Contemporary furniture was a break away from previous designs in that it provided a more accessible form of quality design, with its unique styling and use of cheaper materials. Prior to the contemporary furniture movement, items tended to be sought for their grandeur and as a result of this, furniture was crafted to such extremes that the more desirable pieces were far beyond the reach of the average consumer.

With the advent of contemporary furniture came a new opportunity to bring beautifully designed, simple, yet functional pieces into the mainstream - although for original or iconic pieces, you can still expect to pay a fairly hefty sum. Fortunately, because there seems to be no end to the popularity of some of the earliest and most iconic pieces of contemporary furniture, it's easy to find amazing reproductions that are almost as good as the real thing.

Contemporary furniture broke away from the traditional form, shunning the historical influence that had been relied upon for so many years. Instead, designers looked to inject a feeling of freshness, creating items that were almost futuristic in their conception. The clean and simplistic lines of contemporary furniture were not the only things that changed. During the late 19th century and early 20th century the West were finally welcomed to trade with the Japanese, and the country's striking designs were embraced by famous contemporary designers such as Eileen Gray and Frank Lloyd Wright. Read More...