Iconic Furniture

The Top Five Iconic Furniture Designs

Modern furniture is defined by choice and style. But the designs we take for granted now were, at some point, unique and groundbreaking. Some furniture designs were indicative of a specific time period and have since faded as their popularity waned, but a select few pieces have endured the test of time and are known as icons of furniture design.

1. The Egg Chair: Arne Jacobsen

Designed in 1958 by Arne Jacobsen just for the Radisson SAS, Copenhagen in Denmark, only a handful were ever made — making it all the more alluring. It crops up in lots of film sets, restaurants and on TV shows too, such as the first series of Big Brother.

Just begging to be lounged back into, the chair is now available in a wide range of fabrics and leather – although the original was green – with the swivelling base made from aluminium mounted on a satin polished steel pedestal.

2. The Barcelona Chair:

Now hugely recognisable, the Barcelona Chair was designed by Ludwig Mies Van der Rohe and Lilly Reich in 1929. When it was first designed it featured ivory-coloured pig-skin, rather than the Bovine leather used today. It was also bolted together when it first came out, but later it was made from one piece of stainless steel for a more seamless appearance.

Inspiration for the chair is believed to have come from Roman folding chairs and although Knoll has made the chair since the early 1950s, it is still almost completely handmade and carries Ludwig Mies van der Rohe’s signature stamped into each chair.

3. Noguchi Coffee Table: Isamu Noguchi

Designed in 1947 in the US by Japanese artist and industrial designer Isamu Noguchi, the coffee table was an adaptation of a table originally made from rosewood and glass in 1939 by Noguchi for the President of the Museum of Modern Art. After the table was spotted by the design team at Herman Miller, who asked for a similar design for both offices and homes, the table was re-designed featuring a clever, sculptural solid walnut base and heavy glass top. The table has since been made with a variety of materials for the base, including walnut, birch and ebonised walnut, but it is the cherry-base table, produced in 1947, that are the most sought after.

4. Louis Ghost Armchair: Philippe Stark

A modern twist on the Louis XVI armchair, Philippe Stark’s Ghost Armchair was designed in 2002. Made from injection-moulded polycarbonate, the chair ticks lots of boxes — practical and stylish, durable and easily-paired with both contemporary and classic interior schemes. The chair is also available in a range of colours and both blends in as well as makes a design statement.

5. Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman

Made from moulded plywood and leather and instantly recognisable, the Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman definitely make a design statement in any home — sitting, as so many design classics do – easily alongside pretty much any interior scheme you can think of. Inspired by the traditional English Club Chair. Since its introduction in 1956, the chair has been in continuous production and it is not hard to see why it has remained so popular, with its low seat fixed at a permanent recline, its smooth, swivelling base and almost worn appearance — definitely something to look forward to coming home to after a long day on your feet.

While our own furniture designs are not quite as iconic as the ones listed above, we do think they’re rather great, so please do have a look at our portfolio and take the opportunity to design your own piece.