Furniture & Interior Design Function

Furniture is an industrial or craft-based design used to

Furniture matters to interior designers in the same way that
support human activities. Interior designers use existing
books matter to librarians. It's important because interior
or new, built-in, custom designed, or ready-made
design is concerned with the design of spaces, and what makes
furniture. Every piece of furniture is made the with
those spaces is furniture. In this lesson, we'll go over the
user's needs in mind.
various aspects of this 'making.'
Function determines what a piece of furniture should
do, like sleeping (beds), eating (tables), or seating
(chairs).

Function determines what a space should do, too.

Analyzing how a space will be used and what activities
will take place in that space marks the programming
phase of interior design where furniture is involved.
Function determines which furniture and furnishings
(like appliances, fittings, and accessories) are necessary
for the usage of space.
Furniture matters the most when a design is
implemented as furniture brings function to a space.
Space Planning
Furniture and functionality work together in
the space planning phase of interior design.
How to place the furniture is an essential part
of space planning, where maximum usage is
considered in the arrangement of furniture.

Space planning also involves circulation.

Circulation refers to leaving enough space for
human flow.

Interior designers use furniture to establish a

pleasing sense of order. They consider two-
dimensional and three-dimensional design in
the arrangement of furniture along with the
elements of design such as shape, form,
color, and texture.

For the best utilization of space, furniture is placed to allow free movement. This makes the space around furniture as
important as its arrangement. Thus, furniture works as a functional and circulatory element in interior design.
The principles of design can
be applied to furniture, too.

For instance, pieces are

arranged by size, scale, and
proportion; rhythm is
employed by repeating
furniture; unity by
harmonizing furniture with
other spatial features like a
fireplace; or emphasis by
using a furniture grouping as
focal point.
Balance becomes the primary
consideration in arranging
furniture because furniture
affects the sense of
equilibrium and stability in a
space
Furniture pieces are designed and fabricated to assist in the many ways people sit and rest, work and play, organize or
display items, and partition space.
Furniture design draws upon ideas of beauty, principles of design, theory, material properties, fabrication technologies,
business economies, environmental design matters, and the surrounding spatial context in which it is placed, all of which are
integral and intertwined with function, utility, and social use.

Furniture design is deeply

rooted in the human
condition. It is a social Drawing table, designed
by Robert Mallet-Stevens
science that belongs to the (1927)
humanities, an applied art that for professional use in
his Paris offi ce. Made
draws upon many design with tubular metal,
disciplines, and is dependent poplar
wood, and hard lacquer
upon a working knowledge of paint.
materials and fabrication
techniques.

It is a holis-tic and
interdisciplinary field of study.
Outside café tables and chairs, Paris, France.
Considerations that influence what we think about and feel Reclining with the chaise longue at Villa Savoye, Poissy, France.
regarding furniture design include:
•Aesthetics (the meaning of form)
•Historical precedent (examples from the past)
•Principles of design (i.e., unity, harmony, hierarchy, spatial order)
•Function and social use (ergonomics, comfort, proxemics)
•Design processes (sketching, iterative overlays, model studies,
digital modeling,
•full-scale working prototypes, collage assemblies)
•Material (classification, characteristics, properties, availability, cost)
•Fabrication processes (hand, power, digital)
•Environmental design matters (sustainability, renewable materials,
off-gassing)
•Surrounding context (the spatial setting for furniture)
•Professional practice (economic, legal, and business decisions)

A goal in designing furniture is to consider all design aspects in a

comprehensive and integrated manner, while maintaining focus and
critical engagement upon the primary
concepts and ideas that inspire design.
Plan side and front views of chaise longue
(known as LC/4) designed by Charlotte
Perriand, Pierre Jeanneret,
and Charles-Édouard Jeanneret (Le Corbusier)
(1928–1929).

Originally manufactured in chrome-plated

steel, fabric, and
leather by Thonet Frères, Paris, then by
Cassina, Italy since 1965.

22¼ inches wide; 63 inches deep; 28¾ high

(56.5 cm
wide; 60 cm deep; 73 cm high).
HISTORY OF FURNITURE DESIGN:
At the dawn of human civilisation, when the concept of furniture was not yet known, man, driven only by the need to make life easier, in a natural way used
various objects made spontaneously by nature.

A trunk of a tree felled by the wind or rock
served as a place to sit, a flat stone block
served as a base for performing a variety of
common work, and soft moss or woollen
skins served as a bed.
Stone shaped by nature as one of the first
objects that functioned as a piece of
furniture

Generally, the remaining furniture

constructions from the first dynasty of
ancient Egypt are accepted as the
beginning of the history of furniture
(the years around 3100–2890 B.C.).
Meanwhile, there is much evidence to
suggest that furniture was
manufactured and used by humans in
the late Palaeolithic and early Neolithic
period.

