FURNITURE AND INTERIORS: A SURVEY OF NOTABLE FURNITURE FOR INTERIOR DESIGN

Wikimedia Commons: Barcelona Chair (2009)

Furniture conveys a certain style to an interior space. Indeed, furniture and interiors are testimony of a symbiotic relationship. In contrast with nature, it’s difficult to imagine interiors, at least functional ones, without the presence of furniture; as they’re considered an integral element of interior design. Additionally, furniture is one area where many designers, especially architects, have excelled, as it’s safer or more economical to experiment at that scale, than at the scale of a million dollar building. Modernism especially, had been very inspirational and productive for furniture design.

CRITERIA FOR FURNITURE DESIGN OR SELECTION

Furniture need to fulfil ergonomic criteria; indeed there are various standards for design, functionality and safety. There are some furniture designs, like the famous iconic Wassily chair (Marcel Breuer, 1926), which is almost a century old yet looks so fresh and at ease in contemporary interiors. Incidentally, the design became practical when single piece tube bending was invented. Or, another of the designer’s creations, the Breuer chair, seen in both contemporary dining rooms and offices. He is also credited with the tubular steel and glass table (1928). While the iconic Barcelona chair, by Ludwig Mies van der Rhoe (1929), is still very much in demand in upscale interiors. Charles Rennie Macintrosh's Dining Room chair known as "Hill House I Chair" (1904), with the high backed ladder, also seems to persevere. Not to omit the Gerrit Rietveld chair, known as the “Red and blue chair” (1918), in the De Stijl tradition, or his other creation, the Zig-Zag chair (1934). Last but not least, worth mentioning is the metal and glass table designed by Le Corbusier. The list can continue, as the pieces mentioned here are only the most favored by contemporary interior designers.

Furniture design is an area that excites many contemporary professional designers as well, so new pieces are continuously born. As an example, prolific designer Philippe Starck is known for his Victoria Ghost chair, in clear plastic.

The design excellence of many of the above pieces is recognized, by being a part of the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York. If the client's buget allows, buy the original production pieces of famous furniture, versus inexpensive copies that are often flawed or unreliable; and would tarnish your reputation. Thus, always be honest with yourself or with your client.

Retailers like IKEA and Habitat have produced their own designs, accommodating the Urban Style, some of these emerging as potentially classic, in their own right.

SOME FINAL THOUGHTS

When conditions or the design concept necessitate, furniture may be conceived as integral with the structure of a space, as seen occasionally in the Greek / Mediterranean style; a table being a part of the floor, while a bench may be built protruding from the wall.

 

It should be obvious that being versed in the history of furniture and recognizing the various styles, is instrumental in the practice of interior design. As furniture does complement an interior space, contribute style, while being functional. Interiors, however aesthetic, do need furniture to come alive and become functional.

Wikimedia Commons (2016): Rietveld chair

 

Wikimedia Commons: Philippe Starck designs

Wikimedia Commons: Verner Panton chair (Holger Ellgaard, 2007)

  

Wikimedia Commons (2015): Charles and Ray Eames chair 

Wikimedia Commons (2015): Breuer Chair 

 

 

 

Wikimedia Commons: Le Corbusier and Perriand Chaise Longue (2009)

Wikimedia Commons (2014): Breuer table

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