For many of us, we gave our homes a big reshuffle during the first pandemic lockdowns, maybe even a lick of paint – just as something to do. It’s two years on and if you’re anything like us, you’re probably hankering after an update again.
More artists than ever before turned their hand to furniture design following the Industrial Revolution. For groups like the Arts & Crafts Movement in Britain, and the Bauhaus in Germany, furniture design and the decorative arts were just as important as painting and sculpting. This derived from the fact that groups like these were passionate about changing the world and how art would fit into new, improved ways of life. If you were trying to design a new, more equal, more beautiful way of living for everyone in society – the chairs you sat on, the tables you used, and the lamps that lit your home, were just as important as the art that hung on your wall.
So if your Pinterest board just isn’t cutting it and you’re feeling low on ideas, here’s a selection of furniture by some of the most celebrated artists and designers from modern & contemporary art history to whet your appetite. We’ve also included where we’d put them in our Dream House, just in case you need some inspiration.
KAWS – Chair Grey, 2019
Dream Location: Minimalist monochrome bedroom in a top-floor apartment in London
Image via: Artsy
George Nelson – ‘Ball’ Wall Clock, 1948
Dream Location: Retro diner-inspired kitchen in LA complete with frilly aprons and a milkshake maker
Pedro Friedeberg – Hand Foot Stool, 1995
Dream Location: Large office in Munich with wooden floors and one of those reading pits in the centre
Image Via: Todd Merrill Studio
Salvador Dalí – Mae West Lips Sofa, 1936
Dream Location: Love-nest bedroom in Oslo with a heart-shaped bed and feather boas strewn around
Wendell Castle – Leggio, 1964
Dream Location: Cosy library in Paris with enormous armchair and classical music playing on the turntable
Le Corbusier & Charlotte Perriant – LC4 Chaise Longue, 1928/30
Dream Location: Marble-floored living room with high ceilings and ceiling to floor windows in Athens
Vico Magistrati – Eclisse Table Lamp, 1965
Dream Location: Primary-colour centred living room with chrome details in Prague
Image via: MoMA
Josef Albers – Nesting Tables, 1926/27
Dream Location: Rustic-meets-minimalist living room in Florence with multiple fruit bowls and glasses of wine
Image via: FTN Blog
Donald Judd – Prototype Desk 33 & Side Shelf Chairs 84, 1979/80
Dream Location: Shared office in Vienna with pop-punk posters and dark walls
Yves Klein – Table Bleue, 1961
Dream Location: Large minimalist living room in Toronto, with matching chrome furniture and canapés laid out
Image via Architectural Digest
David Shrigley – Ridiculous Inflatable Swan-Thing, c.2017
Dream Location: Miami pool with cocktails waiting at the side
Image Via: Third Drawer Down
Charles Rennie Mackintosh – Piano in House for an Art Lover, designed 1901 created c.1996
Dream Location: Grand entrance hall in Dubrovnik next to a marble stairway and a couple of elegant poodles
Gustav Stickley – Adjustable-back Chair, 1902
Dream Location: Small living room in Copenhagen next to a roaring fire and a pile of ornate crochet
