Furniture compare

Cassina

The continuously adjustable “relaxing machine” — Cassina’s signed Masters chaise that still defines the daybed lane nearly a century on.

Carl Hansen & Søn

Wegner’s 1949 Y-back for Carl Hansen — continuous since 1950, still the wood dining-chair default when the brief is Danish craft you can live with for decades.

USM

Fritz Haller and Paul Schärer’s 1965 ball-joint system as a residential mid-credenza — the modular storage default when the brief is Swiss steel that outlasts the rooms it sits in.

Herman Miller

The authorized lounge set that still earns its museum wall — specify Herman Miller or Vitra, pick Standard or Tall, and leave the knockoffs alone.

Knoll

Saarinen’s pedestal dining default — the authorized Knoll “slum of legs” fix that still defines the modern dining table.

ClassiCon

Eileen Gray's 1927 height-adjustable cantilever table is still the smartest small surface in a serious living room or bedroom; buy the licensed ClassiCon original and keep the load light.

Knoll

Schultz’s 1966 aluminum-and-mesh outdoor lounge — the modern patio sit opposite indoor Knoll icons, if you’ll live with covers, low seat height, and set-level cost.

Vitsœ

Rams’s 1960 aluminum-track kit of parts — the wall/rail modular shelving default opposite USM Haller cubes, if you’ll plan with Vitsœ and live with wall-dependent strength.

Herman Miller

Noguchi’s interlocking wood-and-glass sculpture — the organic coffee-table default opposite Florence Knoll’s Planning Unit rectangle, if you’ll pay icon money and live with glass care.

Cassina

Ponti’s 1957 ash-and-cane “beyond light” — the Italian ultra-light dining-chair default opposite Wishbone, if you’ll pay icon money per seat.

B&B Italia

Citterio’s inverted-L bed — steel frame, cold-shaped foam, projecting or flush sides — the empty beds-lane default when Camaleonda already owns the living room.

Fritz Hansen

Jacobsen’s 1958 cocoon — molded foam, swivel, tilt — the sculptural organic lounge default when Eames already owns the club chair.

Knoll

The Planning Unit coffee table — welded chrome and a slab of glass, wood, or marble — the architectural living-room default opposite Barcelona and Saarinen.

Knoll

Mies’s 1929 pavilion lounge — hand-welted cushions on a stamped Knoll frame — the architectural seating default when Eames already owns the club lounge.

B&B Italia

Bellini’s pixel sofa, reissued with a recyclable sandwich — specify it if the room can take the volume and the wait.

Knoll

Bertoia's 1952 wire barstool is still the most beautiful thing you can put at a kitchen island, but at roughly $2,000 to $3,000 a seat, bought three or four at a time, and needing a pad to sit on for long, it's a solid pick rather than an automatic one.