Category: Furniture Design

Dining, and Organizing

A home can be considered an organized closet, shaped by personal possessions and members of a family. Residential furniture provides the basic necessities of dwelling and includes freestanding and built-in furnishings that help meal preparation and dining, the organization of possessions, social gathering, work, rest, and play. Architects Charles Rennie Mackintosh (1868-1928) and his wife, […]

Furniture in a Mosque

Within a mosque, the mihrab, minbar, and prayer rug are liturgical elements designed for worship. The minbar is a high pulpit, an elevated structure from which the khutba (an Islamic sermon) is given during Friday communal prayers. It is located in front of the assembly. Metaphoric elements are typically incorporated in the minbar and include […]

Religious (Liturgical) Furniture: Altars, Arks, and Minbars

Religious environments and the practice of unique rituals require specific furnishings. Liturgical furniture is determined by collective ritual practices that help structure how a given set of people worship together. A summary has been drawn up of the similarities and differences among three major religions as experienced in Catholic, Jewish, and Islamic places of worship. […]

Recreational Furniture: Play, Leisure, and Outdoor Furnishings

Play and Leisure Poker tables, foosball tables, and Ping-Pong™ tables are equip­ment and gaming furniture designed for leisure and play. Concepts of health, safety, and welfare have transformed the landscape of recreational gaming. Today’s furnishings are safer than before, minimizing the risk of injury and limiting exposure to liability. Many foosball tables have telescoping rods […]

Office Furniture: Ergonomic Seating, Workstations, and Systems Furniture

Office furniture constitutes a large segment of the furniture industry. The U. S. office furniture industry has grown significantly over the past 20 years, reaching $12 billion in gross sales in 2006.7 Ergonomic seating is a large portion of this market. Today, many well-designed ergonomic chairs are available. Some of these include Haworth’s Zody, Herman […]

Institutional Furniture: Education

Institutional furnishings are used in classrooms, libraries, and training facili­ties. The phrase contract furniture is used to describe institutional furniture. On occasion, institutional furnishings are custom designed for specific places, but generally they are anonymous prod­ucts. Stackable chairs such as Arne Jacobsen’s Series 7 (Figure 2.36) and David Rowland’s 40/4 stacking chair (Figure 2.37) were […]

Lobby and Reception Furniture

Lobbies and reception areas are social-centered places that draw people together for rela­tively short periods of time (Figure 2.32). Verner Panton’s Living Tower (1969) is composed of interrelated components that make possible a variety of spatial configurations and body postures (Figure 2.33). The sectional seating design is ideally situated for lobby and reception areas. Related […]

Hospitality Furniture: Restaurants, Lobbies, and Reception Areas

Hospitality furniture is designed and fabricated for public and social interchange and includes lounge seating, restaurant chairs and tables, lobby seating, and reception desks. Hospitality furniture accommodates a broad range of users and uses. Consequently, acces­sibility, durability, and flexibility are important criteria to consider in design. Restaurant Dining Tables and Chairs Restaurant furnishings are components […]