Furniture Design Ideas

Order results from the confluence of ideas present in the conception and development of design. Furniture is nearly always movable, but not all furnishings are designed to move easily. Furniture can be stationary, but not all furnishings are mechanically attached to the floor, wall, or ceiling. Furniture can be adjustable, but not all furnishings are […]

Lines are made by connecting two or more points and generally are conceived as being straight (Figure 3.34), but they also curve, warp, and transform, as illustrated in Bookworm, designed by Ron Arad (Figure 3.35). Every line has an underlying spatial structure. The eye follows lines from beginning points to intersecting endpoints. Sinusoidal linear characteris­tics […]

Clustered arrangements are apparent whenever a group of three or more elements (or axial orientations) share the same field (Figure 3.30). Many office systems are designed to enable a broad range of options regarding spatial layout. Office systems such as the Action Office series can result in clustered spatial arrangements when the layout of workstations […]

Centralized spatial order draws focus toward the center of a space. The interior of Eero Saarinen’s chapel at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology relies on three elements to draw the visitor’s focus toward the center of the space: a built-in marble altar, a circular light lantern located in the chapel’s ceiling, and a full-height metal […]

Space is the medium that architects, designers, and artists use to compose form. Space and form are codependent. Without space, form would not exist, and without form, space could not exist. Think about the space between the fixed elements of a chair. The next time you draw a chair, consider sketching the space between its […]

Orthogonal furniture is composed of rectangular geometric forms cre­ated by lines, planes, and volumes positioned at 90 degrees to one another. Armoires, beds, buffets, shelving, and sofas are often orthogo­nal due to their size, cost of fabrication, and spatial proximity to a wall. Donald Judd’s precisely crafted Baltic birch plywood box chairs (1991), shown in […]

Inflated therapy balls (gym balls) are simple curvilinear forms (Figure 3.17). Gym balls have neither front nor side, unless implied by surface treatment, seams, or branding logos. They offer a practical, inexpensive, and healthful means of sitting. Compound curves are curvilinear shapes that bend in two or more directions. Poul Kjsrholm’s PK 9 is composed […]

Furnishings that utilize two or more geometric systems, such as curvilinear and orthogonal, or two or more distinct materials such as stone and wood in one piece are considered com­posite. The bent, welded, and chromed tubular steel frame in Marcel Breuer’s Model B32 (Figure 3.14) is distinct from its black leather seat pan and backrest. […]

This chapter focuses on the physical and spatial characteristics of furniture and is organized in three parts: Form, Spatial Organization, and Typological Orders. FORM Form constitutes the physical structure and spatial order of an entity; however, form is not a synonym for mass or three-dimensional volume. Music and poetry have structure as well as form. […]

The significance of a container is often related to the significance of its contents. It is not surprising, then, that the quality and value of jewelry and other personal collections are expressed by the design and material of their containers. The design and fabrication of a flat-file can express the importance of drawing equipment and […]