Furniture design has been a part of the human experience since the
beginning of history. Evidence of furniture survives from as far back as
the Neolithic Period in the form of paintings, wall Murals discovered at
Pompeii, in sculpture and examples have also been excavated in Egyptian
Pyramids and found in tombs in Ghiordes (modern day Turkey).
However evidences, indicate that in steppe and
permafrost terrains, stone, metal and animal bones,
especially mammoth bones, were also used.
 Palaeolithic Era not only made tools that were necessary to
The building type, for both residential ground buildings and acquire food and its processing, but also made usable
half dugouts, was characterised by unprecedented objects, including furniture.
soundness and stability.
Due to a lack of wood, caused by the gradual disappearance
of trees in the periglacial steppe environment,
mammoth bones were used to build foundations, and also
the construction of walls and ceilings of structures.

The first houses built

almost only from
mammoth bones we know
from Moravia (e.g.
Milovice), as well as from
eastern Europe: from
Kostienki, approximately
18 thousand–17 thousand
years B.C. (Anosovka II  The use of furniture in the Neolithic Era is also shown by the
site, cultural layer Ia), and stone figurines of sleeping or seated figures of women
established 16 thousand–
14 thousand years ago in Mother Goddess from  Prehistoric designers, like modern designers, paid particular
the River Dnieper basin Çatal Hüyük, Turkey.
(sites— Mezhirich, Mezine, Venus figure from Neolithic Era approx. attention to a comprehensive approach to designing,
Gagarino approx. 6000–5500 B.C. meeting both the requirements concerning a satisfactory
Dobranichevka in Ukraine) 21000 B.C
appearance, as well as the necessary functions.
A excavated site dating from 3100-2500 BC in Skara Brae, Orkney uncovered a
range of stone furniture.
Due to a shortage of wood in Orkney, the people of Skara Brae were forced to
build with stone, a readily available material that could be turned into items for
use within the household.

 Each house was equipped with an extensive assortment of stone

furniture, ranging from cupboards, dressers and beds to shelves and
stone seats.
 The stone dresser was regarded as the most important as it
symbolically faced the entrance in each house and is therefore the
first item that was seen when entering a house.
Furniture Design History Timeline
 INFLUENCE ON BAUHAUS OF DESIGN History of Furniture focuses on two simple, sleek styles
from the early part of the 20th century known as Bauhaus,
or International Style, and its counterpart De Stijl (deh
STEEL).

The Bauhaus school was heavily influenced by Modernism. The

long list of teachers and students who graduated from the
school forged a new, abstract, spartan sensibility that went on
to influence generations and decades to come.
The movement's influence can still be felt, especially with the
return in popularity of Mid-Century Modern design.
In The Netherlands, a similar idea was brewing in a movement called De Stijl, or "the Style," founded in 1917, in which total abstraction and
a simplification to basic shapes and colors was promoted.
Walter Gropius
Walter Gropius was a German architect and
founder of Bauhaus. Along with Ludwig Mies van
der Rohe and Le Corbusier, he is widely regarded
as one of the pioneering masters of "modern"
architecture.
In 1908, Gropius found employment with the
firm of Peter Behrens, one of the first members
of the utilitarian school. His fellow employees at
this time included Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and
Dietrich Marcks.
 Art Nouveau Furniture
Art Nouveau was a decorative style that became popular in Europe and the United States between 1890 and 1910. It impacted, among
other things, architecture, illustration and graphic arts, jewelry and glass design, and furniture design. The term ''Art Nouveau'' is French,
meaning literally ''new art.''
Art Nouveau period appeared in Europe, the shape of furniture was simplified. Due to the use of natural wood and perfectly matched components, furniture
was considered to be products of exceptionally high quality.

Art Nouveau Chair, 1900.

Carved walnut,
upholstered in
embossed and stained
leather.
This dining chair was
shown at the Paris
Exhibition of 1900 by the
enrepreneur and art
dealer Siegfried (Samuel)
Bing. In 1895 Bing
founded a gallery in
Paris, which he called
'L'Art Nouveau', which
showed modern design.
Characteristic of this period was searching for new, cheap and technological products, especially two technologies hot-
curving wood and veneering, which exerted a significant influence on the development of design. The former was based
directly on methods developed by Michael Thonet, gradually improved, but essentially the same. The latter perfectly met
the requirements of Art Nouveau design, in practice providing the benefits of a twofold kind, cheap and aesthetically made
products

Display Case, 1900.

Art Nouveau Armchair, 1900. Oak, with metal and glass.
Carved walnut, stained green; The glass top showcase shows the
back and seat covered with spare, abstract motifs, based on
embroidered and painted natural forms, that were the
mauve satin with a fringe. hallmark of the style. Art Nouveau
furniture was often made in
This is by the cabinet-maker
tropical hardwoods, with very
Louis Majorelle, one of the delicate carving. On this display
most influential designers of the case, the same motifs have been
Art Nouveau movement. The carried out in a more substantial
design is carefully wrought to fashion on the oak stand, which
give the effect of flowing, would withstand heavy use in a
branch like forms. popular commercial gallery.
 Art Deco furniture
The original Art Deco furniture style was created and established in France and Austria around 1925 to about 1940.
The Art Deco style was inspired by the Art Nouveau and in contrast to the Bauhaus in Germany, since the material used
and its effect in the space had a significant role.