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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
Late 20th Century European Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Beech
2010s Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Lounge Chairs
Upholstery, Maple, Burl
2010s Ukrainian Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Bouclé, Sheepskin, Wool, Velvet, Faux Fur, Ash
Late 20th Century Norwegian Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass, Stainless Steel
2010s Ukrainian Modern Lounge Chairs
Sheepskin, Fabric, Wool, Mohair, Bouclé, Velvet, Faux Fur, Ash
2010s Ukrainian Modern Lounge Chairs
Sheepskin, Fabric, Wool, Mohair, Bouclé, Velvet, Faux Fur, Ash
Early 2000s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Chrome
Early 2000s English Modern Lounge Chairs
Nickel
2010s Ukrainian Modern Lounge Chairs
Sheepskin, Fabric, Wool, Mohair, Bouclé, Velvet, Faux Fur, Ash
2010s Ukrainian Modern Lounge Chairs
Sheepskin, Fabric, Wool, Mohair, Bouclé, Velvet, Faux Fur, Ash
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather
1940s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Upholstery, Oak
Early 2000s German Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
2010s Ukrainian Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Textile, Bouclé, Sheepskin, Wool, Velvet, Faux Fur, Ash
21st Century and Contemporary Polish Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Upholstery
1950s Swedish Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Upholstery, Beech
1960s Swiss Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Faux Leather, Walnut, Bentwood
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Danish Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal, Chrome
2010s Ukrainian Modern Lounge Chairs
Fur, Fabric, Bouclé, Faux Fur, Sheepskin
Early 2000s Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
2010s Ukrainian Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Bouclé, Sheepskin, Wool, Velvet
2010s Ukrainian Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Bouclé, Fur, Faux Fur
2010s Brazilian Modern Lounge Chairs
Teak, Fabric, Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Sheepskin
Late 20th Century American Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel, Chrome
Early 2000s Danish Modern Lounge Chairs
Stainless Steel
2010s North American Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass, Stainless Steel
1960s Danish Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather
Early 2000s Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Chrome
2010s Ukrainian Modern Lounge Chairs
Fur, Fabric, Bouclé, Faux Fur, Sheepskin, Wool, Velvet
2010s Spanish Modern Lounge Chairs
Aluminum
1980s Swedish Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Upholstery, Beech
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Lounge Chairs
Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Velvet, Wood
2010s Asian Modern Lounge Chairs
Aluminum
Early 2000s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Wood
2010s German Modern Lounge Chairs
Oak
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
1990s Japanese Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
2010s Ukrainian Modern Lounge Chairs
Fur, Fabric, Bouclé, Faux Fur, Sheepskin, Wool, Velvet
2010s Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather
2010s Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Oak
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Wool
2010s Asian Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Velvet, Wood
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Felt
2010s European Modern Lounge Chairs
Resin
2010s Japanese Modern Lounge Chairs
Wood
Late 20th Century French Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Foam
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass