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Contemporary furniture is never described as homogeneous or boring, but rather as eye-catching, captivating and thought-provoking. An intriguing combination of bold, adventurous designs, geometric shapes, thick leather upholstery and vibrant color palettes has brought us some of the most iconic furniture of the 20th century.
A particularly prolific designer, often credited with founding the origins of contemporary furniture, was George Nelson. He consistently worked exceptionally well with vibrant colors and extravagant shapes. Always seemingly very derogatory of himself, he viewed his design career as “lucky” to be in the right place at the right time. Thankfully, despite his humble nature, he designed and oversaw creative masterpieces like the Marshmallow Sofa, the Coconut Chair and the famous Ball Clock, just to name a few of the iconic furniture pieces he was responsible for. There is still an ongoing debate as to whether it was Nelson or his co-designer Irving Harper who was truly the mastermind and creative contemporary furniture genius ultimately deserving of the credit for these iconic pieces of furniture.
It wasn’t just contemporary furniture that turned heads, but also some stunning accessories. In 1948, some eight years before the Marshmallow creation, an unforgettable classic was conceived from George Nelson’s studio; the quirky and kaleidoscopic ball clock. This multicolored clock was made of metal but had twelve lacquered wooden balls, one for each number. Various colors were available, and today there are even more choices. Vitra, the only company licensed to sell the original watch design, still produces them as per the letter but has incorporated a quality quartz movement.
The Graham Nelson studio’s signature iconic piece of furniture is undoubtedly the playful Marshmallow Sofa, designed in 1956. This contemporary furniture masterpiece consisted of eighteen circular pads covered in leather, vinyl or fabric, usually in a single color but occasionally with a contrasting mix. The evenly spaced ‘floating’ cushions formed the backrest, with the actual seat of the sofa and frame being a simple steel construction with rubber feet. This three-dimensional pattern went down in design history as one of the most extraordinary and eccentric iconic pieces of furniture. People loved it or hated it, but either way it was a big talking point and had a huge impact on the contemporary furniture world. With a smart six-cushion extender, two sofas could be joined together for a real statement, creating a fantastic longer version – the longer formation is perfect for the commercial world.
A modern authentic version, like a vintage original, can still be quite expensive. So if you can’t afford to have a George Nelson creation of your own, a reproduction version of this dynamic contemporary piece of furniture will work just as well.
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