The History of Modern Furniture

From the perspective of 2006, the term 'modernism' seems a bit of a misnomer: the aesthetic movement it signifies is now well over a century old. The roots of modernism are in mid-19th century France, but it was the second generation of modernism and in particular the German Bauhaus School that would literally shape modern furniture design. What Is Modern Furniture? Modernists believed that the new had replaced the old. Machines now ruled. In fact, modernist architect Le Corbusier referred to buildings as 'machines for living in.' Modern furniture design was thus greatly influenced by technology.

Modern furniture features smooth and polished surfaces, clean lines, pure geometrical shapes, and asymmetrical design. Metal, plastic, leather, and glass are materials often used in modern furniture design. Decorating with modern furniture requires open space, neutral colors, angular shapes, an emphasis on form, and the incorporation of art and architecture.

The Bauhaus School
The Bauhaus School operated in Germany from 1919 to 1933, when it was closed by the Nazis. But during that brief period it made important and lasting contributions to the field of modern furniture design.

One modern furniture piece created at Bauhaus that is still used today is the cantilever chair. It was designed by Mart Stam in 1926. A cantilever chair has no back legs, relying instead on tubing that curves down from the front legs to form a 3-sided base.

Another modern furniture piece created at Bauhaus is the Wassily chair. Designed by Marcel Breuer, this contemporary chair was named for the famous painter Wassily Kandinsky, who was also a lecturer at Bauhaus. Breuer created the chair using bent steel tubes and leather.

The goal of the Bauhaus school was to bring art, craft, and technology together. That this unity is still on display in homes and workplaces all over the world is evidence of their success. Seventy-five years after Bauhaus closed, modernism is still modern.