Modern Armchairs
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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Armchairs
Concrete
2010s American Modern Armchairs
Steel
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Armchairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Leather, Fabric, Synthetic
2010s Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Bouclé, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Armchairs
Metal
2010s Mexican Modern Armchairs
Velvet
2010s Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Bouclé, Velvet, Walnut
2010s Italian Modern Armchairs
Metal
2010s Philippine Modern Armchairs
Rattan, Maple
1950s American Vintage Modern Armchairs
Steel
1970s Slovak Vintage Modern Armchairs
Fabric, Wood
2010s Italian Modern Armchairs
Leather, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Stainless Steel
2010s Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Bouclé, Velvet, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Armchairs
Steel
2010s Danish Modern Armchairs
Oak, Papercord
1990s American Modern Armchairs
Steel
1960s American Vintage Modern Armchairs
Fiberglass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Gold Plate, Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Stainless Steel, Gold Plate
2010s Mexican Modern Armchairs
Wood
2010s Mexican Modern Armchairs
Velvet
1950s Polish Vintage Modern Armchairs
Walnut
1960s American Vintage Modern Armchairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Armchairs
Metal
2010s Philippine Modern Armchairs
Steel
2010s Italian Modern Armchairs
Metal
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Armchairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Mexican Modern Armchairs
Leather, Wood
1990s American Modern Armchairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Gold Plate, Stainless Steel
1970s Vintage Modern Armchairs
Wood
2010s Mexican Modern Armchairs
Velvet
2010s Turkish Modern Armchairs
Chrome
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Armchairs
Textile
2010s Italian Modern Armchairs
Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Brass
1970s American Vintage Modern Armchairs
Steel
2010s Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Fabric, Foam, Wood
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Armchairs
Steel
1950s European Vintage Modern Armchairs
Steel
2010s Italian Modern Armchairs
Wool, Upholstery, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Mexican Modern Armchairs
Natural Fiber, Wood, Bentwood
2010s Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Fabric, Oak
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Armchairs
Metal
Mid-20th Century French Modern Armchairs
Oak
2010s Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Upholstery, Walnut
2010s Italian Modern Armchairs
Wool, Upholstery, Wood
2010s Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Upholstery, Walnut
1960s Dutch Vintage Modern Armchairs
Metal, Chrome
2010s American Modern Armchairs
Aluminum
2010s French Modern Armchairs
Fabric, Beech
2010s Philippine Modern Armchairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Armchairs
Metal





