When it comes to glass tables, like the Barcelona Table, one recurrent worry has to do with security ad safety. The risk of breaking is a sign of warning, to consider tables of other materials and models. So, what is the best use we can do of our Barcelona Table? Is it safe for the family?

The Barcelona Table’s tempered glass

The Barcelona Table features a visual manifestation of Mies’ signature stylized cross form base made from hand-polished #304 stainless steel flat stock that is .6 inches (15mm) thick by 1.25 inches wide, taken from a single piece for additional durability.  The glass top is a solid piece of tempered glass 3/4″ thick with a polished 1/8″ beveled edge that is easy to clean, wipe only. The glass is held in place on the frame by 4 clear rubber bumpers that support it.
As we can see the Barcelona Table has a top of Tempered Glass. The Tempered glass, differently than standard glass cools very slowly in its process of manufacturing. This makes the tempered glass four times stronger than regular or standard glass. That makes the Barcelona Table a great alternative not only in beauty and design but in safety and relax for you and your family. 

Recently, the market of coffee tables, center tables, is being looking for more variety. The traditional combination of sofa, chairs, and coffee tables seems to be changing a little bit?. What does it mean to living rooms? And what happens to classic options, like the Barcelona Table? Let’s take a look.

The coffee table is a standard piece of furniture today in almost any American European home. But in spite of being considered today one of the most extended pieces of furniture, there is not a long account of the coffee table in history, until recent times. 

The first references to the coffee table in history have to do with English sources in the Victorian era, where they first recorded the use of the term coffee table;  just in a different sense, referring to a big size table just made for serve coffee. It’s believed that the Ottoman Empire furniture contributed to the adaptation of the concept coffee table, taking it from the traditional Ottoman. 

Nevertheless, through different cultures and times, ancient exotic furniture pieces like the Japanese or Hindu tables, can’t be considered as coffee table themselves, because they lied directly on the ground, without legs, for people sitting on the floor. So we are not talking about a table, properly.
Nevertheless, new options are being used to see some variety in the living room, beyond the concept of “table”. Let’s take a look at it.

Benches

A recent trend. It has the versatility of this kind of piece. Recently, people like to use it as a center table, or a “centerpiece”, that can bring you extra seats, some storage surface, or some space for coffee while you’re watching TV. The Barcelona Bench, by the way,  is a very good example of that versatility.

Ottomans

Nowadays, Ottomans are all over the place, though they’re not what they used to be. Now there are storage Ottomans, decorative Ottomans, relaxing Ottomans, Now there are many models, that are hard to recognize. Ottomans, which tend to be of a rounded shape, can work as a storage surface for some basic objects, Ottomans, nevertheless are more rigid, and its surface is not fully functional.  Ideal for people looking for a decorative object with certain properties as a table.

Other choices

Consider the Epoxy tables, that are growing fast in the preference of people. The use of antiques or solid objects, like a piece of stone of wood. Whatever is the furniture chosen. an appetite for different choices is there. 

But the classic option will always be there. A Barcelona Table will be beautiful, endurable, and persistent of time, with the permanency of classics. What will you choose?

Go to Manhattan Home Design and you will find the best classic, Mid Century Modern Style furniture models in the market, like the Barcelona Table and the Barcelona Ottoman.

Replace a chair is something strongly related to the quality of your furniture.

For Design Houses with original designs, the warranty of a Mid Century Modern piece is 10 years at least. Nevertheless, these pieces of furniture are very endurable and are build with the best materials, so they can last a lot more than that.

For the market of replicas, the average time of use is about 5–7 years (the time of warranty), but due to its great standard of quality they may last easily 10 years.

For a low cost store, the moment of replacement will be with security sooner than you expected. Low ends and poor materials will show its weakness at one year or less.

Your Barcelona Chair replica from Manhattan Home Design is a piece of furniture of great quality. True to the original design that is made with the purest full grain leather. That gives you the confidence in a piece endurable, beautiful, for many years.

Go to Manhattan Home Design for more information about Mid Century Modern and High Quality Designs, like the Barcelona Chair.

