The furniture design is something we view every day though not always pay attention to. It has to be said that the furniture fashion has probably emerged once people started needing the chair to sit on and the bed to sleep in, though constructed shelters from prehistory have survived only where they were made from durable materials (Pile, p.13). However, the prehistoric prior needs cannot be merely compared to the fashion style we see nowadays and to the ones that surprised sophisticated viewers at the beginning of the twentieth century. Indeed, the interior design was truly amazing during the periods of kings and queens; moreover, was it marvelous in 1900’s. A perfect example and proof of the originality of interior masterpiece of 1900’s can serve The Hill House Chair by Charles Rennie Mackintosh of 1902-1903 designed for the publisher W.W. Blackie.
The Hill House Chair was not designed to sit on originally. The designer put much effort to its creations and to passing the message that the in and around space of furniture piece is as important as the upholstery it wears. Of course, this specific piece of interior design makes you think it is totally impossible to make yourself comfortable on it, however, it still stands in the bedroom of the Hill House in Helensburgh.
The first impression from the Hill House Chair by Charles Rennie Mackintosh you get to contemplate is that it resembles a ladder. The sleek ladder is an embodiment of the designer’s peculiarity that pushed this furniture piece to extreme geometric structure forms. The seat is upholstered in pink silk velvet that makes it look not only extraordinary within the contemporary interior design but also rich and fashioned to the utmost.
The sturdy design of the chair must be mentioned here. There is no doubt the furniture piece represents the rough times when it was created – the beginning of the twentieth century. The author – inspired by the historical period he lived in – created a wonderful dining chair with square cutouts. This makes you recall the designers’ distinguished feature that is held in every furniture masterpiece created – the geometry of Mackintosh designs.
It is considered that the Hill House Chair by Charles Rennie Mackintosh embodies the “Spook School” art ideas. The ‘Spook School’ was a name made out by press in 1894 for the MacDonald sisters and Charles Mackintosh quartet. The significant thing about the four – who developed their own style in interior design and furniture creation in particular – was the elongated and sinuous shapes that can be explicitly notices in the piece of art under consideration – the Hill House Chair. Of course, the chair might resemble whatever the viewer’s imagination is up to, however, according to historians the graphic design of the Hill House Chair is bound to the fabled and mythic themes.
Also, it is impossible not to touch upon the theme of gothic principles embodied in the Hill House Chair. Evidently it can be considered that the chair represents the modern version of the gothic furniture since Mackintosh was bound to the Art Nouveau which was supposed to be a continuation of the Gothic Revival and Arts and Crafts movements. Charles Mackintosh was a talented designer, architect, and a painter who used to express his extraordinary design skills in the furniture pieces. Namely, he became a widely known designer for the ability to interpret the Art Nouveau innovatively.
Of course we have to remember that furniture is an important part of our contemporary dwelling, so it was hundred years ago, though the Hill House Chair wasn’t created at first for usage. However, the entire era of the twentieth century amazes with its variety in art, architecture, paintings, and design. It has to be notices that the beginning of the twentieth century when Hill House Chair was designed is significant for the innovative technologies that the designers used to implement. Nevertheless it is always taken into consideration that furniture is not only the thing to observe, also: … furniture serves a practical function as well as an aesthetic one, so that furniture design is a complex art of compromise between use and beauty and of searching for solutions that satisfy both demands at once (Abercombie, p.71)
The Modern World design is significantly beautiful and stunning, though confusing sometimes. You get a whole new perception of the interior design theory when see such works like the Hill House Chair because the impressions are formed by the authors’ insight’s implementation. The beginning of the twentieth century presents new materials such as tubular steel, chromium-plating, stainless steel, nylon, polyurethane, and foam rubber (Baker, p.8). Evidently, Charles Mackintosh made a great job in reforming the view of his admirers on the modern interior design since the future today is not only the exhibition piece but also a way to comfort the life conditions. In a word, the furniture around us influences our life: each human has unique innate capacity to gather sensual information (McGowan, p.3) so the important thing is to stay sophisticated and practical as the history of design of Modern Period advises.
Works Cited
Baker, Fiona., Baker, Keith. C20th Furniture. London, Carlton Publishing Group. 2003. Print.
McGowan, Maryrose., Kruse, Kelsey. Interior Graphic Standards. Hoboken, New Jersey. John Wiley & Sons. Inc. 2004. Print
Pile, John. A History of Interior Design. 2 edition. Hoboken, New Jersey. John Wiley & Sons. Inc. 2004. Print
Abercrombie, Stanley. A Philosophy of Interior Design. NY: New York. Harper & Row. 1990. Print.