Modern Lounge 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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Upholstery
2010s North American Modern Lounge Chairs
Hardwood
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel, Chrome
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Fir, Upholstery, Wood
2010s Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather
2010s English Modern Lounge Chairs
Cork
1950s European Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal, Steel
1950s European Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Walnut, Velvet, Oak
2010s Mexican Modern Lounge Chairs
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Bouclé, Oak
20th Century American Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Velvet, Foam, Wood
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Mohair, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Bouclé
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Velvet, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Velvet, Wood
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Walnut
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Mahogany
1960s Dutch Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal, Chrome
1960s Dutch Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal, Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather
1950s European Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal, Steel
2010s Mexican Modern Lounge Chairs
Hardwood, Machiche, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
2010s Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Lounge Chairs
Bouclé
2010s South African Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Velvet, Walnut
2010s Finnish Modern Lounge Chairs
Stainless Steel
2010s Finnish Modern Lounge Chairs
Fiberglass
2010s South African Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
1990s French Modern Lounge Chairs
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
1980s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
1950s Danish Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Alpaca, Beech
21st Century and Contemporary Canadian Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Maple
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass
2010s Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
1970s Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Cotton
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather
2010s Mexican Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
2010s Mexican Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Bronze
1950s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Walnut, Upholstery
2010s Mexican Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
20th Century American Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Bouclé
1970s French Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel, Chrome
Mid-20th Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Teak
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Oak
20th Century American Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Wood