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Contemporary furniture design arose through the combination of inquisitive and innovative minds, advances in technology, and the ability to produce incredible furniture at more affordable prices. The industrial revolution also played a part in this, particularly in terms of cheaper materials, access to factory space, and the ability to create artistic furniture at a price point more suitable for the general public.
Since the end of the 19th century, designers began looking for more elegant and simple designs for modern furniture. Whereas in the past, furniture was constructed almost entirely of wood, resulting in heavy, exaggerated pieces that indicated grandeur and luxury. This access to new materials and different ways of working allowed designers to make items more compact and modest in size. These new furniture designs were easier to incorporate within any required living space, and also gave the buyer the opportunity to purchase items that were an expression of their own personal tastes, with fewer constraints. Contemporary furniture design became known for being useful and functional, but with a creative bent that made modern furniture often look like works of art in its own right.
Odd angles, clean lines, curved shapes, and materials like metal and molded plastic paved the way for modern furniture to infiltrate our consciousness. It’s hard to ignore the striking designs of contemporary furniture – the fluidity and sharpness often used in these designs made people really start to sit up and take notice of modern furniture.
Many modern and contemporary furniture designers are also noted for being amazing architects – contemporary furniture is really about functional elements that look like architectural and artistic designs. Architects such as Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Frank Lloyd Wright, and even Antoni Gaudí began to incorporate contemporary furniture design into their overall architectural visions. Gaudí often designed furniture to complement the interesting nuances of his buildings, creating a harmony between the external structure and the internal decoration.
Other notable contributors to the contemporary furniture movement include Marcel Breuer, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Eileen Gray, Le Corbusier, and Lilly Reich. Mies van der Rohe invented the now famous and often copied ‘Barcelona chair’ and his contemporary furniture often used cantilevers to allow for a supportive yet delicate frame, often created in chrome. Mies worked in collaboration with Lilly Reich for more than a decade, sharing both a professional and personal relationship. In addition to their involvement in the design of the Barcelona chair, the pair also worked together to create the Brno chair, another iconic piece of modern furniture that continues to be cited as a source of inspiration and aspiration.