Contemporary Furniture

From LoveToKnow Interior Design

Contemporary furniture is well known for its simple lines and distinctive color palettes. The phrase “less is more” definitely applies here. This modern furniture style is admired by those seeking an updated look as they transition from traditional design styles.

Up to Date Furniture

Contemporary modern furniture design grew out of industrial advances in materials and manufacturing techniques during the early 1900’s. Around this same time and into the mid-twentieth century, there were also very influential design trends coming from several movements:

• Arts and Crafts
• Art Nouveau
• The Secession
• De Stijil
• Bauhaus
• Le Corbusier
• Art Deco
• Scandinavian Style

New materials developed during the twentieth century have fueled the creativity of furniture designers. Contemporary modern furniture is often crafted from steel, plastic, molded plywood, acrylic, or glass components. There are still innovative materials being discovered for use in furnishings by today’s contemporary designers who increasingly look for green design solutions.

Types of Contemporary Furniture

Many contemporary furniture designs are inspired by mid-century modern pieces such as the Eames lounge chair. In general, this clean-lined furniture is free from decorative trim, detailed wood carving, tufting, or other embellishments.

Other celebrated contemporary furniture designs include the following pieces:

• Tulip or pedestal chair
• Pension chair
• Seconda chair
• Venturi chair
• Graves chair
• Argyle chair
• Zig-Zag chair
• Barcelona chair and couch
• Grand Confort chair and couch
• Wassily lounge
• Stickley chair

Contemporary furniture can be either formal or casual, depending on the upholstery materials selected as well as the accessories displayed in the room. Popular upholstery choices for contemporary rooms include leather, cotton, canvas, and linen. The colors of modern fabric and leather upholstery tend to be in neutral tones or bolder colors like red, yellow, or blue. However, a lot of contemporary furniture pieces can be found in black or espresso finishes.

Contemporary beds tend to be low to the ground and sometimes feature attached shelves for use as night stands. There is usually no box spring used, so the bed frame is designed as a solid platform or with short support legs. Often times there is either no headboard or a very low profile version made of wood or upholstered with fabric or leather.

Contemporary dining room furniture is often made of metal, wood, acrylic, or glass materials. One innovation worth checking out is the extendable dining table which has the flexibility of changing to different size configurations without the need for removable leaves. Modern dining chairs are very simple in design with straight or slightly curving backs. Common color palettes for contemporary dining sets are wood stains, silver metallic, and black leather.