Furniture
About
A general category for functional design objects used in living and working spaces. The history of furniture, which spans virtually all cultures and time periods, reveals a tremendous variety of functions and styles. In France, for example, resplendent 17th-century court furniture by craftsman such as André-Charles Boulle gave way to the stark simplicity and functionalism of 20th-century designs by the likes of Jean Prouvé and Charlotte Perriand. While the modern Western home and office are strongly associated with items such as the couch and the desk, traditional Japanese interiors almost entirely lack freestanding furniture. In the 20th century, furniture design was an integral part of the modernist artistic practice of icons such as Donald Judd and Isamu Noguchi.