Grand Rapids Modern

The January Midwestern furniture displays had the new look. In mahogany-bound Grand Rapids, Mich., strongest citadel of period-piecing in the U.S., last week's displays by old-line manufacturers showed that over half of them had added handsome, well-designed modern to their quality period products. It was the same kind of story at Chicago's winter furniture exhibitions, showcases of a large part of the rest of the U.S. furniture industry.

The 74-year-old Widdicomb Furniture Co. had been the first big Grand Rapids producer to go completely contemporary. In 1942 it hired star Manhattan Designer Terence Harold Robsjohn-Gibbings to match the best Queen Anne and Louis Quatorze with sleek modern. By this year most other companies had gotten into the act, were turning out their own handsome lines in native American woods. An outspoken critic (Goodbye, Mr. Chippendale) of both fake antique and engine-room modern, Robsjohn-Gibbings sounded off for Grand Rapids modern last week. Said he: "People aren't fools. In general, the public taste is right and we must realize that modern furniture must be designed on the public's terms."

Among the items that Grand Rapids figured the public was ready to bid for right away: cork-topped dining-room tables, streamlined rockers, foam-rubber easy chairs, spreading couches and coffee tables slung low enough to fit under modern picture-windows (see cut).

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.