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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
1990s Italian Modern Swivel Chairs
Leather, Faux Leather
1990s American Modern Swivel Chairs
Upholstery
1990s Italian Modern Swivel Chairs
Aluminum
1990s Italian Modern Swivel Chairs
Fabric, Wood
1990s American Modern Swivel Chairs
Leather, Wood
1990s American Modern Swivel Chairs
Chrome
1990s Italian Modern Swivel Chairs
Steel
1990s Italian Modern Swivel Chairs
Steel, Chrome
1990s American Modern Swivel Chairs
Fabric
1990s French Modern Swivel Chairs
Leather
1990s French Modern Swivel Chairs
Leather
1990s American Modern Swivel Chairs
Fabric
1990s American Modern Swivel Chairs
Upholstery, Wood, Silk
1990s Swiss Modern Swivel Chairs
Leather, Plastic
1990s Italian Modern Swivel Chairs
Chrome
20th Century English Modern Swivel Chairs
Leather, Hardwood
1970s Dutch Vintage Modern Swivel Chairs
Metal, Stainless Steel
1980s American Vintage Modern Swivel Chairs
Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Swivel Chairs
Bouclé
2010s Italian Modern Swivel Chairs
Leather, Beech
1970s American Vintage Modern Swivel Chairs
Mohair
Mid-20th Century Belgian Modern Swivel Chairs
Aluminum
Late 20th Century American Modern Swivel Chairs
Bouclé
2010s Italian Modern Swivel Chairs
Beech, Leather
1990s American Modern Swivel Chairs
Velvet, Feathers
Mid-20th Century American Modern Swivel Chairs
Upholstery, Fiberglass
1980s American Vintage Modern Swivel Chairs
Brass
1990s British Modern Swivel Chairs
Leather
1990s American Modern Swivel Chairs
Upholstery
1990s American Modern Swivel Chairs
Alpaca, Bouclé
1990s American Modern Swivel Chairs
Fabric
1990s Italian Modern Swivel Chairs
Steel
1990s Italian Modern Swivel Chairs
Steel, Chrome
1990s American Modern Swivel Chairs
Fabric
1990s Swiss Modern Swivel Chairs
Leather, Plastic
1990s American Modern Swivel Chairs
Stainless Steel
1990s Dutch Modern Swivel Chairs
Metal
1990s American Modern Swivel Chairs
1990s Italian Modern Swivel Chairs
Metal