What is a design classic?
Design classics have character, a high recognition value and outlast every trend. They look good, as a single piece in the room or as an ensemble. Classics make furnishing stylish and preserve living history. Design classics stand for level, which show their zeitgeist and yet are timelessly beautiful. Most classics are of high quality workmanship and durable. They are considered ecologically valuable by their very longevity. We can enjoy these furniture and accessories for a lifetime. If we do want or need to sell them: well-maintained products are valuable - their material value remains intact or even increases.
Furniture that made design history from 1859 onwards
One of the first design classics is the Thonet coffee house chair 214 by Michael Thonet made of bentwood, which were sold all over the world. The beginning of ergonomic seating is marked by the cantilever chairs. The tubular steel Thonet S 43 cantilever chair by Mart Stam and the Thonet S 32 cantilever chair by Marcel Breuer are among the best-known Bauhaus classics from the 1930s. The Knoll Barcelona Chair by Bauhaus director Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, which is still handcrafted today, also has cult status. In France, designer Jean Prouvé developed what is now modern industrial design (industrial design), connections of nature and technology through wood and steel, this category includes, for example, the Vitra Fauteuil Direction chair and the Vitra Compas Direction table.
Classics from 1950
Beautiful and infinitely comfortable, designers Charles and Ray Eames created the Lounge Chair in 1956, a cozy armchair in a wooden shell with an accompanying ottoman (stool) that is still manufactured by Vitra today. Also legendary are the Eames Plastic Chair - organically shaped plastic shells connected to a base made of wood or a steel structure. The first industrially manufactured chair made of plastic, which for ecological reasons Vitra company is now made of recyclable polypropylene. Wire Chair DKR made of wire frame was developed by Charles & Ray Eames in 1951 to save resources. At the end of the 1950s, a Dane made a name for himself, Arne Jacobsen, who to this day stands for classic Danish design. Jacobsen's works include the Swan Chair, the Egg Chair, the Ant Chair and the Series 7 chair, all produced by Fritz Hansen. Jacobsen furnished the SAS Hotel in Copenhagen (now Radisson Collection Hotel) and the chairs were intended to provide maximum privacy for guests.
Classics from 1960
In terms of plastic, Verner Panton followed suit in the 1960s, producing a legendary cantilever chair named after him. The Figura from 1984 by Italian designer Mario Bellini has made it into the Bundestag, and the Vitra HeadLine office swivel chair also supports the spine and adapts perfectly to the seated body. Among young designers Kontantin Grcic is always good for groundbreaking innovations, the height-adjustable desk Hack is an outstanding product for the home office or modern office furnishings, which can be folded in just a few simple steps. In the Vitra Citizen, you can swing instead of sit. When it comes to eccentricity, designer Philippe Starck's Masters, Ghost and Dr. No chairs are sure to delight. The award-winning Masters is easy to clean and stackable, so it can also be used in the garden or kitchen.
Designer lamps - light for living and working
In 1953, the Dane Poul Henningsen designed the lamp series PH for the manufacturer Louis Poulsen, the glare-free lighting was invented, the color rendering of the light was optimized. Cult status also have the Vitra Akari lamps from the 1950-ies, made by hand in Japan, which in the 1970-ies as a cheap copy "Japan lamp" was missing in any living room. The filigree table lamp Tolomeo made of aluminum by Michele de Lucchi and Giancarlo Fassina from 1987 conquered the living rooms and offices in numerous variations, also as a clamp lamp, and is now available with LED technology.
