Art Deco-style furniture incorporated geometric shapes and clean lines in upholstery patterns.
As of 2010, modern furniture includes any designs from the late 19th century to the present. In the 1900s, polished metals and simple fabrics replaced rich, dark woods and heavily patterned upholstery. Modernism moved away from seeing furniture as mere ornamentation to looking at its function and accessibility. Various trends during the 1900s played with these qualities, taking them to a range of extremes. Does this Spark an idea?
Art Nouveau
Ar Nouveau was an answer to Victorian-style furniture in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This style was defined by furniture with simple, asymmetrical designs. Designs included the use of curvy lines and subtle change in form. It drew inspiration from organic forms for an entire piece. Furniture was handmade, as the movement was a backlash against the move toward mass-manufactured furniture. The movement died out in the 1910s, giving way to the Art Deco movement. It did see a resurgence in the 1960s.
Art Deco
Art Deco burgeoned and became a mainstay furniture (and design) style through the 1920s and 1930s. Sleek, simple lines with elegant touches defined the style. The goal was to simply the Art Nouveau style, likely a result of the new machine age, where speed and glamour were looked up to. Furniture saw heavy use of new materials and geometric patterns, as well as Egyptian and oriental motifs and cubism. The style began with flowing lines but became more linear as mass production increased. The movement faded after 1935.
Mission
Mission-style furniture utilized the aesthetic of the southwestern United States. Pegs, dowels and rough-sawn wood were typically used in pieces. It had its roots in the 19th century Arts and Crafts period. Pieces were simple and functional, usually made from oak and other stained wood. Native American and leather motifs were commonplace in this movement.
Bauhaus Style
This style of furniture (and art and architectural design) appeared in the 1920s. Its avant garde pieces broke cleanly from traditional designs, using German design. "Bauhaus" translates from German as an "architectural house." Like Art Deco, Bauhaus focused on function over form and incorporated simple, clean lines. It was best represented in the Barcelona Chair designed in 1929. This "functional art" piece has influences from Roman footstools, which had an "x"-shaped silhouette, and Egyptian folding chairs.
Transitional Style
This style is a contemporary movement that uses new materials to further furniture design. New materials are sought to produce the simplest, lightest form with plenty of ornamentation. Past designs are put aside for new visual effects.
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