Back within the 1950s, life was simple and so was furnishings. Whether it was handcrafted in Missouri, machine-made in North Carolina or imported from Denmark, the lines were clean, the materials raw and the usage clear. A chair was just a chair.
Somewhere along the way, although, we got lost. Through the turbulent ’60s, the geometric, mod-filled ’70s, the excessive, Formica-driven ’80s and the confusing ’90s, most producers and furniture makers saw money in points wrapped in glitz. Even at TJ Maxx, Target and Crate & Barrel, Hollywood glam, silver, gold and sequins controlled the aisles.
But then 9/11, the green movement, a return to nature and a recession hit. Bling and luxury became pretentious.
Really, isn’t it impossible to catch up with the Joneses’ in an electric-powered car? When it comes to the home, we’re finally entering a decade where less is once again more. After years of extravagance, we’re seeing a return to the basics of life.
Nowhere is that more clear than at this year’s International Contemporary Furnishings Fair (ICFF), where a return to relaxation and simplicity is apparent in the products on display at America’s largest furniture show. Each year, the event sets the tone for the home objects you’ll soon see in a store nearby.
Hammocks, indoor and outdoor, were everywhere at the giant event, held this week at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. A table woven from one piece of metal, a desk with a hidden drawer that looks so easy a child could build it, a clock that tells you time in words, and a tiny eco-friendly steel fireplace that burns ethanol and can heat a small room — all of these echo a move away from furniture you must assemble or anything you bring within the house that seems complicated.
Even the names of the objects had been whittled down. “Snug” for a furniture line out of Charlotte, N.C. “Boite,” or box in French, for small rosewood boxes made by a recently graduated design student from Montreal. “Prost,” meaning simple in Serbian, for a bench created of steel with a mesh top. “Homework” for a desk created of glass, metal and wood. “Hammy” for a hammock that works inside the house. You could almost look at an object and guess its name.
One of the more interesting new pieces of furniture came from a designer in Germany. His girlfriend wanted a round bed, but the cost of a custom-made, fitted mattress was absurd, and impractical. Taking a cue from a rocking chair and four-poster bed, he built her a rocking bed, an actual bed frame shaped in a circle that rocks back and forth. Think of it as a giant cradle for adults. Designer Michael Kloker titled it "Private Cloud."
“What can be more easy than this?” asks Kloker, who’s from Stuttgart. “I’m not with that girl anymore, but I still have and love the bed.”
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