Modern Swivel 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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 American Modern Swivel Chairs
Sheepskin, Wood
2010s American Modern Swivel Chairs
Bronze
Late 20th Century American Modern Swivel Chairs
Upholstery, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Swivel Chairs
Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Swivel Chairs
Linen, Wood, Down
2010s Italian Modern Swivel Chairs
Fabric, Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Asian Modern Swivel Chairs
Leather
2010s American Modern Swivel Chairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Swivel Chairs
Stainless Steel
Late 20th Century American Modern Swivel Chairs
Leather, Fabric, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Swivel Chairs
Metal
1970s American Vintage Modern Swivel Chairs
Sheepskin, Bouclé, Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary Polish Modern Swivel Chairs
Sheepskin
1990s Italian Modern Swivel Chairs
Steel
2010s Italian Modern Swivel Chairs
Leather
2010s American Modern Swivel Chairs
Fabric, Velvet, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Swivel Chairs
Bouclé
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Swivel Chairs
Leather
1980s American Vintage Modern Swivel Chairs
Metal
2010s Portuguese Modern Swivel Chairs
Metal
2010s Portuguese Modern Swivel Chairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Swivel Chairs
Fabric, Wood
1960s Swiss Vintage Modern Swivel Chairs
Leather, Faux Leather, Walnut, Bentwood
2010s Brazilian Modern Swivel Chairs
Metal
1980s American Vintage Modern Swivel Chairs
Metal
2010s American Modern Swivel Chairs
Chenille, Cotton
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Swivel Chairs
Brass
Late 20th Century American Modern Swivel Chairs
Bouclé
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Swivel Chairs
Brass
2010s American Modern Swivel Chairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Swivel Chairs
Wool
2010s Portuguese Modern Swivel Chairs
Fabric, Bouclé, Foam, Wood, Ash
2010s Portuguese Modern Swivel Chairs
Fabric, Bouclé, Foam, Wood, Ash
2010s Canadian Modern Swivel Chairs
Fabric, Velvet, Wood
2010s Canadian Modern Swivel Chairs
Velvet, Wood, Walnut
2010s Canadian Modern Swivel Chairs
Leather, Fabric, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Unknown Modern Swivel Chairs
Chrome
Early 2000s American Modern Swivel Chairs
Stainless Steel
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Swivel Chairs
Aluminum
2010s American Modern Swivel Chairs
Aluminum, Chrome
1990s Italian Modern Swivel Chairs
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Unknown Modern Swivel Chairs
Metal
2010s Chinese Modern Swivel Chairs
Bouclé
1970s American Vintage Modern Swivel Chairs
Bouclé, Upholstery
2010s American Modern Swivel Chairs
Aluminum
2010s Portuguese Modern Swivel Chairs
Stainless Steel
2010s Portuguese Modern Swivel Chairs
Stainless Steel
2010s Portuguese Modern Swivel Chairs
Stainless Steel
2010s Portuguese Modern Swivel Chairs
Stainless Steel
2010s Portuguese Modern Swivel Chairs
Stainless Steel
1980s American Vintage Modern Swivel Chairs
Metal
Late 20th Century American Modern Swivel Chairs
Metal
2010s European Modern Swivel Chairs
Metal
2010s American Modern Swivel Chairs
Aluminum, Steel, Chrome
2010s Italian Modern Swivel Chairs
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Unknown Modern Swivel Chairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Swivel Chairs
Leather, Fabric, Upholstery, Faux Leather
Late 20th Century American Modern Swivel Chairs
Bouclé