Contemporary furniture designers are always looking to produce their sleek, simple lines with new materials. Polished metals and bright colours give a visually pleasing look to chic, simple rooms of a modern design.
When new materials such as steel were first used, they were considered shocking by some and pioneering by others. Combined with plastic, these new creations, first produced in the late 20th century, were completely different to anything used before.
Modern furniture designers moved away from dark, carved wood with patterned fabric to steel, molded plywood and plastics. They combined the relatively new disciplines of technology and art, using new materials and innovative methods. They used solid blocks of plain colour without any pattern or markings.
German art, Japanese simplicity and eastern philosophy were all cited as early influences on the first modern furniture designers such as Charles and Ray Eames, Eileen Gray and Lilly Reich. These contemporary furniture designers made mass production possible, bringing their modern designs to the masses.