Ever owned or seen one of those black leathery-vinyl chairs with the silver hoops that loops and is very hard to get out of, especially when you are pregnant? Those are the work of Alvar Aalto in 1936. Of course, it was the depression, so you wanted light and airy (read easy to assemble without expensive goods).

Ever seen what I think of as the 60s sofa in a chair? You know, two tufted squares of foam on a curvy x stand? Apparently that’s from the flapper era. Van der Rohe created the chair and ottoman in 1926. So I guess it wasn’t really “modern” then. It’s almost an antique now.

Remember those all of one piece plastic chairs which have arms that come up and a little half inch pad of vinyl cushion in the bottom? And the similarly shaped one piece plastic tables? That’s the work of Saarinen. Was it my destiny to be born in the era of uncomfortable and ugly furniture?

How about the square leather and metal chair? Also impossible to get out of pregnant? (We owned both of these chairs when I was pregnant. And got rid of them then too.) That was the work of Breuer.

Every school child of the 60s knows the Eames chair. It was the model for uncomfortable child seating at numerous tables. Yuck.

Anyway, I thought it was interesting that I know the work of many 20th century designers, even though I do not particularly care for their work or style.

Of course, I love Phyfe and even American Empire styling. So, I don’t think I’m going to love metal, vinyl, and plastic. I much prefer fabric and wood, even to leather. So, for my own place, I probably wouldn’t have leather unless it was on top of a table. However, since I share, I’ll probably eventually have leather furniture.