Picture this: You are hoping to decorate your apartment or home with high-quality timeless furniture pieces from reputable names, but you don't want to re-decorate the same rooms over and over as trends change. You are design-minded and care about curating the perfect vibe, but you are far too efficient (and, let's face it, busy) to go through that process over and over again. Whatever you buy, you want it to be high-quality, stylish, and — here is the keyword — timeless.
In a world of ever-changing trends, the best couches, chairs and tables endure year after year. It's because they're well-made, crafted, comfortable and functional. If you're shopping for your living room or bedroom and looking for long-lasting furniture, something you know will never go out of style, Livingetc's round-up of the 12 best timeless furniture pieces has you covered.
Best timeless couches
Price: From $19,581
Coming off the back of the 1970s, B&B Italia's current take on the Camaleonda brings this famous sectional sofa design into the current era. It's high-end, organic, and oh-so Italian, reguarly appearing in the pages of the Livingetc and in the most stylish living rooms.
Price: $904.99
The tuxedo couch, or any upholstered sofa with curved arms that are the same height as the back, originated in New York's Tuxedo Park in the late 1920s. And though it's a classy design in any colorway, this deep navy velvet sofa from Jennifer Taylor Home ups the luxury ante.
Price: $3399 (88"Wx41"D)
The iconic Chesterfield sofa design dates back to Lord Philip Stanhope, the fourth Earl of Chesterfield, who longed for a leather sofa with a low seat and high back so his gentlemen could sit comfortably without ruining their suits. And while it's not leather, this upholstered version from Pottery Barn plays into the striking style quite nicely.
Best timeless chairs
Price: $5171.25
Though Charles and Ray Eames, the iconic husband and wife duo we have to thank for some of the best architecture and industrial design of the 1900s, debuted the Eames Lounger chair and ottoman back in 1956, both products are still sold and beloved today. Made of molded plywood and upholstered in leather, the chair is meant to feel inviting, even somewhat lived-in.
Price: $8436
Designed by Henrik Thor-Larsen in 1968, the famous Egg Chair has gone on to live tens of thousands of lives at design houses and retailers across the globe, The original is still in production, and currently 20% down at design emporium DWR.
Price: $6,100.50
If you recognized the Eames lounger, you will almost certainly recognize the Barcelona Chair from Mies van der Rohe, who famously popularized the phrase "less is more." A cornerstone of modern decor, anyone who displays a Barcelona chair is someone with impeccable taste and a finger on the (historical) pulse of the design world.
Best timeless tables
Price: $2495
Japanese-American sculptor Isamu Noguchi believed that "everything is sculpture" — so it's fitting that his famous wood and glass top coffee table looks like an art piece in and of itself. The curved lines are so playful and elegant, which is probably a reason you will find this table in sitting rooms to this day.
Price: $1760
With striking natural veining and a unique merlot red finish, these marble variations of the classic nesting coffee tables offer a luxe take on an everlasting interior design trend that has captivated the world for what is believed to be centuries.
Price: $3239
Easy enough to identify as either a design junkie or an average joe, the stunning tulip table, designed originally by Finnish architect Eero Saarinen, has been widely imitated since its original debut in 1956. When combined with the accompanying Tulip Chairs, the entire set was intended to reduce the visual chaos of tangled table and chair legs.
Best timeless beds
Price: $1723.50
A canopy bed is a tale as old as time ... literally. It's just such a regal option. There is a reason this style has endured from the days of medieval Europe, when lords would shut the curtains for warmth and privacy from their servants.
Price: $423
A tufted, upholstered headboard will never go out of style. The olive green colorway of this option from The Novogratz is a stunning and affordable investment piece for your bedroom.
Price: $3971.25
If mid-century modern were a material, it would be wood and cane. From Herman Miller, the iconic furniture producers who also had their hands in the Eames chair and the Noguchi table, this thin-edged bed with cane accents is the epitome of timeless decor.
What makes furniture timeless?
There are some styles that never go out of fashion, and look as fresh today as they did when they were created. Ironically, these tend to be mid-century pieces of furniture, whose name might include a timestamp but whose power to look contemporary lives on. 'The joy of most mid-century furniture is that it is clean-lined, and was created with a utilitarian mindset - or with functionality embedded into its reason for existence,' says Livingetc editor in chief Pip Rich. 'This is what makes a piece of furniture timeless - its ability to still be useful (perhaps because it's the most comfortable a chair can be, or the most practical a piece of storage can be) and to not create too much visual clutter.'
The other reason mid century furniture tends to be timeless is because of how customizable it is. The Egg chair can come in a variety of different fabrics, the Eames lounger can be in everything from leather to cowhide. These allow you to update the item occasionally without ever having to swap it out completely. A true test of timelessness.
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