There are some designer furniture that shook the foundations of the art of interior design. Innovative, functional and ergonomic, those designs were once a revelation, now populate private homes, cafes and hotel rooms. However, unlike the mysterious inventor of the wheel who irreversibly got lost in the pages of history, the creators of iconic furniture are known to us and we can be grateful to them for these useful patterns. VISIONAPARTMENTS serviced apartments are created with great attention to detail by experienced designers who know that these iconic furniture will steal the show in any room they inhabit. Learn from the best and discover the timeless designer pieces which will fill your home with elegance and style.
The Egg Chair
The Egg was originally created by the Danish interior designer Arne Jacobsen for the lobby area of Radisson SAS hotel in Copenhagen in 1958. The idea behind it was to give the user some privacy in public spaces – hence it’s oval, enveloping shape. Now the iconic chair is being recreated everywhere, including McDonald’s as part of the stylish redesign of some of its restaurants. However, the original can be only bought at The Republic of Fritz Hansen for the considerable price of 5300 euros.
Plastic Eames Chairs
This ergonomic chair model, molded in one piece so that it adapts to the contours of the human body, is probably well-known to you. The creators behind it, Charles and Ray Eames, were American designers couple who made significant historical contributions to the development of modern furniture. The key element of their iconic chair is the backrest that smoothly merges into the seat – in the original version made from recyclable polyprophylene in vivid colors. It rests on a base that could be created from different materials – one of the most amazing models, the Eiffel Tower, is created from geometrical steel wire that creates a light, well-proportioned and resistant structure. In 1948, when the chair was first exposed to the general public during MoMA’s 1948 International Competition for Low-Cost Furniture Design, the idea to mass-produce low cost designer furniture which nevertheless had great quality, was innovative in itself. Today, Eames Plastic Chairs in different colors, with different bases are ubiquitous.
Eames-inspired chairs with Eiffel Tower base in VISIONAPARTMENTS at Militärstrasse in Zurich
Eileen Grey E1027 Table
In 1927, Eileen Grey has created a minimalist, steel table inspired by the recent works of Bauhaus. First designed as a night table, the table is held by the open ring at the base rather than by conventional 4 legs. Thanks to this innovative structure and adjustable height, it can be pushed under the bed and can fit around the foot of the bed. Interestingly enough, the creator could neither witness her table being mass-produced nor profit from it. It was only after her death in 1976 that the mass production of this timeless classic actually started and in 1980s the table has finally received its well-deserved media hype.
Eileen Grey E1027 Table spotted in VISIONAPARTMENTS Local Office in Warsaw
Arco Floor Lamp
Designed by Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni in 1962, this lamp was intended to be austere, geometrical and utterly functional. Even its marble, rectangular base that might seem decorative and, by the way, very in line with the recent marble trend, was chosen because of the characteristics of the material itself. The heavy curved steel angle iron of the lamp needed a counterweight. Concrete would take up too much space, so the designers decided to go for heavy and relatively cheap marble. The corners of the log are beveled so that they don’t bruise the user. Neither the hole is decorative – it makes it easier to lift the base. Since its creation in1962, the lamp has inspired numerous designers, including VISIONAPARTMENTS in-house architects that have used it in some of their designs.
Barcelona Chair-inspired sofa and Arco Floor Lamp in VISIONAPARTMENTS at Leonhardgasse in Vienna
Barcelona Chair
You have probably seen this chair thousand times without even realizing that we owe this elegant piece to Mies van der Rohe – one of major figures of Bauhaus. It took its name from the International Exposition of 1929 that took place in Barcelona. Van der Rohe designed it for the German Pavillon. The author claimed he was inspired by the “X” shapes of Egyptian and Roman folding chairs used by the aristocracy. First users of Barcelona chairs had royal blood indeed – the chairs were designed for the Spanish Royalty to oversee the opening ceremonies of the exhibition.
Saarinen Pedestal Table
When it was first created in 1956, the Eero Saarinen “Pedestal” table was described as neofuturistic. Today a dining room and kitchen staple can be bought in marble, granite, laminate and wood versions in the Knoll furniture shop. It also comes in different sizes – coffee table, side table or a dining table – all in universal, streamlined shapes.
Steel and glass Saarinen Pedestal-inspired table in VISIONAPARTMENTS at Gerechtigkeitsgasse in Zurich