| The first pieces of modern furniture were | | | | forms. American poet and millwright Herman Miller |
| designed and manufactured in the late 19th and | | | | was one of the first to design comfortable and |
| early 20th centuries. While the boldest departures | | | | functional office furniture; the company he |
| from classical furniture appeared before the | | | | founded now operates in over 40 countries |
| middle of the 20th century, furniture continues to | | | | around the world. |
| evolve today. Modern furniture is characterized by | | | | Different countries exert varying influences over |
| functional design with clean, simple lines-a sharp | | | | modern furniture designs. European sofa beds, for |
| contrast to the heavily ornamented decorative | | | | example, are much simpler in style and mechanics |
| furniture that was popular for centuries. European | | | | than the typical American sofa beds. Minimalist |
| designers introduced the unique styles, but | | | | lines and effortless operation make for |
| interest in modern furniture quickly spread to Los | | | | trouble-free and uncomplicated pieces. Modern |
| Angeles, New York, and other American cities. | | | | Italian furniture includes platform beds that appear |
| Through the use of new methods and materials, | | | | to be floating above the floor. Modern Japanese |
| furniture design combines art with technology. | | | | designs tend to be organic, reflecting the natural |
| Designers use innovative materials such as | | | | world. |
| plastics, molded plywood, and steel-all suitable for | | | | The reach of modern design is nearly universal. |
| mass production. By decreasing cost and | | | | For today's fast-paced lives in urban centers like |
| increasing the availability of pieces, mass | | | | Chicago and Los Angeles, contemporary furniture |
| production brought modern designs within the | | | | is a perfect fit. It is efficient, neat, accessible and |
| reach of ordinary people. Fine furniture was no | | | | adaptable to typical city homes with limited space. |
| longer a luxury only for the wealthy; rather than | | | | But the demand for modern furniture has spread |
| symbolizing old wealth, power, and the past, | | | | well beyond the cultural centers of the country. |
| contemporary furniture is populist and | | | | Spacious rural and suburban homes provide open |
| present-oriented. | | | | areas for showcasing the elegant and clean lines |
| Modern furniture designers span the globe. The | | | | of modern furniture. The practicality and comfort |
| famous chair designs of the German-American | | | | of contemporary pieces has by now trumped any |
| architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe were | | | | reservations about what were once considered |
| considered functional art when they came on the | | | | strange and alien designs. |
| design scene in the 1920s. Isamu Noguchi, of | | | | For furnishing homes and businesses nothing tops |
| American and Japanese descent, used his talents | | | | modern furniture. It blends well with other styles, |
| in landscape design and sculpture to create | | | | where it can play a background role to more |
| furniture with organic, natural lines. Irish-born Eileen | | | | traditional and ornate pieces, yet it can make a |
| Gray combined tubular steel and glass into a | | | | strong statement in an all-modern interior design. |
| strikingly simple adjustable table. The Hungarian | | | | Contemporary furnishings are cool but not cold |
| modernist Marcel Breuer employed industrial | | | | and simple but not boring. And because modern |
| production principles to create simple modular | | | | design is still evolving, the best is yet to come. |