The Return of Classic Modular Storage from George Nelson
Designer George Nelson believed properly designed modern furniture should be able to function anywhere. It’s a belief that influenced his modular storage solution called the Basic Cabinet Series, which was available from Herman Miller from 1946 until 1958.
We believe the Basic Cabinet Series is just as useful today as it was more than 60 years ago. That’s why we choose to bring it back.
Nelson, who said, “Design is a response to social change,” recognized the postwar period in the 1940s was bustling with change. He understood that Americans had become mobile and that they needed furniture to support the new American life style.
He went on to create the Basic Cabinet Series, which includes modular, easily movable furniture pieces that serve more than one purpose. The pieces save space, while providing lots of efficient storage.
The four chest-cabinet combinations adapt to a variety of configurations and rooms, including those for living, dining, sleeping, or working. And they look great together with the Nelson platform bench. Most of all, they’re beautiful and efficient, which makes for a good combination—then and now.
It’s funny to browse Nelson’s series of designs and see the straightforward basic cabinet alongside the fanciful marshmallow sofa. One thing the two do have in common (along with most of his other HM designs) is their reliance on very basic geometric shapes.
The exception is the Swag chair which actually makes some very interesting use of negative space in the seat/back cutout. I wonder where the “zap” of inspiration for that one came from. It definitely stands out from the rest of his pieces but still expresses Nelson’s affinity for distinctive, smooth lines.
Daisy McCarty