When a clothing retailer copies a designer's work, it makes headlines in the fashion industry. In the interior design world, on the other hand? Well, we're getting there. Dezeen reports that UK copyright laws designed to prevent furniture dealers from manufacturing or importing knockoffs of some of the industry's most iconic designs — think: Ludwig Mies van der Rohe's Barcelona Chair and the Isamu Noguchi Coffee Table — are now coming into effect. In six months, dealers won't be able to sell them, either. If you're looking to buy the real thing – whether you're shopping at an auction house, a vintage shop, or an online dealer like 1stDibs or Chairish – shop smart. Michelle Jackson, a Furniture Design lecturer at Parsons School of Design in New York, recommends double-checking underneath the cushions and underside of frames to see if the original manufacturing label is still there. Then, consider what's important to you. If you're looking for the original upholstery of, say, an LC2 sofa, there should be patina when you touch or sit on it.
Perhaps you're in the market for a Prouvé Standard Chair, in which case a loss of enamel is indicative that the seat is worn. But by far the easiest way to see if your piece is an original, Jackson says, is to find the measurements of the original piece. "A lot of these pieces are quite small, so pay attention to scale. If proportions are clunky – say, the distance between the base and the chair just seems off – it's probably a knockoff." Take a look at some of the most duplicated designs of all time below: According to Herman Miller, furniture designer T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings commissioned Japanese-American sculptor Isamu Noguchi to create a coffee table while Noguchi was on a trip to Hawaii. Soon thereafter, Noguchi was held in a Japanese-American internment camp, and was surprised to see that Robsjohn-Gibbings introduced a model of the table he had designed for them into their product line. To spite Robsjohn-Gibbings, Noguchi created a variant of his original design – which became this highly-coveted coffee table.
Original Dimensions: 15.75" h. x 50" w. x 36" d. Popular Look-Alike: All World Furniture's Noguchi Table In the late 1950s, many designers were experimenting with bent tubular steel, but Arne Jacobsen chose to focus on creating a modernized upholstered armchair, according to Design Within Reach. Jacobsen was designing the SAS Royal Hotel in Copenhagen at the time, and created the biomorphic Egg chair for the lobby. Its rotating base allowed guests to swivel toward or away from conversations around them, while the shape of the chair is designed to conform to the curves of the body. Original Dimensions: 42.25" h. x 34" w. x 37.5" d. Popular Look-Alike: InStyle Modern's Arne Jacobsen Egg Chair According to Carl Hansen & Søn, the Wishbone Chair is inspired by portraits of Danish merchants sitting in Chinese Ming Dynasty chairs. The Y-shaped back provides support and stability to the top, which combines the rails and arms into one single piece.Original Dimensions: 29.5" h. x 21.75" w. x 20" d. Popular Look-Alike: Swivel UK's Wishbone Chair
A side table has never been so romantic. According to Design Within Reach, Irish architect-designer Eileen Gray bought a home with her partner, architect Jean Badovici, in the French Riveria. E1027 is a cipher for their initials: E is for Eileen, while the numbers 10, 2, and 7 are the alphabetical numbering of J, B, and G. The table is now featured in the MoMA's permanent collection. Original Dimensions: 24-40" h. x 20" d. Popular Look-Alike: Poly + Bark's Eileen Gray Side Table E 1027 According to Design Within Reach, the LC2 Sofa was designed as a modernist take on the club chair. Its most distinguishing feature is the external frame, which is meant to play off the typical sofa structure. Original Dimensions: 26.5" h. x 71" w. x 27.5" d. Popular Look-Alike: Overstock's Mason Black Leather Sofa Jean Prouvé's Standard Chair reflects the French designer's engineering background. Most chairs take stress on their back legs, but the hollow sections of steel tubing on the legs of the Standard Chair transfer the user's weight to the floor, rather than the chair itself, according to Vitra.
Original Dimensions: 32" h. x 16.5" w. x 20" d. Popular Look-Alike: Industry West's Prouvé Chair Ludwig Mies van der Rohe was chosen to design the German Pavilion for the 1929 International Exposition in Barcelona, and he envisioned the King and Queen of Spain resting in his chair, according to Knoll. While the Royal Family never actually sat in his chair, furniture specialists believe that Mies based the criss-cross pattern on the campaign chairs from Ancient Rome. Original Dimensions: 30.25" h. x 29.5" w. x 30" d. Popular Look-Alike: Modern Classics' Exhibition Chair Originally created for the Langelinie Pavillonen restaurant in Copenhagen, the Artichoke Lamp was designed to highlight the incandescent lightbulb, according to Louis Poulsen.Original Large Dimensions: 33" h. x 33" d. Popular Look-Alike: Hayneedle's Fine Mod Imports Artichoke Leaf Pendant Light According to Tolix, Xavier Pauchard was not a designer by trade, but one of the first manufacturers of galvanized household items in France.
In the late 1920s, he started to produce chairs, armchairs, stools, and other metal furniture – and his Model A Chair was hugely popular. Rustproof and stackable, it soon started to pop up in outdoor cafes, hospitals, offices, and parks everywhere. Original Dimensions: 33.5" h. x 17.5" w. x 20.25" d. Popular Look-Alike: Wholesale Living's Tolix Style Stackable Matte ChairNicoletti Darwin Italian Top Grain Leather Corner Sofa with Adjustable Seat Depth Nicoletti Lipari Taupe Italian Leather Sofa Chaise Agio North Hampton 5 Piece Woven Fire Chat Set + Cover Sign in to use My Wishlist Agio Kingsley 6 Piece Woven Deep Seating Set Agio Kingsley 5 Piece Woven Fire Chat Set + Cover Nicoletti Lipari Cream Italian Leather Sofa Chaise Nicoletti Lipari Grey Italian Leather Sofa Chaise Agio Fresno 5 Piece Woven Modular Set with Ottoman Akula Living Colonial 7 Piece Oval Dining Set Positano Italian Leather Corner Sofa, Brown Frank Hudson Provencale Super King Bedroom Collection in Grey Wood
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