Design
Red Blue Chair
See how Gerrit Rietveld separated wooden lines, a seat and a back into one open chair—and why its famous red, blue and yellow arrived after the form.
Objects · people · ideas
Browse the Library
Discover the objects, people and ideas that shaped furniture, from historic pieces to modern designs.
151 entries
Page 6 of 7
Design
Robin Day 675 chair
The 675 chair’s wooden back does not stop where the arms begin. One broad plywood curve travels around the sitter, giving Robin Day’s compact chair a continuous gesture above its thin steel frame.
Design
Robin Day Hille polypropylene chairs
How Robin Day and Hille made a polypropylene shell work as everyday seating, from the 1963 introduction to the rolled edge, concealed fixings and later versions.
Design
Royal System
See how Poul Cadovius's 1948 Royal System moved storage off the floor and turned rails, hangers, shelves and cabinets into a revisable wall.
Design
Safari Chair
See how Kaare Klint's 1933 KK47000 Safari Chair turns knock-down joints, canvas and leather straps into a complete chair—and how to separate its design, maker and vintage-object histories.
Historic object
Samuel Gragg Side Chair 1980.496
Follow the continuous bent members, fitted slats and klismos profile that make Samuel Gragg’s Side Chair 1980.496 an astonishing experiment from about 1810.
Historic object
Schastey Patent Model 2008.639
See how George A. Schastey's ten-inch upholstered chair turned an adjustable reclining mechanism into a physical argument for US Patent 145,595.
Historic object
Shaker Sewing Table 66.10.18
Read one exact 1843 Shaker sewing table from its lipped worktop to its varied drawers and six recorded woods—and see how usefulness creates visual order.
Historic object
Side table 1991.87
Edward William Godwin’s walnut side table turns narrow rails, offset shelves and brass braces into an open composition. Explore an Aesthetic Movement design.
Historic object
Sofa 1999.396
A rosewood sofa associated with John Henry Belter joins elaborate carving to laminated construction. Read its silhouette alongside his 1858 furniture patent.
Design
Spanish Chair
See how Børge Mogensen's 1958 Spanish Chair turns broad oak arms, saddle-leather planes and exposed buckles into one readable structure.
Design
Stag C Range chests
A Stag C Range chest asks you to notice something that is missing: the usual row of knobs. Its recessed handgrips leave the drawers almost uninterrupted, giving a modest bedroom chest a surprisingly composed face.
Design
Stag Minstrel chests
The story behind Stag Minstrel chests: why ring handles, a shaped base and coordinated bedroom storage gave modern furniture a traditional accent.
Design
Stokke Tripp Trapp chair
Tripp Trapp looks unusual because it begins with the table rather than the chair. Peter Opsvik wanted a growing child to join the same surface as everyone else, with a seat and a little floor that could move to suit them.
Design
String shelving system
The history of String shelving, Kajsa and Nisse Strinning’s 1949 competition design, its open wire sides, adjustable storage and the separate later String Pocket.
Historic object
Tester bed (lit à la duchesse en impériale) 23.235a
Georges Jacob’s eighteenth-century tester bed separates its canopy from its frame. Explore ceiling suspension, collaborative making and replacement textiles.
Historic object
The Farnese Table 58.57a–d
Nearly four metres wide, the Farnese Table turns coloured stone into a statement of Renaissance power. Explore its alabaster panels, carved piers and attributions.
Person
Thomas Day
Thomas Day’s furniture leads into the history of a free Black cabinetmaker, his family’s legal restrictions and the enslaved people who worked in his business.
Design
Thonet B 9 nesting tables
A nest of B 9 tables is furniture waiting to spread out. Marcel Breuer’s four small surfaces can gather into one compact group, then separate to follow the people sitting around a room.
Design
Thonet Chair No. 14
See how Michael Thonet joined steam-bent beech, six wooden parts, simple hardware and compact shipping to turn one 1859 café chair into a global system.
Design
Timberline Floor Lamp
Read Mads Caprani’s Timberline Floor Lamp as a balance problem: a long laminated curve, distant pleated shade, discreet cable and anchoring iron base.
Design
Tolix Chair A
Tolix Chair A makes its industrial construction part of the view. Its shaped metal surfaces and open frame turn the practical business of sitting, moving and stacking into a recognisable outline.
Design
USM Haller storage system
A USM Haller sideboard is one arrangement of a larger idea. Behind the coloured panels is a repeated metal skeleton, developed from an architect and an engineer’s interest in buildings that could adapt.
Design
Valet Chair
See how Hans J. Wegner’s 1953 Valet Chair turns a hanger, trouser support, seat and pocket-sized compartment into one remarkably composed object.