In our modern age, furniture has become an indispensable part of our lives; it is an element which we have been using everyday from the moment that we are born into this world to the last breath. Was this the case in the very early ages of mankind? Did furniture exist in those days? Was it a crucial element in everyday life?

In this article, we will examine this very question and we will see how it prevails.

It is clear from the history that as people abandoned the nomadic life and started to settle down in towns, furniture started to being a necessity.

Throughout history, trends (materials used, designs and etc) in furniture have evolved alongside societies. The materials that they had access were also a matter of question alongside the advancement in technology. A crucial example of this is seen at the excavated furniture found in a village in Orkney, Scotland. According to historians, this is the oldest excavated furniture which dates back to 3100 BC. Yet, due to the shortage of wood in that area, the excavated furniture was made from stone.

The first surviving wood furniture dates back to the Pharaohs of Egypt to 2700 BC. It survived till today because of the dry weather and less humidity conditions of Egypt. It appears that during that time, hammer, spring driller, cutters, ax, adz and wooden lathe were used to produce the furniture.

From the above, it is clear that furniture has been around for at least 5,000 years.

In Anatolia, present day Turkey, the earliest surviving furniture was excavated in Gordion (Polatlı - Ankara), Turkey which dates back to 8th century BC. The elements include a table and inlaid serving stand. In ancient Greek at 2nd century BC, bed and steel chair were depicted in a sculpture which is a clear proof of existence of furniture. Roman Furniture also appears during 1st century BC in Pompeii.

In Europe, Greco-Roman tradition influenced the furniture style till the 19th century.

Furniture in Modern Age

Before the modernist design movement in the 19th century, furniture was designed to be complicated with no regard to functionality. It was intended for only design and aesthetic appeal. The amount of hours that went into producing it determined its value.

With the advancement in technology and industrial age of 19th century, more sophisticated methods of manufacturing furniture and new materials were developed. This enabled furniture style from being visually heavy to light in both weight and price.

During the first half of the 20th century, making furniture more functional and accessible became the core idea behind designing. Furthermore, idea of free thinking and practicality became the essence of many designs.

The first quarter of the 20th century was the real beginning of modernism in furniture that we see today. Art deco, De Stijl, Bauhaus, Wiener Werkstätte and Vienna Secession are important institutions of design during this era. During WWII, new materials were developed including laminated plywood, plastics, and fiberglass. Thus, 20th century was an era in which evolved out of combination of different influences and newly developed unique materials, as well as innovative way of mass manufacturing.

It was in this era that steel emerged as an important part of furniture component. Molded plywood and plastic were also used. The idea simply was to create style which balance between aesthetics and practicality. Furthermore, it had to be accessible so that many people would own it.

The Symbol of Modern Design: Barcelona Chair

It is the most famous chair of all time. It is probably the best known example of modern furniture known by its name by many. It was designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe for German pavilion in the Barcelona exhibition in 1929. The source of inspiration is believed to be the folding chairs that pharaohs of Egypt used. The rights were sold to Knoll Inc.
Modern will be the trend for some time in the future; modern furniture represents furniture that is portable, useful, durable, and practical which are the characteristics of what people in this present era are looking for and will be looking for in the next years to come. .

Furniture Developments in Turkey

Turkey has gone through a great deal of development in furniture industry since 1990s. In Turkey, furniture industry is one of few industries that produce the final product without importing any raw material from outside.

Because of its strategic location of Turkey and entrepreneurs skills of Turkish people, Turkey is set to be a hub of furniture in this region from the east to the west.

For the last four years, Turkish furniture designs have a direct influence of Italian designs.