18 Great Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Innovative chairs before and after WWII have lasting design power today. Which one fits your style best?
Houzz Contributor. Hi There! I currently live in a 1920s cottage in Atlanta that I'll describe as "collected."
I got into design via Landscape Architecture, which I studied at the University of Virginia. I've been writing about design online for quite a few years over at Hatch: The Design Public Blog.
Houzz Contributor. Hi There! I currently live in a 1920s cottage in Atlanta... More »
The other day a reader suggested I write an ideabook rounding up a group of the great chairs we've featured in our Modern Icons series. I thought it was a wonderful idea. I love it when you all help me do my job!
It was fun to revisit the innovations of these designers, from bending plywood, experimenting with new materials and cantilevering tubular steel in gravity-defying ways. They were making do with what they had during times of war rationing, and showing off the results of the latest technology at international exhibitions and fairs before and after World War II. It's also fun to note some of the connections they had to one another, whether they were classmates at Cranbrook, Bauhaus colleagues, mentors and protegés or friends.
It was fun to revisit the innovations of these designers, from bending plywood, experimenting with new materials and cantilevering tubular steel in gravity-defying ways. They were making do with what they had during times of war rationing, and showing off the results of the latest technology at international exhibitions and fairs before and after World War II. It's also fun to note some of the connections they had to one another, whether they were classmates at Cranbrook, Bauhaus colleagues, mentors and protegés or friends.
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by Birdseye Design
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| Wassily Chair Designer: Marcel Breuer Year: 1925 These chairs are credited with being the first to use tubular steel. The idea was inspired by the structure of Adler bicycles. See more Wassily Chairs in action |
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| B32 Chair a.k.a. Cesca Chair Designer: Marcel Breuer Year: 1928 These chairs take the tubular steel's possibilities to new heights, with an impossible-looking cantilever structure. See more Cesca Chairs in interior design |
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LC2 Chair
Designers: Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret and Charlotte Perriand
Year: 1928
These chairs and their larger sister, the LC3, were designed to be "cushion baskets" of comfort and style.
See more LC2 and LC3 chairs in action
Designers: Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret and Charlotte Perriand
Year: 1928
These chairs and their larger sister, the LC3, were designed to be "cushion baskets" of comfort and style.
See more LC2 and LC3 chairs in action
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by Alterstudio
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| Barcelona Chair Designer: Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Year: 1929 Designed for his German Pavilion at the International Exhibition in Barcelona, this iconic chair with its simple X-base also comes in an ottoman/stool and couch/daybed. See more Barcelona Chairs in action |
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| BKF Chair a.k.a. Hardoy Chair a.k.a. Butterfly Chair Designer: Jorge Ferrari-Hardoy Year: 1938 A simple frame supports a fabric cover, giving these chairs a light and whimsical silhouette. See more Butterfly Chairs in action |
by BKSK Architects
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Risom Lounge Chair
Designer: Jens Risom
Year: 1943
Ingenuity that blossomed from WWII circumstances is shown best in this chair, which was originally crafted from birch wood and surplus parachute straps.
See more Risom Lounge Chairs in home design
Designer: Jens Risom
Year: 1943
Ingenuity that blossomed from WWII circumstances is shown best in this chair, which was originally crafted from birch wood and surplus parachute straps.
See more Risom Lounge Chairs in home design
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| 1006 Navy Side Chair Designer: Unknown, but Philippe Starck has used their original designs as inspiration for more recent Emeco collections. Year: 1944 These chairs were designed for strength and not necessarily style, but they manage to have both in spades. See more Navy Chairs in action |
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Womb Chair
Designer: Eero Saarinen
Year: 1946
This was one of the first chairs to take on the organic form during the mid-century movement.
See more womb chairs in homes
Designer: Eero Saarinen
Year: 1946
This was one of the first chairs to take on the organic form during the mid-century movement.
See more womb chairs in homes
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Eames Molded Plywood Lounge Chair
Designers: Charles and Ray Eames
Year: 1946
Manipulating plywood beyond its usual shapes was a favorite pastime for the Eameses for awhile. The result is a chair where form follows function with beautiful results.
See more Eames Molded Plys in action
Designers: Charles and Ray Eames
Year: 1946
Manipulating plywood beyond its usual shapes was a favorite pastime for the Eameses for awhile. The result is a chair where form follows function with beautiful results.
See more Eames Molded Plys in action
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Eames Molded Plastic Rocker
Designers: Charles and Ray Eames
Year: 1948
Originally these babies were made with fiberglass, but these days they are produced with a more eco-friendly polypropylene. I think this is the happiest modern icon chair around.
See more Molded Plastic Rockers in action
Designers: Charles and Ray Eames
Year: 1948
Originally these babies were made with fiberglass, but these days they are produced with a more eco-friendly polypropylene. I think this is the happiest modern icon chair around.
See more Molded Plastic Rockers in action
by Kaylovesvintage
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Eames Molded Plastic Side Chair
Designers: Charles and Ray Eames
Year: 1948 (though the version with these wooden dowel legs technically came 2 years later)
Here is the more practical of the Molded Plastic Eames chairs, the side chair version. The chair comes with these wooden dowel legs, Eiffel legs, more simple metal legs, and it also comes in an armchair version. The collection shown here is one of my favorite Eames furniture images; thanks so much to Kay for posting it on Houzz.
