Modern Furniture Designs in the 20th Century

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Modern Furniture Designs in the 20th Century

Tuesday, 06 October 2009 08:10

Furniture has come a long way since the folding campstools and carved headrests of the Pharaohs. Styles and skills have changed and evolved according to the availability of materials and customer demand. Change was steady and slow throughout the 16th to 19th centuries, but the curve of progress then rose steeply in the 20th century. The availability of new man-made materials gave much more scope for innovative design, and the aftermath of World War I and World War 2 left people wanting much more, but for a lower cost. Furniture was no longer just a practical necessity, but an article of pleasure, reflecting the owner’s taste and social standing. Here are some of the main influences on the development of design through those years.

Charles Eames (1907-1978)

Charles Eames and his wife, Ray, made a dynamic team and were extremely influential in the developing design world of 20th century America and modern American furniture. After meeting at Cranbrook Academy of Art, the Eames’s settled in Sacramento, California, and together achieved the heights of success that separately they could never have dreamed of. Charles Eames is best known for his form-fitting chairs which were eagerly bought by Americans looking for the latest in American Modern style. Charles and Ray Eames’ innovative designs were also used in furniture, fabrics, toys and interior design.

Charles’ first design was a molded plywood chair which won first prize in the Organic Design Competition in 1940, and this set him on his way to international acclaim. Eames progressed into making chairs of tubular steel, wire mesh and molded plastic. These are all very commonplace today, but were a startling revolution in the world of wooden furniture which had gone before. Three of Charles Eames’ chairs are still on the list of ‘100 Best Designed Products’. Not only modern in looks, Eames devised rubber shock mounts to join the seats to the frames, making his chairs uniquely comfortable. His lines included recliners, footstools and padded leather armchairs. What enabled the chairs to be so widely distributed at low prices was the fact that Eames had the chairs machine-made.

Charles and Ray Eames dominated mid-century American design with their timeless classics made from molded plywood, plastic, fiberglass and aluminium which are still popular today. While Charles met clients, supervised the workshop and developed concepts, Ray used her artistic background to source fabric and materials to inspire their ground-breaking creations.

Charles and Ray Eames certainly succeeded in “getting the most of the best to the greatest number of people for the least amount of money”.

Gio Ponti (1891-1979)

Ponti designs are still very popular today, with their simple lines and contemporary design.

Originally Ponti was an architect in Italy, before establishing himself as a design artist. His most famous creations are the 1957 ‘Superleggera’ (Superlight) Chair which could reputedly be lifted by a child with one finger. It had an ash wood frame and a cane seat. He also designed the ‘Dezza’ armchair which had slender arms and fasteners exposed on the outside, a most innovative idea at the time.

Marc Newson (1963- )

Newson was born in Sydney, Australia, but has spent most of his working life in London and Europe. He is well-known not only for his furniture designs, but also for his product lines including jewelry and clothing. He incorporates a style known as ‘Biomorphism’ into his innovative designs, which focuses on flowing lines with no corners or sharp edges. His famous ‘Embryo’ chair is a typical example, and probably his most recognizable design.

In recent years, Newson’s work has been highly sought after at auctions. His ‘Lockheed Lounge’ sold for just under $1million at Sotheby’s in 2006, and in the same year his Chop Top Tables sold out in just 20 minutes at Miami’s design fair.

Marc Newson was included in Time magazine’s ‘Top 100 most influential people’ in 2005, a fitting tribute to an innovative modern-day designer.

Some of the top modern contemporary furniture can be seen at Crawleys Furniture, where we specialize in furniture for the living room, dining room, bedroom and elsewhere in the home or office.