The stability of a design is something really characteristic of classic, permanent designs. Good design tends to be stable and it doesn’t change, or changes in very subtle ways. Think about the Barcelona Chair, designed in 1929, and still relevant in the world of interior design.
But good design is more than two words. Good design has to accomplish some criteria. 
A good design must be functional, to do something useful, with purpose. Good design builds something useful for someone.
But that is not enough. A good design must be efficient, too. It has to do something useful in a way that allows it to reach a larger number of people. It has to be sustainable. And at last, but not least important, a good design is always beautiful. This is something that must evolve naturally as a consequence of an efficient allocation of materials and resources, and its functional orientation.
Let’s take for example one of the most influential designs of all time: The iPhone. At least with XX years since its release in the market, the iPhone has an external face that has barely changed in all this time. Beyond the different sizes, the unique, simple silhouette of the iPhone always keeps its main focal points in its middle button on the front side; its cameras in the backside, and of course its advanced high technology screen. 
Something similar happens with the Barcelona Chair. Designed in 1929, it barely had significant changes with time. Originally conceived as a throne, due for the visit of Alphonso XIII at the International Exposition of Barcelona at that time, you can compare the Original version with the current model, and you will find out that some materials may have changed, but the concept is exactly the same. While leather in the original version was pigskin, one standard material of the time, now is pure full-grain leather. On the other side, the shape of the frame remains intact, made all the time with stainless steel. 
Even though there were some changes through time, the essential design of the Barcelona Chair remained unchanged. The “X” frame kept its shape and is still holding a set of hand-tufted leather cushions. With time, of course, both design houses and replica’s stores made significant progress on technics of tufting or in the conservation of leather, but in the end, you can tell that the designs remain the same. 
This is what happens when you work with quality. This is why you can trust in Manhattan Home Design for your collection of furniture. Their rendition of the Barcelona Chair has the highest commitment with quality and faithful to design. This commitment is the warranty of a great product and a rich experience. 

First of all, keep in mind that a living room is a place to meet people. So it always going to need seats available, so you need to maximize the number of people you want to seat, vs the functionality of the room. 

A couch, or sofa, is a standard focal point for a Living Room. It is used because is the piece of furniture that maximizes seat spaces and beauty in a single design.

Sometimes our spaces are too small to enter a sofa or couch, or the room layout it’s tricky and to place a sofa result in an inconvenience for the rest of the items in the living. For both cases there are alternatives.

The first one is to reduce one seat and go for a loveseat (like the Barcelona loveseat), combined with one or two chairs, depending on the spatial dimensions or the layout conditions. If conditions don’t even allow it, is good to get support with just chairs and a bench, depending on the case. A bench in the style of the Barcelona Bench is a good option to make seats available without overload your room.

The glass Tables are definitely elegant and modern. They can really create a stylish scene in your space due to its transparency. What are the rights and wrongs of a glass top table, like the Barcelona Table?. Let’s take a look.

Pros: Transparency

Of course, the transparency of glass has an appeal for unique, for sophisticated spaces. Glass makes a room clearer, brighter. But is not its only virtue. Its transparency allows it to show details and elements in your decor that a solid color object won’t let you. This way, a beautiful rug pattern, or even your wood floor will be visible. Transparency declutter your view, so you can enjoy a lighter space.

Pros: Easy to clean and maintain

Glass is completely solid, and don’t absorb anything, so clean its surface is easy. A moisturized cloth and a little amount of soap are enough.  Paper towels are a perfect tool since they absorb all the filth or grease in the surface. 

Cons: Safety.

Glass is not the best alternative for a house with children or pets, because of its risk of breaking. Even though there are alternatives like tempered glass that make it stronger, is not worthy to assume the risk for an accidental break. Additionally, it has to be treated always with care, to avoid any risk. 

Cons: Once damaged is irreparable

Nowadays glass is very endurable and strong, but it has its limits. If a section is broken or hit, there is no way to repair it and the whole piece is damaged. Other materials like wood can be maintained with more ease.

At a very competitive price and with dedicated customer service, you can be sure that you are making the right decision with your Barcelona Table at Manhattan Home Design.

Daybeds in 2020 are trending, and several publishers notice it. According to Better Home and Gardens, the versatility of pieces like the Barcelona Daybed makes it perfect for several spaces in your house, like the family room, living room, and even outdoors.

Besides, there are some advantages into the world of daybeds, to take in account:

Daybeds are family-friendly. Everyone is invited, and that includes pets. It’s the ideal solution for the one who wants extra comfort and cozynes outside the bedroom

They can be used as space solver, in large rooms

Nowadays, Daybeds are divided in traditional daybeds, with a 3 sides frame; or armless daybeds without the frame (they are called full daybeds, too). These Daybeds have the additional advantage of not blocking your view (whether a window or a TV).

The Barcelona Daybed is the archetype of a full daybed. Designed in 1930, it had at the time the same characteristics that you see now in the best daybeds in the market. The iconic bolster cushion, its clean-cut line design, and its sleeker silhouette make it the favorite of many generations. The Barcelona Daybed its the classic option, and you will find it in Manhattan Home Design.

