Dutch avant-garde architect Gerrit Rietveld (1888-1964) was a hands-on furniture designer and builder. He invented Ikea before Ikea did.

I made a set of Rietveld’s crate chairs and a crate table for our backyard. The crate chair is a nod to the Morris chair. It’s low slung, kind of like a beach chair (there’s also a taller version). While simple, the chair’s design shows an architect’s appreciation of how planes intersect and how to make those connections visually interesting. I’ve built reproductions of furniture designed both by architects and furniture makers. While I was building the chair I could tell that it was the product of someone who appreciated both good design and the practical details of furniture construction. It’s also more comfortable than it looks and the original had cushions which I might also make.
Associated with the DeStil movement, Rietveld’s furniture work ranges from the practical to the sculptural. He’s probably best known for the red/black chair.


Pro tip: learn even a modest amount of carpentry skills and you can have furniture by famous designers in your house for the price of the materials.
I agree. Such a useful skill to cultivate. Beautiful. Also, I like the blue, nice backdrop for future decor.
This is great. Enzo Mari’s Autoprogettazione is another good reference for affordable, easily home-built modernist furniture.
I think I might just have to order Autoprogettazione! Googled his work and really like Mari’s trestle table. Thanks for the tip!