Thinking of a way to add a unique and elegant theme for your dining room?  With the holidays fast approaching, you are going to be busy receiving guests and hosting parties.   You home’s theme is an important thing to take care of especially at this season.

You can experience transitional design that evokes the grandeur of haute couture with Bob Mackie’s Classic Collection from American Drew.   It brings a fresh twist to traditional styling with its soft, antique bleached mahogany finish and truly unique veneer inlay.    It has unique patterns like the braided pattern on the mirror made of hardwood solids, mahogany, primavera and walnut veneers.  The collection also incorporates lavish tassel and rope carvings.   Another interesting feature of its pieces is the use of leather with a crocodile pattern adding a tasteful texture that is extremely inviting.

Entertain your guests to a sumptuous meal and a feed their eyes with gorgeous piece like pedestal tables, upholstered chairs and bunching Chinas.  These pieces are not just stunning but are also functional.

Make your dining room more interesting, check the wide choices that we have on our website www.lanafurniture.com and get the finest furniture that would fit your style and your home.

Actually, chairs but we thought ‘couches’ would be more fitting considering the reference.

If you are a hardcore movie or TV show fanatic, you not only notice actor’s performances, the director’s skills and the overall artistry of the production but your keen eyes also catch the details of the set. Did you know that some of the chairs that you see on a production set are some of the greatest works of art in furniture?

Well, if you didn’t know that yet. We have searched the internet for some of the most stylish, stunning, attention grabbing, telegenic chairs that you might have seen or might have missed on your favorite movie or show.

1. Egg Chair by Arne Jacobsen on Big Brother

Anybody who watches the Big Brother could recognize this artsy piece of furniture. The Egg Chair is entirely designed by Arne Jacobsen and is manufactured by Republic of Fritz Hansen.

The Egg Chair has made a mark in art history as the symbol of the swinging sixties and free love. Perhaps what made this chair an exclusive item is the fact that not only it is hard to be perfectly made but also its cult status and its timeless modern look.

Although the Egg Chairs permanent TV appearance was as the diary chair in Big Brother, it has also been a big screen sensation starring in the Men in Black promotional poster. It also made a cameo on The Beatles video, Help! proving that it is indeed a sixties art symbol.

The Egg chair was also used as part of a high-concept redesign of one the McDonalds restaurants in London.

2.  Tulip Chair by Eero Saarinen on Star Trek

If you are both a furniture enthusiast and a Star Trek nerd, you probably have already guessed that Tulip Chair would be included on our list.

The Tulips Chair was designed by Eero Saarinen for Knoll. With its imposing lines and charming curves this chair is a breakthrough in modernist design. It has also been considered under “space age” which is just fitting for Star Trek to feature it.

Although Star Trek has customized it to suit The Enterprise, they still have credited it as the Tulips chair and they have eventually popularized it too. The Star Trek version has more like a propeller back than a tulip petal.

The Tulip Chair is also spotted on some of the promotional photos of the movie Pirates of Silicon Valley with Noah Wyle as Steve Jobs and Anthony Michael Hall as Bill Gates where they both look like they’re discussing about taking over the world.  These two legends are innovator and this chair is an innovation.

3.  Aeron Chair on The Simpsons, House and The Office

This chair is the most beloved of the tech savvy generation, the busy office people and virtually everyone. Aeron Chair was designed by Bill Stumpf and manufactured by Herman Miller. It is a modern looking chair that would sit perfectly beside any of your interior theme.

Considered as the grandfather of all ergonomic chairs, it has become a prolific media star. In the “Thank God, Its Doomsday” episode of The Simpsons, they portrayed God sitting on an Aeron Chair. It was probably a joke but the writers and producers have carefully picked out a chair that would represent that feeling of heaven when you sit on it. It also appears on office sitcoms like The Office and House.

Aeron Chairs not only boasts its flexibility but it also prides itself as 94 % recyclable. Cool right?

4.  Eames Lounge Chair by Eames on House and Frasier

Eames Lounge Chair was designed for Herman Miller and it originally comes with an ottoman. This chair is more comfortable than it looks. With Eames being a legend in furniture design it has captured mid-modern contemporary furniture fans, including Gregory House, TV’s most loved doctor. Ray Eames described it as ““comfortable and un-designy ” in a letter to Charles Eames.

Aside from the recurring appearance in House, it has also been a mainstay on Frasier, appearing in all but one episode Even artist Thierry Guetta displays it in his studio as seen on the Banksy documentary Exit Through the Gift Shop.

After its conception on 1956, it has became an icon of high end comfort that most furniture are trying to emulate today.

5.  Ball Chair by Eero Aarnio on The Prisoner and Men In Black

Isn’t this chair the cutest? Well, the Ball Chair more than its unconventional globe shape, it is a classic of industrial design. Some calls it a room within a room where you can comfortably retreat when you want to relax. And the most exciting part is, the newer versions are actually designed with built in mp3 players.

This charming chair has charmed producers and it garnered a roles in The Prisoner, Moon Zero Two and Men in Black.

It is amazing how this furniture just popped with pop culture. They are definitely not just just thrown into the set by the show and movies art department, they actually symbolizes something too. So the next time you watch your favorite show keep an eye for this beautiful works of art.

