10 Iconic Pieces to Own

Furniture is part of our daily life. It’s easy to forget that the chair you’re seating on, the sofa you’re lounging on, the table you’re eating or working on is part of an evolving design. So if you’re still struggling to tell between a regular chair from your regular furniture shop next door and a designer’s masterpiece, read through for a brief insight into the world of “iconic” Designer pieces.

Back then heavy and expensive wooden furniture was the norm, each piece was measured purely based on the time it took an artisan to make it. From elaborate and ornate but not necessarily functional furniture before the 19th Century, design has evolved into an era of Modernism, which balances between aesthetics and functionality.

With the rise of Modernism, furniture took an interesting and refreshing twist. New materials and techniques were being experimented with, such as steel, bended wood and glass. As an example, molded plywood, fiberglass-reinforced plastic, bent and welded wire mesh, and cast aluminium were used in many of Charles and Ray Eames famous designs. Everything was new from shapes, texture, colours and ways of thinking about furniture. Though simpler looking than the classic wood pieces from the Renaissance, Jacobean or Colonial furniture era, these pieces have a lighter feel and are aesthetically pleasing to the eye. Some may even require one’s imagination in order to dive into the Designers’ creative minds.

There are many other modernist pieces that can justifiably be termed “iconic”. The following are our top 10 picks that we feel one with a passion for furniture and design should own.