Modern Dining Room 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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
20th Century Spanish Modern Dining Room Chairs
Aluminum
1980s Vintage Modern Dining Room Chairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Dining Room Chairs
Leather, Ash
1980s Philippine Vintage Modern Dining Room Chairs
Coral, Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Dining Room Chairs
Velvet, Wood
2010s Portuguese Modern Dining Room Chairs
Leather, Fabric, Rattan, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Dining Room Chairs
Leather, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Dining Room Chairs
Velvet, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Dining Room Chairs
Leather, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Dining Room Chairs
Wood, Jacquard, Velvet
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Dining Room Chairs
Leather, Wood, Oak
1940s French Vintage Modern Dining Room Chairs
Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Dining Room Chairs
Bouclé, Wood
2010s Modern Dining Room Chairs
Wood, Upholstery, Walnut, Oak, Pine
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Dining Room Chairs
Oak, Cotton, Bouclé
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Dining Room Chairs
Velvet, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Dining Room Chairs
Fabric, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Dining Room Chairs
Bouclé, Wood, Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Dining Room Chairs
Wool, Bouclé, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Dining Room Chairs
Metal, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Dining Room Chairs
Metal, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Dining Room Chairs
Leather, Oak, Beech, Velvet, Bouclé, Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Dining Room Chairs
Brass, Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Dining Room Chairs
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Dining Room Chairs
Bouclé, Wood, Wool
2010s Mexican Modern Dining Room Chairs
Natural Fiber, Hardwood
2010s Mexican Modern Dining Room Chairs
Natural Fiber, Hardwood
2010s Mexican Modern Dining Room Chairs
Hardwood
2010s Brazilian Modern Dining Room Chairs
Textile, Cane, Hardwood, Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Dining Room Chairs
Bouclé, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Dining Room Chairs
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Dining Room Chairs
Metal, Stainless Steel, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Dining Room Chairs
Bouclé, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Dining Room Chairs
Leather, Fabric, Bouclé, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Dining Room Chairs
Faux Fur, Fabric, Velvet, Bouclé
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Dining Room Chairs
Brass
2010s Italian Modern Dining Room Chairs
Ash
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Dining Room Chairs
Velvet, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Dining Room Chairs
Brass
2010s Brazilian Modern Dining Room Chairs
Cane, Wood, Hardwood, Textile
2010s European Modern Dining Room Chairs
Fabric, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Dining Room Chairs
Leather, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Dining Room Chairs
Metal, Brass
2010s Mexican Modern Dining Room Chairs
Hardwood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Dining Room Chairs
Stainless Steel, Brass
2010s American Modern Dining Room Chairs
Leather, Ziricote
21st Century and Contemporary Turkish Modern Dining Room Chairs
Metal
1990s American Modern Dining Room Chairs
Maple
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Dining Room Chairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Dining Room Chairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Dining Room Chairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Dining Room Chairs
Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Dining Room Chairs
Metal
2010s Modern Dining Room Chairs
Walnut
1970s American Vintage Modern Dining Room Chairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Dining Room Chairs
Suede, Wood
2010s English Modern Dining Room Chairs
Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Dining Room Chairs
Upholstery