The advancement of technology has paved way to the modernization of everything including furniture. Things gradually have been designed to fit the modern living. As more things evolved, more things needed to be improved. That is what mainly separates modern or contemporary furniture from the preceding styles. It has emphasis on function at the same time highlighting the form.

Characteristics

Perhaps the most dominant characteristics of contemporary furniture are the revolutionary fine straight lines as opposed to the curves of the traditional furniture. Contemporary sofas and chairs have geometric and strong linear features. Contemporary tables, consoles and cabinets have short, simple and straight legs. Decorative accessories like ruffles, tassels, intricate carvings disappeared baring simpler and cleaner designs. Modern furniture has also been designed with free shapes that follows the human body. Ergonomics has been a requisite consideration for modern furniture manufacturing. The design focuses on improved body support for health and productivity.

As the Industrial Revolution begun to spread, it has proved to be a benefit especially to furniture design and manufacturing. The invention of machines enabled light materials to be made into furniture. Metal has also begun to be crafted as furniture and so did synthetic materials like molded plywood, plastic resin, fiber glass, mirrors, steel and wire mesh.

The mood that the modern furniture tone creates are relaxing and laid back, with the light minimalist approach that interior designers usually pair with neutral colored themes. Gray, white and black are the dominant colors for modern furniture. The interior design intends for the room to look bare to highlight the accent pieces within the room.

A perfect example of contemporary furniture and interior design.

History

The early 50′s saw the birth of modern furniture. It was when the furniture started to be less ornamented. The major focus of furniture shifted from aesthetics to comfort. Almost all sofa’s during this decade was upholstered. Most storage furniture has also started to evolve into simpler design with which gave more attention into their true usage.

All through out the decade, solid wood was the popular material when crafting furniture. Black walnut, hickory, and mahogany were some of the more beautiful dark woods that were also used. Those materials remain the primary materials that are still being used today.

As the art revolution climbed its peak during the 1970′s, furniture making rode along with it. The art during this decade is mainly centered on free expression, hence bold colors and chunky shapes have started to be excessively used, creating a funky look that is increasingly eclectic. Numerous art genres stemmed into specific sub-genres like Space Art, kitsch and pop arts which also found their way into furniture design.

The use of woods are still prevalent, only it has progressed to woods with darker palettes like teak wood and pine wood.

While the 70′s highlighted art, the 80′s saw a broader manufacturing improvement. Materials became not only limited to wood, but metal has also been crafted into furniture. New materials proved to be very convenient as they are easy to maintain and easy to produce. It was the decade when technology became the center of furniture making.

Iconic Manufacturers

As furniture evolved there are people and companies which are responsible for its growth. Among the most noted contemporary furniture designers are Ray and Charles Eames. Charles Eames believed in “affordable, yet high-quality furniture for the average consumer — furniture that could serve a variety of uses.” Perhaps the most celebrated design of the Eames are the single-shelled chairs that are made of molded plywood. Their designs are mainly aimed for mass production.

There are also institutions that promoted modern furniture design. The most well- known is the Bauhaus. It is a school in Germany that applies fine arts into crafts. They are famous for the publicizing and teaching of this design. The trademark of Bauhaus is the absence of ornamentation and harmony between the function of an object and its design, which eventually became one of the major definitive factors of modern furniture.

Specific Styles

Currently, the modern furniture design has been subdivided into specific styles and each of them is reminiscent of a certain decade. Collectively they embody the common characteristics of modern furniture but there are distinct characteristics that separates them with each other.

Urban furniture is probably the most modern looking among the styles. The pieces are usually small but very functional because they are designed with small, city spaces in mind. They are characterized by striking lines and shapes, very little or no ornamentation, black along with a range of bright or primary colors. They are mostly made of materials such as metal, light wood, glass, leather and microfibers.

On the other hand, Retro is perhaps the oldest looking of the styles. It is an eclectic interpretation and reminiscent of the eras from the 1940s to the 1970s. The actual pieces do not necessarily need to be old, but they can be new items that reference styles of the past. Some examples of this are the one piece modular plastic chairs, Formica-topped tables , chrome bar stools, replica of furniture from1950s diners, boomerang tables, space-age style furniture and items with pop culture flavor.

Art Deco furniture is depicted by fine lines and elegant curves minus the elaborate carvings of traditional furniture. The pieces are elegant and streamlined with light finishes and lacquer and are crafted from medium toned woods and mirrored and chromed surfaces. They are mostly made of new materials such as exotic leathers, silver and gold leaf, mother-of-pearl, ivory, metals, glass, mirrors, synthetic plastics and resins.

Moreover, Mid-Century Modern’s distinguishing characters are the basic but fierce designs that are almost sculptural in quality. The pieces also focus on function with less ornamentation and fine, sleek lines. The materials that are mostly used a mix of traditional material, such as wood, and non-traditional materials such as metal, glass, vinyl, plywood. The purpose of juxtaposing materials is to explore texture and a vast range of color.

Another prominent style is Casual Contemporary. It has laid- back, easy and calm style a far cry from the strictness and formality mid-century modern style. The major definitive characteristics of the style are medium wood tones, made of glass pieces, leather with a range of textures in fabrics and soft or overstuffed surfaces and pillows for sofa.

Contemporary furniture are embraced by many because they are not only convenient but also stylish. And with art marrying technology it is quite interesting what this two would give birth too in the future. Will contemporary furniture can still be called modern, fifty years from now? We cant really tell.