Wood Castle Construction

The style of the average home has changed over the years. Large old farmhouses had huge front porches, which were an extension of the family living room. The porches were extremely large. Therefore, a lot of outdoor furniture was required. However, most of the furniture used was merely brought from inside. One piece of furniture was a fixture of most families outdoor furniture, that piece of furniture was a rocking chair. In the 18th century, the rocking chair was known as the American chair. The wooden rocker was also a lot more comfortable than the wrought iron furniture of the day.

You do not see nearly as many rocking chairs now as you did back then.

Another very popular piece of outdoor furniture was the porch swing. The porch swing was a relaxing piece of outdoor furniture on a hot summer evening. Remember, there were no air conditioners back in the 1800’s.

Wicker outdoor furniture was the next style of furniture that became popular in Victorian times. It was popular because it was fancier than the existing outdoor furniture. Plant stands and many different types of tables were added to the porches of American families. The Victorian style was the more the better. Many families had porches full of outdoor furniture.

In the South, many large homes had Verandas. The porch was larger to support the Veranda. These porches had a lot of large over sized furniture such as wicker or cotton upholstered outdoor furniture. Unfortunately, the weather in the South was not indicative to keeping cotton, upholstered furniture outside. Wrought iron furniture was a popular choice in this era as well. To alleviate the uncomfortable iron, cushions were used on chairs.

In the 1930’s, casual outdoor furniture began to appear. Handcrafted wrought iron, cast and tubular aluminum became popular years later. However, comfortable outdoor furniture was desirable to consumers. Lawn chairs became the rage along with straight back chairs as the urban centers became more populated and places to sit outdoors were much smaller in the city.

As the suburbs became a popular place for families, more outdoor furniture was required. This was where the real need for outdoor patio furniture began. People wanted to extend their entertaining outdoors and the need for outdoor furniture grew tremendously. This trend continues to grow today.

More high-tech materials are developed for the construction of outdoor patio furniture, as people want durability, ease of care and strength from their patio furniture. People are spending more and more time outdoors and extending their homes through the concept of outdoor kitchens and rooms. Entertaining at home has made it necessary to have a variety of types of outdoor furniture available. People own hot tubs, swimming pools and many more outdoor toys, which require specific outdoor furniture. As the people demand it, outdoor patio furniture will continue to evolve into stylish pieces they can use everyday.

It was Pecs, Hungary and the year was 1902. The world would receive one of the greatest architects and furniture designers of the 20th century Marcel Breuer. Breuer would grow into a man who’s imagination and natural talent for design would make him and icon. As an adult Breuer first began his studies in Vienna. He attended a university there because he had obtained a scholarship. But it was not to his liking and he made the decision to work in an architecture office. He would find his place eventually in Germany where he would study and teach at the Bauhaus School of Design. Here Breuer was encouraged to let his imagination run wild experimenting with the blend of industrial materials with fine art creations. Once Breuer completed his studies at Bauhaus he moved to Paris and worked there in yet another architecture office.

Art and Technology

A year passed and Brueuer was asked to return to Bauhaus to be the schools new Young Master, head of the Carpentry Workshop. Breuer had a passion for combining art and technology. The Breuer chair was in many eyes his masterpiece. The design is known to be inspired by the form of bicycle handlebars. This chair was named the Wassily chair named after the man it was designed for. The original chair frame was constructed from polished bent tubular steal. The seat of the chair could be made with various materials. Some of the materials used are canvas, different types of fabric, or leather.

Breuer began to use tubular steel to construct tables, stools and cupboards. He began to design houses of standardized metal and later of bamboo. For Breuer all if his designs were modern and innovative. In 1928 Breuer designed furniture and interiors for his own architectural practice in Berlin. The economy began to slump and eventually he was forced to close his business. He traveled for a while and upon his return he was employed at Harnischmacher House in Wiesbaden. After a couple of years he joined a team of architects and aided them in the design of the Doldertal Houses.

His passion for furniture would be revived in 1932. He was able to revisit his use of steel and aluminum in his furniture which he created for the Wohnbedarf Company. Breuer was eventually forced to emigrate to London because of the upcoming war. There he was once again designing architectural structures but he had the liberty to incorporate steel, glass, and other modern materials. When he was able to again dedicate his design talents to the construction of furniture pieces he began constructing plywood pieces.

The New York Era

Breuer eventually moved to New York where he once more opened an architectural practice. Between 1940 to 1950, he designed seventy private houses, including his own. He was also featured in a touring exhibition for the Museum of Modern Art. Later on, his designs would be featured by the Whitney Museum of American Art. Breuer would become one of the innovators of the modern art movement. His works displayed around the world for years to come.

Breuer’s chair designs have become more and more iconic pieces of modern art and not just simple furnishings. The styles and designs have remained prominent in the world of furniture and design today. Although some of the original materials that Breuer’s chairs consisted of where eventually changed for marketability, the designs remain the same.

Breuers chairs seem to the story about the fusion of technology and art. Many people today feel that his chairs tell the story of the Modernest Art Movement simply by their designs. Interior designers seemed to be drawn to because of their uniqueness. His chairs bring not only style to any decorum but a sense of history of that era and art. The also tell the story of Breuers’s life into a tangible real form. There are still some of Breuer’s original chairs are available but they are somewhat hard to find. But many newer furniture stores are creating replicas because it seems that his designs have returned to popularity.

