Wassily Chairs
1990s Italian Bauhaus Armchairs
Steel
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Metal
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Metal
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Metal
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Metal
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Metal
Vintage 1970s Lounge Chairs
Leather
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Stainless Steel
2010s North American Armchairs
Metal
Late 20th Century American Bauhaus Armchairs
Chrome
Vintage 1980s Italian Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Metal
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Metal
Vintage 1970s American Armchairs
Mid-20th Century German Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Mid-20th Century Italian Bauhaus Chairs
Steel
Mid-20th Century Italian Bauhaus Chairs
Steel
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Metal
Vintage 1970s Italian Bauhaus Armchairs
Chrome
Vintage 1980s Italian Bauhaus Armchairs
Chrome
Antique 19th Century French Chairs
Metal
Mid-20th Century Italian Bauhaus Armchairs
Metal
Mid-20th Century Italian Bauhaus Armchairs
Metal
Vintage 1980s American Mid-Century Modern Club Chairs
Chrome
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Leather
1990s American Lounge Chairs
Chrome
Mid-20th Century American Bauhaus Armchairs
Leather
Mid-20th Century American Bauhaus Armchairs
Leather
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Chrome
Mid-20th Century American Bauhaus Armchairs
Leather
Mid-20th Century Austrian Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Chrome
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Chrome
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Chrome
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Chrome
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Chrome
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Chrome
Mid-20th Century German Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Chrome
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Chrome
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Chrome
Vintage 1920s Italian Bauhaus Armchairs
Steel, Chrome
1990s German Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Steel, Chrome
1990s German Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Steel, Chrome
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Chrome
Vintage 1920s Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather
Late 20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel, Chrome
1990s Slovenian Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Metal, Chrome, Iron
Vintage 1920s German Bauhaus Lounge Chairs
Steel, Chrome
Vintage 1970s Italian Lounge Chairs
Mid-20th Century Italian Post-Modern Chairs
Leather
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Daybeds
Chrome
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
Cane
Late 20th Century European Modern Armchairs
Steel
Vintage 1970s European Modern Chairs
Chrome
Vintage 1970s European Modern Chairs
Chrome
Vintage 1970s Central American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
Chrome
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Stainless Steel
20th Century Console Tables
Steel
Vintage 1920s French Bauhaus Table Lamps
Nickel
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Vintage Wassily Chairs for Sale on 1stDibs
Looking for vintage Wassily chairs for your living room?
Inspired by bicycle handlebars, the Wassily lounge chair is one of Marcel Breuer’s (1902–81) greatest achievements. Even though the tubular metal chair looked like an artifact from the future when the Hungarian-American designer and architect conceived it in 1925, Breuer could not have foreseen the significant impact that this would have on modern design.
From 1920–28, Breuer studied and then taught at the Bauhaus school of design, where he found a kindred spirit in Walter Gropius, who invited Breuer back as junior master of the carpentry workshop. After less than a year in his new role, Breuer produced his revolutionary chair, which is among the first furniture designs to feature bent tubular steel.
Breuer called the Wassily his “most extreme work” because the pared-down design didn’t look comfortable. It’s true: Take an everyday club chair — the Wassily’s technical name was the model B3 club chair — and toss the cushions and you’d have something like Breuer’s design.
The lightweight and mass-produced tubular-steel handlebars of the maker’s bicycle made him wonder if he could achieve something similar with bent-steel furniture. The resulting mid-1920s-era chair, the seat of which was made of a durable canvas developed by Bauhaus student Margaretha Reichardt, was named the Wassily after painter and fellow Bauhaus colleague Vasily “Wassily” Kandinsky expressed admiration for the piece. Today, Knoll manufactures the Wassily chair.
Find vintage Wassily chairs on 1stDibs.
Finding the Right Seating for You
With entire areas of our homes reserved for “sitting rooms,” the value of quality antique and vintage seating cannot be overstated.
Fortunately, the design of side chairs, armchairs and other lounge furniture — since what were, quite literally, the early perches of our ancestors — has evolved considerably.
Among the earliest standard seating furniture were stools. Egyptian stools, for example, designed for one person with no seat back, were x-shaped and typically folded to be tucked away. These rudimentary chairs informed the design of Greek and Roman stools, all of which were a long way from Sori Yanagi's Butterfly stool or Alvar Aalto's Stool 60. In the 18th century and earlier, seats with backs and armrests were largely reserved for high nobility.
The seating of today is more inclusive but the style and placement of chairs can still make a statement. Antique desk chairs and armchairs designed in the style of Louis XV, which eventually included painted furniture and were often made of rare woods, feature prominently curved legs as well as Chinese themes and varied ornaments. Much like the thrones of fairy tales and the regency, elegant lounges crafted in the Louis XV style convey wealth and prestige. In the kitchen, the dining chair placed at the head of the table is typically reserved for the head of the household or a revered guest.
Of course, with luxurious vintage or antique furnishings, every chair can seem like the best seat in the house. Whether your preference is stretching out on a plush sofa, such as the Serpentine, designed by Vladimir Kagan, or cozying up in a vintage wingback chair, there is likely to be a comfy classic or contemporary gem for you on 1stDibs.
With respect to the latest obsessions in design, cane seating has been cropping up everywhere, from sleek armchairs to lounge chairs, while bouclé fabric, a staple of modern furniture design, can be seen in mid-century modern, Scandinavian modern and Hollywood Regency furniture styles.
Admirers of the sophisticated craftsmanship and dark woods frequently associated with mid-century modern seating can find timeless furnishings in our expansive collection of lounge chairs, dining chairs and other items — whether they’re vintage editions or alluring official reproductions of iconic designs from the likes of Hans Wegner or from Charles and Ray Eames. Shop our inventory of Egg chairs, designed in 1958 by Arne Jacobsen, the Florence Knoll lounge chair and more.
No matter your style, the collection of unique chairs, sofas and other seating on 1stDibs is surely worthy of a standing ovation.
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