, Maple
2010s Italian Modern Seating
Textile
2010s American Modern Seating
Steel, Iron
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Seating
Velvet, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Seating
Velvet, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Seating
Leather, Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Seating
Bronze
2010s German Modern Seating
Oak
2010s American Modern Seating
Copper
2010s Brazilian Modern Seating
Fabric, Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Seating
Cedar
2010s Italian Modern Seating
Metal
2010s American Modern Seating
Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Seating
Silk, Velvet, Wood, Trimming
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Seating
Brass, Stainless Steel
2010s American Modern Seating
Leather, Oak
2010s Portuguese Modern Seating
Velvet, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Seating
Mahogany, Leather, Wood
2010s American Modern Seating
Wood, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Seating
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Seating
Velvet, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Seating
Velvet
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Seating
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Seating
Aluminum
2010s American Modern Seating
Steel
2010s American Modern Seating
Bouclé, Oak
2010s American Modern Seating
Brass, Steel
2010s Brazilian Modern Seating
Cane, Walnut, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Seating
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Seating
Fabric, Velvet
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Seating
Brass
2010s Portuguese Modern Seating
Velvet, Wood, Walnut
2010s Italian Modern Seating
Bouclé
2010s American Modern Seating
Wood, Mahogany
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Seating
Glass, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Seating
Bouclé, Wood
2010s American Modern Seating
Sheepskin, Wood, Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Seating
Velvet, Wood, Silk, Trimming
2010s American Modern Seating
Wood, Maple
2010s American Modern Seating
Wood, Maple
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Seating
Velvet, Wood
2010s American Modern Seating
Wood, Maple
2010s Italian Modern Seating
Steel
2010s American Modern Seating
Steel, Iron, Wrought Iron
2010s European Modern Seating
Wood, Jacquard
2010s Asian Modern Seating
Fabric, Synthetic, Wicker
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Seating
Velvet, Foam, Wood
2010s Asian Modern Seating
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Ukrainian Modern Seating
Steel
2010s American Modern Seating
Fabric, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Seating
Velvet, Walnut
2010s American Modern Seating
Leather, Ziricote
2010s American Modern Seating
Wood, Oak
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Seating
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Seating
Bronze
Modern seating for sale on 1stDibs.
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