5 designer furniture pieces to give your home a unique touch

If you love interior design and are a design enthusiast, you’ll surely recognize the pieces we’ve selected for this article. Why? Because these five designer furniture pieces are essential for any home seeking personality and style. Although created decades ago, they remain unmatched. They are true icons that captivate us every time we see them. Today, you’ll also discover some interesting facts about their history. Take note: you’ll want them all!

Our selection of designer furniture

The Arc Lamp

It’s one of the most famous and, dare I say, one of the most copied. A Made in Italy creation: the Arco lamp by Achille Castiglioni. This master of industrial design had his own mantra that went something like, “Start from scratch. Listen to common sense. Know your resources and your goals.” Castiglioni, along with his brother Pier Giacomo Castiglioni, drew inspiration from streetlights to create this piece in 1958. A timeless lamp, it arose to solve the dilemma of how to have a pendant light without drilling into the ceiling. The base weighs 65 kilos and is completely safe.

The lamp is part of a trend that developed in the 1960s called Ready Made. This movement played with the concept of decontextualizing objects.

The Tolix chair

Designed in France over 80 years ago by Xavier Pauchard. This young man was born in a region known for its timber production, and his family worked in zinc processing. At the age of 27, Pauchard discovered a way to protect metals from oxidation using the galvanizing technique. This inspired him to manufacture metal outdoor furniture, and eventually, he founded his own company: Tolix. Everything he designed was a great success. Restaurants and cafes in Paris admired the lightness, strength, and functionality of his furniture. Finally, in 1934, Pauchard designed the Tolix chair for the first time, also known as the A-chair . Did you know that the Tolix chair was specifically designed for outdoor use? The three holes in the seat were for water drainage. The truth is, the chair has undergone several modifications. Initially, Parisian restaurateurs complained that the design didn’t allow them to stack them properly. But in the end, the new design triumphed and has become one of the best-selling chair models. A versatile piece of furniture that adds an industrial touch to any interior but also adapts to classic, rustic, or contemporary settings. Which Tolix chair model do you like best? We can’t decide which one we like best.

The Chesterfield sofa

Very few people know the origin of this design icon. Take a seat, because we’re about to tell you! It was the fourth Earl of Chesterfield , Philip Dormer Stanhope (1694-1773), incidentally a patron of Voltaire and a British statesman, who commissioned its design. The reason? To ensure his servants sat with the correct posture and didn’t wrinkle their uniforms. Anecdotes aside, over time it became an exclusive piece of furniture where the elite of London’s private clubs sat, clubs where only men were allowed. Perhaps that’s why its robust design with leather upholstery and buttons has always been associated with British culture. You’ll recognize it by its curved arms and button-tufted upholstery . Today, it’s a piece that transcends luxurious settings. That’s what makes this icon so great: it adapts to any style. Beauty, understated English elegance, and distinction . What more could you ask for?

A sofa that has also acted on the big screen, starring in memorable scenes of films such as The Prince and the Showgirl (1957) or in the series Billions (2016).

The Tria shelving unit

We all like order and this storage system, besides being tremendously functional, is elegant, timeless, has a refined design and is created with top quality materials . We’re talking about a shelving unit that originated in 1978 , when designers J M Massana and JM Tremoleda created this storage system for the Catalan firm ‘Mobles 114’ . What they didn’t know was that it would become a classic in Spanish industrial design. Tria, being a modular concept, can grow and be modified according to each person’s needs . No construction or complications required. We’ve seen this shelving unit in all kinds of rooms: from living rooms to children’s bedrooms, including kitchens, bathrooms, and even outdoors. And we love it everywhere! Do you feel the same way? Subsequently, a wide variety of accessories have been added, such as wardrobes, drawers, desks, magazine racks or shoe racks, always designed by JM Massana, JM Tremoleda and Eduard Juanola.

Barcelona Chair

We finished our list of favorites thinking about how to create a special corner at home. That led us to select this piece designed in 1928 by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and his partner Lilly Reich . It’s the Barcelona Chair, and it was created as furniture for one of the architect’s major works: the German Pavilion for the 1929 Barcelona World’s Fair . Its modern design is inspired by the folding chairs and X-shaped footrests of the Roman pharaohs. Years later, in 1950, Mies redesigned the chair using new materials. This icon quickly went into commercial production and in 1953, Mies gave the exclusive production license to Knoll, the current manufacturer of the Barcelona chair , which always follows the architect’s specifications. Balanced proportions, an elegant yet simple form, and a blend of traditional and modern materials . More than enough reasons for the Barcelona chair to be a globally recognized work of art.

At OAK, we love lists, and we’ve compiled more about iconic design pieces. Check out another of our articles to discover them. They’ve been in galleries and museums. Everyone’s talking about them, they’ve appeared in movies, entire articles have been dedicated to them. They never go out of style. Because they’re much more than just designer furniture: they’re icons that are essential for your home . Which one is your favorite?