Scandinavian Furniture in Modern Interior Design Furniture design is an art that was discovered a long time ago. Even before the Egyptian period when the x-chair was widely popular, there existed basic furniture pieces that may not have been concerned with art but were primarily made by carpenters and craftsmen with function in mind. Throughout history furniture design has developed into a prospering industry with the needs and demands of the people in all parts of the world for comfort and luxury growing more sophisticated in each decade that passed. At certain periods in history, and specific countries and regions in the globe, furniture design creations have sprouted and have been improved from their simple prototypes into more detailed …show more content…
The legacy of designers like Alvar Aalto, Eero Saarinen and Verner Panton is still among us with their original furniture pieces finding their way in to the hall of fame and still widely used even in the present. Their timeless quality inspired new Scandinavian designers to create furniture pieces that will live up to the classic value of the futuristic-looking Panton chair and the modern silhouette of the Tulip chair. Even American designers have discovered and emulated the ingenuous concept and fabrication of these infamous furniture designs. They have modified the process and materials using means that are more accessible to them. When Scandinavian furniture makers captured the American market, they also started producing with the foreigners’ taste in mind up to the point that these innovative furniture styles were seen less in their own region and gained more buzz in the United States. People around the world admire how Scandinavian furniture understands the essence of function in its rawest structure and transforms it into exceptional yet form-fitting creations. The success of Scandinavian furniture design lies in providing the quality that people seek as well as its availability to the public. The major development in production of this type of furniture happened in the 1950s. There was a movement that led to the manufacture of items to be accessible not only to affluent people but also to the masses. This increased the appeal of Scandinavian furniture and gave way to their proliferation not only in European countries, but also all over the
Marcel Breuer, born in the early 1900’s in Hungary, was one of the first and youngest students to learn under the Bauhaus style, taught by Walter Gropius. Breuer started his career designing furniture, using tubular, or “handle bar like”, steel (Dodd, Mead, and Company 32). One of the most popular of these furniture designs was his Club Chair B3designed in 1922. In the 1930’s, Breuer moved to the United States to teach and practice architecture. In the 1950’s, he received the Medal of Honor from the New York Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA). Between 1960 and 1980, Breuer was honored with several honorary doctoral degrees from several universities around the world. After retiring in 1976 due to poor health, Breuer was awarded several other awards, and his work was displayed in exhibitions around the world. Breuer died on July 2nd, 1981, at the age of 79 (Marcel Breuer Associates 6).
This essay's primary objective is to look closer at Desk Suit , 1936, by Elsa Schiaparelli and compare it to Anthropomorphic Chest of Drawers, 1936, by Salvador Dali. These two pieces of art although so different, have a lot in common. To find out more and explore the world of surrealism, it will be worth studying and reviewing each art work based on the information found in several books about Salvador Dali and Elsa Schiaparelli as well as in other sources, such as You tube, journals, articles and web sites. For this purpose, the essay will open with a review of the work of Salvador Dali followed by a research on Elsa Schiaparelli's design, before finally comparing them in relation to surrealism. During the course of this essay themes such as surrealism, motif of drawers, fashion as an art and the influence of surrealism on current days, will be explored through the views of a various art critics.
Interior Decorators such as Elsie de Wolfe, Eleanor McMillen Brown, and Dorothy Draper helped to pave the way for the Interior Design profession today. Their influential decisions to stray away from the Victorian style of design helped guide both the interior decorating profession, as well as architects who no longer wanted to design in the bulky and cluttered Victorian Style. Elsie de Wolfe designed during the Victorian movement, however “had adopted the 1890’s preference for Neoclassicism” (Smith, 22). Unlike the cluttered and dark interiors of an average Victorian interior, her interiors were, “in the words of one visitor, ‘[models] of simplicity’” (Smith, 20).
Swarbrick, John. Robert Adam & his brothers : their lives, work & influence on English architecture decoration and furniture. London : B.T. Batsford ; New York : C. Scribner 1915.
Because classical antiquity was revived during the Italian Renaissance, the practitioners of art and design developed new techniques for developing a structure and paved the way for future designers. Modern interior design practitioners borrow many ideas from these Italian pioneers of art and culture, such as high ceilings, ornate floors, and fresco painted walls, which are design techniques indicative of the Italian Renaissance period (Houzz.com, 2012). Being that each room should coincide with the taste and style of the resident and the cultural norms in the society, designers and architects led the way for a new era where proportion and design of the room were unified as a whole. Pieces of art and furniture of the Italian Renaissance, like the Cassapanca, would be used by artisans of the interior for many decades to come.
