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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
1970s American Vintage Modern Seating
Metal
2010s American Modern Seating
Wool, Felt
2010s French Modern Seating
Fabric, Ash
2010s Portuguese Modern Seating
Bouclé, Oak
Early 2000s North American Modern Seating
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Seating
Textile
2010s Danish Modern Seating
Wood, Textile, Papercord
2010s American Modern Seating
Ash
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Seating
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Seating
Fabric, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Seating
Metal, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Seating
Stainless Steel
2010s Mexican Modern Seating
Oak, Wood, Hardwood
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Seating
Ash
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Seating
Stainless Steel
2010s American Modern Seating
Leather
2010s Swiss Modern Seating
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Seating
Brass
2010s American Modern Seating
Aluminum
2010s Italian Modern Seating
Leather, Wood
2010s American Modern Seating
Upholstery, Wood
Early 20th Century Danish Modern Seating
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Seating
Upholstery
2010s South African Modern Seating
Brass
Mid-20th Century Swedish Modern Seating
Fabric, Birch
2010s South African Modern Seating
Brass
20th Century American Modern Seating
Silk
Early 2000s Swedish Modern Seating
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Seating
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Seating
Leather
Early 2000s American Modern Seating
Aluminum, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Seating
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Seating
Bouclé
Early 2000s European Modern Seating
Steel
1970s German Vintage Modern Seating
Leather, Upholstery, Plastic, Polystyrene, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Seating
Ceramic
2010s American Modern Seating
Linen
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Seating
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Danish Modern Seating
Steel
2010s German Modern Seating
Steel
2010s American Modern Seating
Wood
1990s Italian Modern Seating
Enamel, Steel
2010s Italian Modern Seating
Rubber, Fabric
2010s Philippine Modern Seating
Steel
2010s Portuguese Modern Seating
Brass
Early 2000s Italian Modern Seating
Metal
2010s Chinese Modern Seating
Wood
2010s Italian Modern Seating
Textile
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Seating
Leather
2010s Portuguese Modern Seating
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Seating
Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Seating
Stainless Steel, Other
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Seating
Fabric, Rattan, Wood
2010s Spanish Modern Seating
Fabric, Oak
Early 20th Century Danish Modern Seating
Fabric, Beech
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Seating
Fabric, Jute, Cane, Wood, Trimming, Velvet
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Seating
Fabric, Upholstery
Early 2000s American Modern Seating
Steel
Modern seating for sale on 1stDibs.
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