Modern furniture: A cultural and design classic

It’s rare for a major military defeat to have a profound impact on home furnishings. But that’s exactly what happened when Napoleon was defeated in the historic battle of Waterloo.

When Napoleon went down to defeat, so did the ornate furnishings that characterized the emperor’s reign. Within just a few decades, these elaborate furnishings were replaced with simpler pieces in home throughout Europe

This evolution eventually led to the Modernist Movement in the early 1900s. “Function over form” was the mantra of these modern furniture revolutionaries that included visionaries such as Mies Van Der Rohe, Le Corbusier, Eileen Gray and Charles and Ray Eames.

Modern furniture was a radical departure from the designs of the time. In stark contrast to its heavy, dark wooded cousins, modern furniture was crisp and clean with simple lines. It used new materials in unexpected ways and in innovative forms. Designers rejected the status quo of furniture design and found new ways to create pieces where their function guided their form.

It was truly a revolution in furniture design. In fact, many of the classic pieces in modern furniture – the Barcelona Chair, the Le Corbusier Chaise Lounge, the Egg Chair and Eileen Gray unmistakable Non Conformist Chair – continue to look as fresh today as they did when they were first designed almost a century ago.

Adding modern furniture to your home is a journey of elegance and sophistication. Each piece is as much a work of art as it is a furnishing. Unlike many styles that come and go with the tides of public favor, modern furniture never goes out of fashion.

One of the great things about modern furniture is that you can mix and match with ease. For example, the Barcelona Chair, which was designed for the 1929 Barcelona Exposition by Ludwig Mies Van der Rohe, will look right at home next to the Alfa sofa, designed by Emaf Progetti in 1999. Even though 70 years passed between their designs, they will look like they were made for one another. Try that with any other style of furniture.

When deciding on modern furniture for your home, it’s suggested that you choose one signature piece and then build from there. For instance, you may choose a modern leather sofa set for your living room and then add secondary modern furniture pieces, such as chairs and tables to the grouping. And don’t forget modern lighting to complete the look.

The same is true for your modern bedroom. You’ll want to select your bed first, and then add dressers, armoires, nightstands and entertainment centers to the modern furniture mix. This will ensure that each room has a focal point to it so visitor’s eyes will go there first and then move about the room.

If you’ve ever been duped into buying the latest trend in furniture only to find it went out of style a few years later, rest assured that modern furniture will continue to look fresh and inviting for decades to come. It is the one style of furniture that never seems to go out of style.