Neolithic
period
A range
of unique stone furniture has been excavated in Skara Brae,
a Neolithic village located in Orkney. The site dates from
3100–2500 BC and due to a shortage of wood in Orkney, the
people of Skara Brae were forced to build with stone, a
readily available material that could be worked easily and
turned into items for use within the household. Each house
shows a high degree of sophistication and was equipped with
an extensive assortment of stone furniture, ranging from
cupboards, dressers and beds to shelves, stone seats, and
limpet tanks. The stone dresser was regarded as the most
important as it symbolically faces the entrance in each
house and is therefore the first item seen when entering,
perhaps displaying symbolic objects, including decorative
artwork such as several Neolithic Carved Stone Balls also
found at the site.
Classical
world
Ancient
furniture has been excavated from the 8th-century BC Phrygian
tumulus, the Midas Mound, in Gordion, Turkey. Pieces found
here include tables and inlaid serving stands. There are
also surviving works from the 9th-8th-century BC Assyrian
palace of Nimrud. The earliest surviving carpet, the Pazyryk
Carpet was discovered in a frozen tomb in Siberia and has
been dated between the 6th and 3rd century BC. Recovered
Ancient Egyptian furniture includes 3rd millennium BC beds
discovered at Tarkhan as place for the deceased, a c. 2550
BC gilded bed and to chairs from the tomb of Queen Hetepheres,
and many examples (boxes, beds, chairs) from c. 1550 to
1200 BC from Thebes. Ancient Greek furniture design beginning
in the 2nd millennium BC, including beds and the klismos
chair, is preserved not only by extant works, but by images
on Greek vases. The 1738 and 1748 excavations of Herculaneum
and Pompeii revealed Roman furniture, preserved in the ashes
of the 79 A.D. eruption of Vesuvius, to the eighteenth century.
Early
modern Europe
The
furniture of the Middle Ages was usually heavy, oak, and
ornamented with carved designs. Along with the other arts,
the Italian Renaissance of the fourteenth and fifteenth
century marked a rebirth in design, often inspired by the
Greco-Roman tradition. A similar explosion of design, and
renaissance of culture in general, occurred in Northern
Europe, starting in the fifteenth century. The seventeenth
century, in both Southern and Northern Europe, was characterized
by opulent, often gilded Baroque designs that frequently
incorporated a profusion of vegetal and scrolling ornament.
Starting in the eighteenth century, furniture designs began
to develop more rapidly. Although there were some styles
that belonged primarily to one nation, such as Palladianism
in Great Britain or Louis Quinze in French furniture, others,
such as the Rococo and Neoclassicism were perpetuated throughout
Western Europe.
19th
century
The
nineteenth century is usually defined by concurrent revival
styles, including Gothic, Neoclassicism, Rococo, and the
EastHaven Movement. The design reforms of the late century
introduced the Aesthetic movement and the Arts and Crafts
movement. Art Nouveau was influenced by both of these movements.
Early
North American
This
design was in many ways rooted in necessity and emphasizes
both form and materials. Early American chairs and tables
are often constructed with turned spindles
and chair backs often constructed with steaming to bend
the wood. Wood choices tend to be deciduous hardwoods with
a particular emphasis on the wood of edible or fruit bearing
trees such as Cherry or Walnut.
Modernism
Red
and Blue Chair (1917), designed by Gerrit Rietveld
The
first three-quarters of the twentieth century are often
seen as the march towards Modernism. Art Deco, De Stijl,
Bauhaus, Wiener Werkstätte, and Vienna Secession designers
all worked to some degree within the Modernist idiom. Born
from the Bauhaus and Art Deco/Streamline styles came the
post WWII "Mid-Century Modern" style using materials
developed during the war including lamenated plywood, plastics
and fiberglass. Prime examples include furniture designed
by George Nelson Associates, Charles and Ray Eames, Paul
McCobb, Florence Knoll, Harry Bertoia, Eero Saarinen, Harvey
Probber, Vladamir Kagan and Danish modern designers including
Finn Juhl and Arne Jacobsen. Postmodern design, intersecting
the Pop art movement, gained steam in the 1960s and 70s,
promoted in the 80s by groups such as the Italy-based Memphis
movement. Transitional furniture is intended to fill a place
between Traditional and Modern tastes.
Ecodesign
With
the great efforts from people, governments and companies,
in order to manufacture products with more sustainability,
there is a new line of furniture design that is based on
environmentally friendly design, that is called Ecodesign
and its use is increasing year after year.
Contemporary
One
unique outgrowth of post-modern furniture design is Live
edge, heralding a return to natural shapes and textures
within the home.