Bringing you the next edition of our Book Club!
Bringing you a selection of handpicked books that are worth talking about!! Varying in topic each Book Club, we will be fuelling your coffee table book addition and sharing our favourite selections at the same time. So this week we will be focusing on all things Furniture Design
So calling all furniture lovers, design history addicts and anyone infatuated by a good hardcover coffee table book – this ones for you! A curation of our favourite furniture design books to save away for your next purchase, OR a shopping list for all the design crazed Dad’s out there just in time for Fathers Day this Sunday (you’re welcome!)
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1000 Chairs
by Charlotte & Peter Fiell for Taschen
‘1000 Chairs’ showcases exemplary chairs in the world of furniture design over the decades. More than any other piece of furniture, the chair has been subjected to the wildest dreams of the designer. The particular curve of a backrest, or the twist of a leg, the angle of a seat or the colour of the entire artifact; each element reflects the stylistic consciousness of an era.
“From Gerrit Rietveld and Alvar Aalto to Verner Panton and Eva Zeisel, from Art Nouveau to International Style, from Pop Art to Postmodernism, the history of the chair is so complex that it requires a comprehensive gallery of work to do it full justice. They’re all here: Thonet’s bentwood chairs and Hoffmann’s sitting-machines, Marcel Breuer’s Wassily chair and Ron Arad’s avant-garde armchairs. Early designers and pioneers of the modern chair are presented alongside the most recent innovations in seating.
This dedicated encyclopaedia displays each chair as pure form, along with biographical and historical information about the pieces and their designers. An illuminating tome for design aficionados and an essential reference for collectors!”
Herman Miller – A Way of Living
by Herman Miller
“A chronicle of the rich history of this innovative furniture company, from its founding in the early twentieth century to today. Thousands of illustrations tell the Herman Miller story, documenting its defining moments and key leaders. For more than 100 years, Michigan-based Herman Miller has played a central role in the evolution of modern and contemporary design, producing timeless classics while creating a culture that has had a remarkable impact on the development of the design world.
Featuring new and archival photography illustrating the evolution of Herman Miller’s furniture designs and the stories and creations of legendary designers including Ray and Charles Eames, George Nelson, and Alexander Girard, this is the first monograph to explore the history of Herman Miller – a company known as much for its pioneering designs and international influence as for its emphasis on environment and community service.
Herman Miller: A Way of Living is an indispensable addition to the bookshelves of design lovers around the globe.“
Atlas of Furniture Design
by Vitra Design Museum
“Atlas of Furniture Design, published by the Vitra Design Museum, provides an in-depth exploration in the history of modern furniture design. Based on more than 20 years of research, the book presents up to 1,740 objects from over 540 designers and examines themes from the early days of industrialization to digital innovation and its growing importance in furniture design. The richly illustrated book contains hundreds of detailed descriptions of key pieces as well as essays that provide a socio-cultural and historical context for four different epochs as well as the works themselves.”
Eames (Taschen Basic Art Series)
by Gloria Koenig
“The Eames’ work defined a new, multifunctional modernity, exemplary for its integration of craft and design, as well as for the use of modern materials, notably plywood and plastics. The Eames Lounge Chair Wood, designed with molded plywood technology, became a defining furniture piece of the twentieth century, while the couple’s contribution to the Case Study Houses project not only made inventive use of industrial materials but also developed an adaptable floor plan of multipurpose spaces which would become a hallmark of postwar modern architecture.
From the couple’s earliest furniture experiments to their seminal short film Powers of Ten, this book covers all the aspects of the illustrious Eames repertoire and its revolutionary impact on middle-class American living.”
Hans J. Wegner – Just One Good Chair
by Christian Holmsted Olesen
“The name of Hans J. Wegner (1914-2007) is inseparable from his unrivalled chairs, which have helped Danish design achieve international recognition. Any fan of design has his or her favourite among Wegner’s approximately 500 creations, and there is hardly an interior design magazine that has not included an illustration of his elegant China Chair (1943) or Y Chair (1950). Even John F. Kennedy sat on the Round Chair, now known simply as The Chair (1949).
Trained as a furniture maker, Wegner typically made his prototypes by hand, using traditional joinery techniques such as tongue-and-groove or finger joints. In the process, he often pushed the limitations of wood, giving his designs an unequalled elegance. Their beauty was matched by their practicality: he considered comfort and ergonomics to be equally as important as appearance. Despite his concern for functionality, his personality and sense of humour also shone through his works, as evidenced by his splendid Peacock Chair (1947) or the masculine Ox Chair (1960), available with or without horns.”
Happy book hunting!
