Furniture Design Has Developed

Press, Volume XCVII, Issue 28529, 7 March 1958, Page 15

Furniture Design Has Developed

(By ANTHONY HEAL, one of Britain's leading furniture designers). When you live continually with people you do not notice that they are changing—that thev are growing older, fatter or thinner The changes Ire so gradual from day to day. The same Applies to furniture. Development m design takes place slowly.

But if you compare the furniture of the nineteenth century with that of today, changes are obvious.

There are few sudden or revolutionary changes in design but the pioneer work done by Edward Barnsley, Ernest Gimson, Ambrose Heal, and Gordon Russell in the first half of the present century has had a big influence on furniture made today. Britain’s “utility” furniture scheme, born of war conditions and shortage of materials, helped to spread the desire for simple, functional furniture which relied on good proportion rather than ornament for its attraction.

Since then, designers have tackled the job of achieving greater refinement and elegance. The result is that furniture design today is at a higher level than it has been since the end of the eighteenth century. New materials, new production technique and economic conditions have all had-their effect. Perhaps the most important influence has been the architecture of presentday homes. Rooms today are smaller and living space is more congested. But men and women are still

the same size, and this has meant a challenge to the ingenuity of the designer. Clothes storage is a problem—above all other problems. But space has been saved by careful planning and arrangement of drawers, shelves and cupboards and by the use of doors which slide, some horizontally and others vertically. The traditional subdivision of homes into bedrooms, dining rooms and living rooms has been revolutionised by the open plan of the modern house. In turn this is having its effect on furniture. The old idea of the “dining room suite” is virtually gone. Many furnishing pieces today have to be capable of fulfilling more than one purpose. New items like the “room divider”—a tall piece with open shelves for books or plants, and embodying cabinets for drinks—have been evolved for use in new houses. • In an effort to make the maximum use of space and to economise in the use of materials, many architects throughout the world are working out plans within the self-imposed discipline of the four-inch (or 10-centimetre) module.

Windows, tiles and other building materials are produced to conform to standard modular dimensions. Already furniture is being produced on the same pattern so that it may fit, without waste of space, the sizes of walls and floors of houses built on the modular system.

The small size of modem flats and houses has had at least one salutary effect.

The pre-war notion of the “three-piece-suite” is now obsolete. Women no longer have to endure easy chairs designed for men (or vice versa). You can now buy upholstered chairs to suit most varieties of the human frame —and two or more different designs are often used in thfe same room, giving not only comfort to their users but a lively visual effect.

In upholstery, as with cabinet work, design has been lightened and refined. And this improvement in appearance has been greatly helped by new methods of springing and new upholstery materials such as latex and plastic foam.

The war interrupted the traditional supplies of timber for the furniture industry and many previously unfamiliar woods from the Commonwealth have been successfully exploited. Mansonia, bubinga, mutenye, teak, and rosewood are among the attractive woods used in furniture making today. But these timbers are not the only new materials used by furni-

ture designers and makers: Much use has been made of metal to give lightness and elegance as well as strength to chairs and tables.

Brass inlay, reviving an old technique, gives gaiety and brightness to a number of new designs. Plywood, fibreglass and plastics are all used to obtain moulded forms for chairs. Welded wire mesh is almost being shaped to produce chairs that are light, strong, and comfortable. Plastics in gay colours or printed with decorative patterns are used for surfaces where eaSy cleaning or resistance to marking or staining is needed. For less rigorous conditions, new finishes are now; available on which hot plates or, teapots do not leave tell-tale marks. New materials and new finishes have of course necessitated new production techniques—and have brought with them new problems. Organisations like Britain’s Furniture Development Council have undertaken research into the qualities of chipboard and plastic lacquers to improve their performance in use. Valuable work has chairs. This research has shown debeen done on the strength of signers many ways to combine maximum strength with lightness. And, if we add a new sense of grace and elegance, a more refined decoration, and a greater functionalism —perhaps that is where the new contemporary furniture style is heading.—Central Press.