Modern 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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 Portuguese Modern Chairs
Chestnut
2010s Danish Modern Chairs
Sheepskin, Walnut
2010s Ukrainian Modern Chairs
Fabric, Wool, Bouclé, Sheepskin, Velvet, Faux Fur, Ash
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Chairs
Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Chairs
Walnut, Velvet
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Chairs
Leather, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Chairs
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Chairs
Wool, Walnut, Velvet
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Chairs
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Chairs
Velvet, Walnut
2010s American Modern Chairs
Maple
2010s Moroccan Modern Chairs
Fabric
2010s Portuguese Modern Chairs
Bouclé, Upholstery, Wood
2010s Moroccan Modern Chairs
Metal
2010s Ukrainian Modern Chairs
Fabric, Wool, Bouclé, Cotton, Jacquard, Linen, Velvet, Faux Fur
2010s Ukrainian Modern Chairs
Fabric, Wool, Bouclé, Sheepskin, Cotton, Faux Fur
2010s Ukrainian Modern Chairs
Wool, Bouclé, Sheepskin, Cotton, Faux Fur, Ash
2010s Moroccan Modern Chairs
Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Chairs
Leather, Walnut
1980s European Vintage Modern Chairs
Stainless Steel
2010s Portuguese Modern Chairs
Bouclé, Upholstery, Wood
2010s American Modern Chairs
Steel, Iron
2010s Ukrainian Modern Chairs
Fabric, Wool, Bouclé
2010s Ukrainian Modern Chairs
Fabric, Wool, Bouclé, Jacquard, Velvet, Faux Fur
2010s Italian Modern Chairs
Metal
2010s Ukrainian Modern Chairs
Fabric, Wool, Bouclé
2010s Brazilian Modern Chairs
Upholstery, Cane, Fabric, Teak
2010s Brazilian Modern Chairs
Metal
2010s Portuguese Modern Chairs
Wood, Bouclé, Upholstery
2010s Ukrainian Modern Chairs
Leather, Fabric, Wool, Alpaca, Bouclé, Faux Leather, Acrylic, Wood, Ash
2010s Ukrainian Modern Chairs
Fabric, Wool, Bouclé, Fur, Faux Fur, Sheepskin
2010s Brazilian Modern Chairs
Metal
1970s French Vintage Modern Chairs
Wood
2010s Ukrainian Modern Chairs
Fabric, Wool, Bouclé, Velvet
2010s Ukrainian Modern Chairs
Ash, Wood, Acrylic, Faux Leather, Leather, Fabric, Bouclé, Wool
2010s Ukrainian Modern Chairs
Fur, Ash, Faux Fur, Wool, Fabric
2010s Moroccan Modern Chairs
Fabric
2010s Ukrainian Modern Chairs
Fabric, Wool, Bouclé, Faux Fur
21st Century and Contemporary Turkish Modern Chairs
Metal
2010s American Modern Chairs
Steel, Iron
2010s Ukrainian Modern Chairs
Fabric, Wool, Bouclé, Velvet
2010s American Modern Chairs
Brass, Steel
1990s Italian Modern Chairs
Leather, Plywood
2010s American Modern Chairs
Brass
2010s Moroccan Modern Chairs
Fabric
2010s American Modern Chairs
Bouclé, Maple
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chairs
Aluminum
1990s British Modern Chairs
Steel
2010s American Modern Chairs
Steel, Iron
2010s Italian Modern Chairs
Wood
2010s American Modern Chairs
Maple, Silk
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Chairs
Steel
Late 20th Century American Modern Chairs
Steel, Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Chairs
Walnut
2010s Ukrainian Modern Chairs
Leather, Fabric, Wool, Alpaca, Bouclé, Faux Leather, Acrylic, Wood, Ash
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chairs
Metal, Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chairs
Steel
2010s Brazilian Modern Chairs
Leather, Upholstery, Wood