Once in a while, there are occasional countdowns were experts and scholars pondering about the importance of the most significant pieces for an artistic movement. This the case here with the next Most Important pieces of Mid Century Modern, compiled by Gear Patrol. Let’s take a look at what are the pieces that create the image of what we see now as Mid Century Modern.

1. The Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman. Probably one of the most iconic designs in history, it became the archetypal image of comfort and relaxation after a hard day of work. Created by Charles and Ray Eames in 1956.
2. The Noguchi Table. Definitely one the most popular and sold pieces of furniture in history. Two pieces interrelated of wood, topped by a glass top, following the principles of biomorphism. Created by Isamu Noguchi in 1948.
3. Being used in the first televised debate of American Television is more than enough to put its name at the top. This chair was named PP501 “The Round One”, and then, just “The Chair”. That is a very clear indicator of the popularity of this item. It was created by Hans Wegner in  1948
4. The LC3 Grand Chair was one of the most revolutionary pieces of furniture at the time of releasing. Its metal tubular frame, supporting that massive cushions create a great balance of strength and comfort. Created by Charlotte Perriand in 1928.
5. The Nelson Bench, with its rustic simplicity, is one versatile piece that serves many purposes and it can be located almost in any place of your house. Few furniture pieces have that amount of functionality and simple but effective design. Created in 1946 by George Nelson.
6. The Eames Shell Chair is the image of what many consider authentic Mid Century Modern: Using experimental materials (fiber plastic); light; function over decore and clean-cut design. It has countless imitations. Created by Charles and Roy Eames in the 1950s.
7. The Knoll Sofa. One of the most influential designs in furniture. Take a look at the Knoll Sofa and you will find that a great part of all market now is clearly under the guide of this everlasting design. Created by Florence Knoll in 1954.
8. The Egg Chair is one of the most eye-catching designs ever made. With its unique silhouette, it invites you to sit and try it in irresistible ways. Created by Arne Jacobsen in 1958.
9. The Pedestal Table or Tulip Table brings the futuristic look to Mid Century Modern. Taking the legs away as its creator wanted, created a world were legs weren’t that messier. 
10. And finally, the Barcelona Chair. One of the most beautiful designs ever made and one of the most iconic silhouettes of the last century. A modern throne. Created by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe in 1929.

Come to Manhattan Home Design, to know more about Mid Century Modern, classic furniture like the Barcelona Chair, and the great designers of all time.    

A floor lamp is an essential component of most living rooms you’ll come across. There are floor lamps of all kinds of styles, some designed to offer direct light and others specialized in enhancing ambient light. The Arco lamp by the Castiglioni brothers is a perfect example of a lamp that can surprisingly boost the usefulness of your work, recreation, or leisure space in your home or office. It’s a model specialized in offering direct light, with a uniquely elegant style. A living example of the Mid-Century Modern trend that quickly became part of their world-acclaimed immortal pieces.

Your compartments deserve a modern floor lamp, and one of the best ways you can give it to them is with this piece. It’s a creative design inspired by lamp posts of its time. Choosing the Arco lamp is not synonymous with investing an exorbitant amount of money since there’s the option of Manhattan Home Design: an Arco lamp replica with dimensions, functions, and aesthetic characteristics that emulate with great accuracy those of the original piece. Best of all, it’s a very versatile lamp, designed for various types of environments: living room, dining room, bedroom, study, and it can be easily moved from one compartment to another within the house.

The Arco lamp has very particular components such as marble and stainless steel that make it unique in its style. Give your modern décor the finishing touch with this MCM masterpiece.

The Barcelona Chair is still one of the most interesting designs in Mid Century Modern. Its popularity is still high, and is not only in design magazines, movies, or TV Series where you find it, like a standard of elegance and comfort but even in very trendy pop art manifestations, like Japanese mangas.

Right now, is the turn of the blog Gear Patrol, in their issue of September 2020, they published “The Most Important Mid Century Modern Pieces To Know”, a top ten that includes what they consider the greatest creations of this golden period of Interior Design. The Barcelona Chair is one of the selected designs, among other classic models like the Eames Lounge Chair, the Vassily Chair, or the Shell Chair.

Gear Patrol is a blog dedicated to men’s fashion and gear. They are constantly making reviews of products and articles about trends and style.

About the Barcelona Chair, the stated: “Designed to sit in a Spanish throneroom, the Barcelona chair is a seat fit for royalty”. And it’s true, considering that the Barcelona Chair was made literally for a monarch, King Alphonso XIII in Spain, for the International Exposition of Barcelona in 1928. 

In these times of change, only stores with vision and a commitment with quality can really bring you a satisfying experience with your favorite style. Trust in Manhattan Home Design to enjoy your experience with the Barcelona Chair and Mid Century Modern.