Modern Sofa

Sofas have been around for quite some time now. We have sofas made of leather and synthetic material and futon sofas. "Modern" is an adjective used to refer to furniture that was manufactured in the latter half of the twentieth century using contemporary styles.

The word modern is usually used to refer to the furnishings that were manufactured in the fifties and sixties in post-war America and Europe. Sometimes, modern furniture is nicknamed "mod" or spelled "modern" to distinguish this form of furniture from the other contemporary pieces of furniture. It was after the Second World War that families re-conceptualized their living areas and thus demanded mass production of comfortable and affordable furniture to match their new perspectives of life. This is how and why furniture designers defined the era of modern furniture with the introduction of pedestal tables, sleek sideboards, shiny stools instead of chairs, all together with the use of abstract light sources. Along with those changes, modern furniture changed the organization of informal living spaces with kidneys, oblongs, S's, ellipses and flares replacing the usual circles, squares and rectangles.

With the introduction of modern furniture, new synthetic building materials were used for making furniture like vinyl and tubular metal instead of wrought iron. Designers turned to vinyl instead of leather, used bright prints instead of dark brocades on the modern sofa and used acrylic and plywood instead of the usual hardwood. Monochromes like gray and black were highlighted by contrasting hues like ruby red, chartreuse and tangerine. With this new fabrication, designers could manufacture sturdy, nonsymmetrical and oversized furniture that helped redefine elegance as bright and open in place of the usual ornate ones. Modern furniture has indeed flaunted style, while at the same time complemented the new generations of families and their homes.