Florence Knoll Archives - Modern Classic

Form and Function and Floor Planning

Knoll-Style Lounge Chair in Charcoal Gray

Arranging furniture in any room is equally exciting as it is daunting.  While there are infinite possibilities when an empty room is your blank canvas, lack of planning can lead to endless furniture shuffling and that lingering question if there is a better way to have it arranged.

Although there is no magic formula or standard way to arrange your living room furniture, there are a few guidelines to consider:

–Pick a focal point for the room

This will serve as a reference point and everything will be arranged relative to the placement of the focal point you choose.  This can be anything with a significant presence in the room from a window to a sofa or even a piece of art.  It should be the obvious place the eye is immediately drawn to upon entering the room.

–Create a floor plan

You can either map out your floor plan on a blank sheet of paper though there are several apps that have been created for this very task as well as templates you can find online for furniture arrangement planning.  This will cut your time spent moving furniture down significantly.

-Form and Function

Using functional furniture enhances the potential for using a space in different ways.  This is especially important for smaller spaces where there is not room for much ornamentation.  Keep in mind that you should never have to sacrifice style for functional furniture… just look here for a few ideas where form and function work in harmony.

–Flow of Traffic

Just as important as where the furniture is placed is where the furniture is not placed to create a path that is easy navigate.  Direct traffic around the furniture, not through the middle of it and allow 36-48 inches for the obvious paths and about 24 inches for the smaller ones.

Let us know if you have any personal tips when it comes to arranging your home!  Either post it below, or stop by our showroom in Bellingham to also  see and experience the pieces we have to offer.

Our Saarinen-Style M70 Womb Chair 2.0

Charteuse Green Saarinen-Style M70 Womb Chair

The 1948 unveiling of Eero Saarinen’s iconic Womb Chair was a sign of changing times when ‘lounging’ was becoming socially acceptable, unlike in the decades prior. Saarinen’s organically curved Womb Chair was designed at the request of his dear friend, Florence Knoll, who asked for a chair designed to feel like a basket full of pillows and “something I can really curl up in.”  Saarinen achieved exactly this and more with a chair designed to create comfort, not solely by use of cushioning, but by the use of contours that create incredible comfort in any position.

Our Saarinen-Style M70 Womb Chair and Ottoman closely matches Saarinen’s original design but with upgraded materials available today that were not available in 1948.  We recently made some improvements to this chair, including adjusting the slope of the back to a more upright sitting position and with arms parallel to the floor, making it even more comfortable for both sitting and lounging.  Our wide variety of boucle fabric colors gives it a vibrancy that is matched by a level of durability to ensure years of  stylish comfort in any setting.  You can read all this and more in our Womb Chair Comparison Guide.

If you would like to see this chair in person, come visit us at our factory showroom in Bellingham!

The Humble Florence Knoll

Florence Knoll Style Lounge Chair

During the 20^th century, interior design was taking a new direction and breaking free of the previously stagnant norms.  Furniture innovations especially were emerging and flourishing.  It was an exciting time for everyone who was ready to welcome this fresh change brought on by the iconic designers of the time like Eero Saarinen and Harry Bertoia and Florence Knoll.

Always one to maintain a level-head though, Florence Knoll took a step back to view the bigger picture.  She could see there would be a need for furniture specifically designed to offset her colleagues’ organically-shaped and curved furniture designs.  She took it upon herself to design what she would later describe as the “the fill-in piece no one else wants to do.”  Perhaps she might have given herself more credit if Knoll knew her designs would become ageless modern classics.

Our Florence Knoll Lounge Chair Reproduction honors the same dimensions as the original model.  We have improved upon it by using a higher quality of materials that have become available in the years since the original design.  You can read all about these improvements in our Comparison Guide.

Come visit us at our Bellingham showroom where you can see everything we have to offer!