See more Eames Molded Plastic Side Chairs in action
Designers: Charles and Ray Eames
Year: 1948 (though the version with these wooden dowel legs technically came 2 years later)
Here is the more practical of the Molded Plastic Eames chairs, the side chair version. The chair comes with these wooden dowel legs, Eiffel legs, more simple metal legs, and it also comes in an armchair version. The collection shown here is one of my favorite Eames furniture images; thanks so much to Kay for posting it on Houzz.
See more Eames Molded Plastic Side Chairs in action
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| Saarinen Executive Armchair Designer: Eero Saarinen Year: 1950 Saarinen's Executive Collection started years earlier, but this model, the Executive Armchair on wooden legs, is a true standout. Because of its beautiful and comfortable form, it is more popular today as a dining chair or occasional chair that it is as office furniture (its original intention). See more Executive Chairs in home interiors |
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by Prideaux Design
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| Bertoia Diamond Chair Designer: Harry Bertoia Year: 1952 Wire Bertoia chairs are not going anywhere anytime soon. Whether diamond-shaped, side, bar stool or bird, there's a Bertoia for every room in the house. (By the way, the ideabook I wrote about these was one of my very first, and it's kind of a stinkbomb, but check it out anyway.) |
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by Paul Anater
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| Wegner Sawbuck Chair Designer: Hans J. Wegner Year: 1952 This is just one of a few Wegner chairs I rounded up for one ideabook. The Sawbuck Chair is versatile, picturesque and surprisingly comfortable. See more Wegner Chairs in action, including Wishbone Chairs and the sought-after Papa Bear Chair |
| Series 7 Chair Designer: Arne Jacobsen Year: 1955 Like many in this group of designers, Arne Jacobsen was an architect who designed down to every last detail, including statement-making chairs (we'll see a few more from him in a moment). As simple as it looks, the Series 7 was designed to offer maximum comfort. This chair is copied all the time, but no imitation is as comfortable or as beautiful as the original. See more Series 7 Chairs in action |
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Egg Chair
Designer: Arne Jacobsen
Year: 1958
Jacobsen designed his Egg Chair as part of his design for the hotel lobby of the SAS Royal Hotel in Copenhagen.
See more egg chairs in action
Designer: Arne Jacobsen
Year: 1958
Jacobsen designed his Egg Chair as part of his design for the hotel lobby of the SAS Royal Hotel in Copenhagen.
See more egg chairs in action
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Swan Chair
Designer: Arne Jacobsen
Year: 1958
Jacobsen also designed some comfortable Swan Chairs to complement his Egg Chairs in the same hotel lobby. Wouldn't you love to go back in time and waltz into the Copenhagen SAS Royal in the late '50s?
See more Swan Chairs in action
Designer: Arne Jacobsen
Year: 1958
Jacobsen also designed some comfortable Swan Chairs to complement his Egg Chairs in the same hotel lobby. Wouldn't you love to go back in time and waltz into the Copenhagen SAS Royal in the late '50s?
See more Swan Chairs in action
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Cherner Armchair and Cherner Side Chair
Designer: Norman Cherner
Year: 1958
This beautifully curved chair went out of production back in the 1970s, but thanks to its fan base of architects and designers, Cherner's sons started reproducing them in 1999.
See more Cherner Chairs in interior design
Now, I know I've left some iconic chairs out, so in the Comments section, let me know about any chairs you'd like to see here in the future.
Tell us: Which of these iconic chairs best reflects your style?
More:
Take a Spin on a Swivel Chair
Totally Tubular Chairs
Fun Furniture: Chairs in the Air
Designer: Norman Cherner
Year: 1958
This beautifully curved chair went out of production back in the 1970s, but thanks to its fan base of architects and designers, Cherner's sons started reproducing them in 1999.
See more Cherner Chairs in interior design
Now, I know I've left some iconic chairs out, so in the Comments section, let me know about any chairs you'd like to see here in the future.
Tell us: Which of these iconic chairs best reflects your style?
More:
Take a Spin on a Swivel Chair
Totally Tubular Chairs
Fun Furniture: Chairs in the Air
Ideabook published on Dec. 27, 2011.
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Natasha, I am a total chair fanatic myself.
Doloresb, you're welcome! I wish I could remember who gave me the idea to do this ideabook :)
We own a black leather Barcelona chair and I'm thinking of Bertoia chairs (the red ones) for the dining table and/or the steel bar stools. It's hard to choose chairs, imo. I'd like to have at least five homes.
p.s. I wish they would have the date of the ideabook, after the title, and dates of comments, so a person coming to an ideabook knows if a comment they add is current or way after the fact.
Thank you also for adding to the list! I think I have ideabooks on the Panton S chair and the Bubble Chair. I think I ruled the Bubble Chair too young for this ideabook (I cut it off at 1960), but well really, I was tired ;) Anyway, you can see some great images of these chairs in action:
(this one is really old and not so good, but the pictures are nice!:)
Ideabook: The Curvacious Panton Chair: It Works Just About Anywhere
Bubble Chairs (there are some really neat photos in here):
Ideabook: Modern Icons: The Bubble Chair
Exquisito, divino y lujoso!!!
BEAUTIFUL CHAIRS
Don’t forget about the Platner Armchair, designed by Warren Platner! This chair was designed for the Mid Century style in 1962 and is part of the timeless Platner Collection.
Best,
Jill@DWR