Breuers talent will continue to inspire many artists in the coming years. As technology advances works of art will be inspired with the creation of man made materials they may have never been considered for use in furniture. Thanks to innovative thinking of Marcel Breuer many new artists can have a source of inspiration when it comes to fabricating designs that others may not think are possible. Marcel Breurer opened the doors of imagination to blend technology with the art of furniture design. It is a fact that can be confirmed just by taking the time to study and look at his fabulous chairs, which are truly works of art.

If you truly want a unique piece that will make your business, restaurant, bar or hotel stand out among others, a d?cor that will be a conversational piece as well, then Breuer chairs are what you want to find. Mind you they probably wont come cheap, but they will make your business unique and different.

Maybe Breurer is not really what you want, but by looking at his designs you will get a better idea of what will work for you, as far as your business d?cor goes. You can choose similar styles with a more artistic look, create a scrap book of creative pieces you might want to add to your d?cor. Remember you only need one or two designer items to give an area a truly unique look. You may even be able to find pieces that are knock off and give you the look you want. If you really want to add unique flavor to your business you should really consult with an expert interior designer, just so that you don’t overdo it, and only add just the right touch and nothing more.

When you are designing that great bar or lounge you want to set up, the last thing it should ever be is boring. After all, the reason anyone would want to hang out in your bar or lounge, whether its a public place or your private little hideaway just for friends, is because its a fun place to be. And besides serving drinks, not only do you want the people who come to the bar to be interesting and fun, every aspect of the place should be uplifting, interesting and inspire relaxation and friendship between the people gathering there.

Its easy enough to get some help to create an interesting interior design that involves the wallpaper, the ceiling fans, the paintings on the wall and other amusing things that you might keep around the bar to get the conversation flowing with your guests. But why would you want to stop looking for interesting and thought provoking interior decorating ideas at just those things? The truth is that even the bar chairs and other furniture can become as much a part of the fun and creativity of your bar life as any other part of your decorations.

You don’t have to look very far when you are researching chair designs to realize that the history of furniture design has had a rich legacy in the world of art. A visit to any fine art museum will be an eye opening experience because you can see that some of the truly great artists throughout history also expressed their creativity in furniture design. And the variety of designs that reflect the artistic ideas that dominated each period of art history also come out in the design of the chairs interior decorators liked to use in lounges and bars of their time.

Taking that tour of artistic history, particularly just before you start shopping for the furniture for your bar or lounge is an instructional step. By getting inspired how you can integrate wonderfully creative designs into your bar based on what has been done with furniture in lounges over history, that inspiration will make you want to do something interesting, unusual and maybe even artistic when you buy the furniture for patrons or guest to enjoy. In fact, one great way to approach not only the chair design but to fit what you buy in furniture for your bar to fit in perfectly is to go with a historic motif.

There are many furniture manufacturers who can provide you with period styles for your bar chairs that will help create an old time feel for your place. You can go with a french revolution style, an early American style that might create the feel of the TV show Cheers that is suggestive of a bar in Boston during the revolution. Or you can go with something very pop art or modernistic, even creating a futuristic feel like something out of 2001 A Space Odyssey. If you allow great eras and even pictures or movies of that era to inspire you, you won’t have to look very closely to notice how distinctive and artistic the chairs of each era is and get inspired to find great furniture for a great new bar or lounge.

This is not to say that artists of our era are not branching out into furniture design as well. So as you are browsing art sites for inspiration for great chair ideas for your bar, don’t overlook modern art sites as well. Of course, seeing all the wildly creative things there may not take you in that direction. But it can open your mind to what can be done. You might see anything from a full portrait painted on the structure of a chair, to chairs of such wild designs, one wonders how to go about even sitting on them.

But you don’t have to go with designs so bizarre that they dominate the room. There are other ways to make your chairs fun and creative and even give yourself lots of flexibility over time to make changes. Buying bar chairs that are meant to be covered means you can find new creative covers that can change the look of your lounge in a snap and for very little cost. And if the chairs are lush and large so you can add throw pillows and decorative blankets across the back, that would open up a world of colors and designs for you to play with anytime the look and feel of your lounge got a bit boring to you.

The materials you pick as the basic construction of your bar stools and chairs will have a big effect on the atmosphere in your place. Its really amazing to see how certain decors inspire your crowd to behave in different ways and may actually change what people drink and the kind of crowd you bring to your bar. For example, wood bar stools not only have a antique feel to them but they blend in with the wood of the bar and the room and create a quiet, reflective and cozy feel. This kind of decor very easily inspires romance so you may find your bar becoming the location of choice for young lovers, just because you made some sophisticated choices of decorating and furniture.

But don’t limit yourself to just what can be had in catalogs or on Internet furniture sites. You can be the source of some real creativity in what the bar chairs and furniture look like in your own place. If you have a flair for art and creating inspirational pieces, you can start with unfinished furniture and plan your bar furniture from the ground up. You can use your tour of museums and antique stores and even modern art sites on the internet for inspiration. And whether you just refinish the chairs to look elegant and warm or you go with some creative patterns and colors, the chairs in your place will be all about you and you will have lots of stories to tell when people get interested in the very unique things you have to show in your bar.

The important thing is that in every step of the way as you plan the motif, the layout and the furniture of your bar is to have fun with it. If you look at what you have lined up for the chairs for your customers and they leave you cold and uninspired, go back and start over because it if isn’t fun to you, it wont be fun for your guests or visitors to your bar. And by using that measure, the “is it fun to me” measure, the final decision you make for the furniture for your lounge will be just right and one you and your guests will be happy with for a lounge time to come.