Modern Office Furniture: What's The Difference?
Modern office furniture is a term that does refer to a specific style of office and home furniture. It does not refer to what year the particular piece of furniture was made. That's too easy. Modern office furniture takes a little practice to recognize, but once you do, they just seemingly crawl out of the woodwork and surround your world.
The Characteristics
Modern office furniture tends to be from man-made materials into sleek and subtle designs that are both useable and comfortable. Think "the bridge of the starship Enterprise" from the classic TV show, Star Trek. You know how Chippendale desks and chairs usually have all kinds of swirls and knobs and carved decorations? There's none of that with modern office furniture.
Materials used in modern office furniture include plastics, man-made leather, polyester, chrome, steel, molded plywood and vinyl. This tends to mean materials for making them are easier to get, so they often don't cost anywhere near all-leather or all-wooden office furniture pieces. In the case of fake leather, making it produces less pollution than making real leather.
Why Bother?
It is thought that the development of modern office furniture was a rebellion against the affluent, over-decorated styles that preceded it. The first modern office furniture and home furniture was thought to be made in the late 1800's. A new emphasis wasn't on how ornate or lush a desk or a chair could be, but that it worked as a chair.
Before modern office furniture, your eyes could get overwhelmed when you walked into an office. You met with incredibly detailed carvings, multi-patterned fabrics and usually darker colors. After a while, all this decoration becomes monotonous. At least, it did for those in the late 1800's. Emphasis then shifted to minimalist designs in office furniture that still could be used in office furniture. Some people find this easier on the eyes.
And modern office furniture is usually a lot easier to clean than many other styles of office furniture. Since modern office furniture is produced from man-made materials, they are often a lot tougher, more forgiving of chemicals and more water resistant than real leather, silk or all-wood.
Modern office furniture is not for everyone's business tastes, but it is a more cost efficient and pragmatic style of office decoration. You might even subliminally convey a message to your clients that you concentrate on spending more money on actual work for them than for decorating your office.
