History of Modern Furniture

Prior to the modernist design movement, emphasis on furniture was more on ornamentation and craftsmanship. During the first half of the 19th Century a new philosophy emerged shifting the emphasis to function and accessibility. The modern movement sought newness, originality, and technical innovation through the use of new materials and manufacturing methods (i.e., steel, molded plywood, plastics, etc.).

Classic Modern
With the new interest in innovative materials and methods, a blending of the disciplines of technology and art emerged. Chronologically the design movement that produced classic modern furniture design began earlier than one might imagine. Many of its most recognizable furniture pieces were born at the end of the 19th or the very beginning of the 20th centuries. The 1939 New York World's Fair helped plunge modern furniture into the limelight by pairing new furniture with "homes of tomorrow". The innovative designs created a believe that didn't need to be designed just for an artsy few, but could be accessible to everyone.

In the Finnish pavilion, people went wild for the bent plywood arm chairs of Alvar Aalto, including the first ever chair with a continuous, one-piece curved plywood back and seat.

Mid-Century Modern
Soon, WWII hit and it was wartime. The furniture industry was hit hard, and in Europe, it completely died. Fortunately, the Museum of Modern Art in New York created an Organic Design in Home Furnishings competition to find new talent. Out of that contest came Carles Eames and Eero Saarinen. Out of their work we entered the mid-century modern style.

Interesting, mid-century modern materials were not known for being organic. The war brought us new methods of molding and laminating plywood, molding plastics, and using aluminum. Later, Fiberglass, cast aluminum, acrylics, polyester resins, and foam rubber was introduced to furniture. Furniture moved from being "crafted" to "manufactured".

Contemporary ModernContemporary modern design reflects designs that are being created today. Generally it evolves around the principles of reducing clutter in order to provide a free forum for enjoying space, line, form, light, color, and texture. This genre of minimalist, trend conscious and refined furniture is regarded as “Contemporary”, recognizing that a variety of other styles are also being created in today's market.

While some interchange the use of the term "modern" and "contemporary", modern represents the modern furniture designs from the early to mid twentieth century. Because it's often difficult to discern the difference between a modern piece designed in the 30's and one designed in today's contemporary market, or there is simply no educational background to be able to make the distinction, the term modern and contemporary end up being used interchangeably.

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