Furnishings

Some architects are content to design buildings, and then leave the furnishing of them to their clients or professional decorators. Designers such as Thomas Sheraton published pattern books for the late 18^th century furniture trade that had a wide and long lasting influence in creating and documenting fashionable styles.

However, some architects also design furniture. Especially when developing a new style, architects are eager to create furnishings that conform to their concepts and complement their new ideas. Incompatible furniture and accessories can destroy the unity of an architect’s design, but the right furnishing can complete the overall concept.

Robert Adam was among the first architects to think of himself as a master designer, creating interiors that were an essential part of his clear vision of the ideal neo-classical environment. Two centuries later, modernist architects such as Mies van der Rohe and Le Corbusier created furniture that enhanced their own visions of a pure, uncluttered space.