Moderne Home: Hardwood Veneer Furniture, 1920's & 1930's

Hardwood veneer was used to decorate moderne furniture of the twenties and thirties periods. English oak had been popular but there was a shortage of wood so veneer and decorated plywood was greatly used. Veneer involved glueing one thing layer of wood to a cheaper underlying material. Highly polished veneer panels could be made from cherry, birch, beech, chestnut, hickory, maple, oak, walnut, gum or poplar.

Elements that are easily identifiable in furniture pieces are elegant, geometrical designs and angular pieces. One only has to look at Art Deco architectural styles, such as the Chrysler Building or the Empire State Building in New York City, to admire this style's simplicity. Art Deco Dining Room Furniture: Love to know

Veneer furniture could be mass produced once synthetic glues were developed during the 1920's and 1930's. Veneer became the popular material choice for Bauhaus and Art Deco designers.

Light in weight and capable of being bent into elegant, curvilinear forms it has been in use in furniture making since the eighteenth century. Because it was so cheap, durable and easily accessible it became an important medium for experimentation by modernist designers from the 1920's onwards. The History of Plywood for the design and manufacture of Modern Furniture