The Origins and History of Modern Design
Modern design is firmly rooted in the 20th century and continues to influence designers today. After the Art Deco Movement in the 1920s and 1930s, the mainstream populous was primed for a new look and way of creating an aesthetic atmosphere. The world wars spurred innovation and created a market for materials that had previously been too expensive to produce en mass. Metal, glass, and polymers began to be manufactured for use in wartime machines and factories. After World War II, artists needed to channel their feelings about this hugely influential and traumatizing part of history. They didn't want to look backwards, instead designing pieces of art based on the materials on hand and that spoke about the way the modern world had developed in the mid-20th century. So, chairs, cabinets, and other pieces of utilitarian art began to be created from steel, glass, and plastic. Workshops in Europe popularized the look and gave rise to the styles that have since influenced furniture design throughout the West and the whole of the world.
Some Famous Modern Furniture Pieces
Some of the famous examples of modern furniture and art you might be familiar with are sleek and minimalist in style. Although the height of fashion had long been based on how intricate the details and rich the materials were, modernity specifically brought in the notion that something could be simple and get so perfectly crafted and balanced that it would be valuable without gold leaf or minute carving.
The work of Bauhaus artists and Frank Lloyd Wright are some of the most recognizable examples of modern design. The Bauhaus created furniture, like chairs, tables, and even toys that were simple in design and could be manufactured in a large number. Bauhaus was in Germany before WWI, but the most famous artists ended up all over the globe after the end of the war. Frank Lloyd Wright was an architect that created homes and commercial buildings. He had a hand in decorating the inside and commissioning pieces that would tie the design of the exterior with the functionality of the interior spaces.
How to Choose the Right Furniture for Your Home
Today, modern furniture is still sleek and has clean lines. Getting a wooden dining or bedroom set with high-polish and organic design can give your home a new look and feel crisper. You can forego the frills of Victorian or older types of decoration and make your guests feel as though they aren't surrounded by overwhelming details and too much competing decoration.
Finding modern furniture in Seattle, WA, is as simple as looking for respected retailers and dealers that specialize in furnishings that will bring together a clean, contemporary aesthetic. You can coordinate your own pieces if you want to do everything yourself, although many people hire interior decorators to help suggest looks that will go great together.