Incredibly ubiquitous, modern style furniture allows us to sit, recline, lay, and simply enjoy our surroundings. Whether we use folding chairs at the beach or a rolling chair in the office, we use furniture everyday. In fact, it seems very nearly impossible not to use furniture during the day! Standing throughout the day can be difficult, even more so for some individuals who face health problems or disabilities. Thankfully, we have modern furniture to keep us off our feet when we need it and make our lives just a little bit simpler.
Here are some interesting facts about furniture that you probably don’t already know:
- The Inventor of the Office Chair. Many people and historians consider Charles Darwin to be the inventor of the modern day office chair. That’s correct — the man known as the father of evolution, widely credited for his theories on Natural Selection, invented the office chair. This is because he was the first person to place wheels on a chair, specifically an armchair, which he would use to move around his office and observe his specimens much more efficiently.
- The Committee Chairman. While this title, or one similar to it, may be admired by many people, who dream of one day holding the title, very few of them know where the term originated. Many years ago, only those who were considered to be very privileged were important enough to be allowed to sit in an armchair. During meetings, this person would be able to sit in a very comfortable chair, while everyone else was designated to the floor, benches, and stools.
- The Origins of the Living Room. Many people wonder why we call the main communal room in our house, “the living room.” Despite these ponderings, we continue to call it this — perhaps because it simply makes sense at its basest level. In 1691, an architectural manual was released by Charles Agustin d’Aviler. In this manual, he brought attention to the difference in average home rooms, particularly those that were more formal in nature, and those that were more commonly lived in. This gave rise to the living room as we are familiar with it, today.
Modern style furniture continues to follow traditions and ideas established by the people of our history. We still use office chairs that are similar to Charles Darwin’s creation. And we still hold titles of “Chairman,” and refer to it as our living room.
Today’s cool modern furniture, however, tends to be more simple than the ornate and decorative styles of the past. True contemporary furniture is generally designed with straight, simple, and clean lines, as well as simple and light fabrics. Modern home furniture tends to be less ornate, as people today enjoy a more minimalist feel. With such a long and vibrant history, today’s modern style furniture is truly unique and always makes our lives better