Traditionally, Dansk Designs followed a strategy of differentiation. When a firm follows this strategy, they create differences in the firm’s product or service by creating something that is perceived as unique and valued by customers. Differentiation can take many forms, including prestige or brand image, which Dansk decided to implement. Their product line consists of eight product categories, which include flatware, china, linen, glass, decorator cookware, and wooden bowls and trays. Their products are of high quality and are highly priced. Dansk was able to achieve a differentiation advantage because their price premiums exceeded the extra costs of being unique. Dansk is able to create these unique products because of the talented designers they employ, including Jens Quisrgaard, Niels Refsgaard, and Gunnar Cyren. Another competitive advantage of a strategy of differentiation is the ability to deal with supplier power. There is a certain amount of status associated with being the supplier to a producer of differentiated products. Dansk’s principal supplier, Richard Nissen, has enjoyed working with Dansk because he believes they have been able to “preserve the handcrafted nature of the products”.
It will discuss the different types of dwellings throughout recorded human history from the perspective of how art and culture influences building design. This will fulfill my own curiosity to understand the different influences on homebuilding and design over the years and how people have dealt with these changes.
Though the interiors he designed were created to be useful spaces, his focus was more on aesthetic than function . Within his individual objects of art such as chairs, tables, drawers, staircases and many others he focused more on the form of the object than on its intended use. Instead, Kuramata appeared to want the presence of the piece to surpass its function, something that is only possible when there is a symbolic value . One of the best examples of a work of art fitting these stipulations was his design of the Miss Blanche armchair (fig. 3) in 1988 . The chair is made of acrylic resin and embedded with artificial roses and aluminum . Kuramata’s title of the work, choice of materials, color contrast, process of creation and simple aesthetic combine to create a piece of work that forces the viewer to question whether or not it can even be considered a chair. This work of art allows the functionality to disapp...
Each category will be analyzed using IKEA student info website, IKEA group corporate website, resources from University of Phoenix library and articles from magazines. The key questions that the author will address are
The world is developing every day and we continue to discover new and innovative ways to better our quality of life. A trend that everyone seems to be focused on is saving the environment, which is also known as sustainable living. Not only does this apply to our lifestyle and environment, but it also translates into design. Sustainable living is becoming more popular around the world and is a lifestyle using skillful and sensitive design. It eliminates negative environmental impact and requires renewable resources. We each have decided to research different furniture companies to broaden our knowledge of the innovative practices used in each company. Throughout our paper we will introduce each of our companies and the products and practices they use to produce sustainable furniture. Our research will show that sustainable furniture design is beneficial to consumers by allowing them to live a more environmentally friendly lifestyle as their manufacturers develop innovative ways to make renewable furniture.
Firstly, the history of IKEA International A/S is needed to be described. The company is based in Denmark. It is one of the world’s top retailers of furniture, home furnishings and housewares. The company designs its own items and their items are sold in more than 140 IKEA stores. The store is spread throughout approximately 30 different countries worldwide. IKEA distributes its thick catalogs once a year in the areas surrounding its store locations. Also, it peddles its merchandise through mail order. Additionally, the company offers high-quality items at low prices as their character. Then, the company buys items in bulk, ships and store items to save money for itself and its customers.
Throughout the world, there are an abundance of diverse cultures, each truly unique in comparison to another. Culture is described as the “characteristics of a particular group of people, defined by everything from language, religion, cuisine, social habits, music and arts” (Zimmermann). Each of these traits is what sets each society apart, and is what influences their expression of design. Throughout this course, we’ve learned how planning and design have varied all through history, however we decided to take it a step further and focus on how different regions throughout the world create spaces that reflect their own cultures’ particular interests. Being a group composed entirely of Interior Design majors, our emphasis is investigating the use of material, color, motifs and layouts of their interior spaces, and how they reflect their societies. Not only do we explore a culture’s influence on design, but we briefly touch on environmental factors as well. Of all of the regions throughout the world, we decided to focus our research on the cultural practices and designs of Mexico, India, and Japan. Our reasoning behind centering on these three cultures is that these cultures are some of the most well-known, yet each entirely distinct within their own way, thus providing a greater understanding of design styles around the world.
The design of a building, garment or object can impact greatly on the lives of millions, and change the way society functions and programs. In stating this, social change can also result in new designs and strategies to keep up with social needs and requirements. Design can either be an outcome of a change in society, or the cause of societal change. Designer George Nelson claims that ‘Design is a response to social change’; this essay will discuss both the impact that design has on social change and the influence social change has on design. Through analyzing different design and historical examples such as modern High-Rise buildings, new design developments, as well as graphic design due to the industrial revolution, it will be clear as to whether design is driven by societal change or vise versa. Along with stating this, there will also be thorough information on the evolution of toilets and progression of telephones over the years.
IKEA is more than a furniture store they are a company driven by values (IKEA, 2014). The company seeks to make their consumers lives easier by providing them with modern, innovative, inexpensive products which they use to tackle daily home activities. IKEA Group has 298 stores in 26 different countries (IKEA, 2014). The company’s vision is “to create a better everyday life for the many people” (IKEA, 2014, para 1). Using innovative techniques for creating, producing, and marketing their products IKEA can provide consumers with durable products for reason...
Pantzar, Mika. "Tools or Toys: Inventing the Need for Domestic Appliances in Postwar and Postmodern Finland." Expanded Academic ASAP. Gale, Spring 2003. Web. 20 Feb. 2014.