One of our favorite things about getting to write for the Swank Lighting blog is learning about all the great designers in the past and of today who have shaped the world of design. Though we’ve heard of the bigger names before, sometimes we get to come across someone new and get to learn right along with our readers! Warren Platner is today’s designer influence, and we bet even if you’ve never heard the name you’ve seen his work…
Though not as flashy as some of his design contemporaries in the Mid-Century, Platner’s designs have certainly made an impact, and many of his furniture pieces are still used today. Striking up an early partnership with famed furniture company Knoll, Platner’s designs are simple, understated and incredibly recognizable.
Platner’s most well-known for his steel-wire furniture. Gentle shapes, like mushroom-esque stools and rounded arm chairs along with flat glass table tops all share the commonality of being placed on a single center cylinder base. Like the
Harry Bertoia diamond chair, Platner’s pieces don’t take up much visual weight—air flows through the thin steel frame and makes these metal furniture pieces seem as light as a feather. There’s something unfinished—industrial about them, but also sort of secretive. It’s like you’re getting to peer into the inside structure of a piece of furniture, and we love it.
Born in the lovely city of Baltimore in 1919, Platner enjoyed a prestigious schooling experience, first studying architecture at Cornell University and then, after graduating in the year 1941, going to work for such design luminaries as Eero Saarinen and I.M. Pei. To say he wasn’t influenced by these great designers would be false, but Platner more than held his own when he opened his own design office in 1967. Filled with talent and at a time when the country craved new, fresh modern designs, his office quickly became an important fixture, also dabbling in not only furniture but lighting, textiles, and interiors.
Though he might not be as recognizable as other designers of that era, and maybe he doesn’t have the most varied furniture portfolio, you can’t deny his great steel-frame furniture pieces are iconic—and good-looking to boot. Warren Platner’s furniture is still available today through
Design Within Reach.
Though not as flashy as some of his design contemporaries in the Mid-Century, Platner’s designs have certainly made an impact, and many of his furniture pieces are still used today. Striking up an early partnership with famed furniture company Knoll, Platner’s designs are simple, understated and incredibly recognizable.
Platner’s most well-known for his steel-wire furniture. Gentle shapes, like mushroom-esque stools and rounded arm chairs along with flat glass table tops all share the commonality of being placed on a single center cylinder base. Like the Harry Bertoia diamond chair, Platner’s pieces don’t take up much visual weight—air flows through the thin steel frame and makes these metal furniture pieces seem as light as a feather. There’s something unfinished—industrial about them, but also sort of secretive. It’s like you’re getting to peer into the inside structure of a piece of furniture, and we love it.
Born in the lovely city of Baltimore in 1919, Platner enjoyed a prestigious schooling experience, first studying architecture at Cornell University and then, after graduating in the year 1941, going to work for such design luminaries as Eero Saarinen and I.M. Pei. To say he wasn’t influenced by these great designers would be false, but Platner more than held his own when he opened his own design office in 1967. Filled with talent and at a time when the country craved new, fresh modern designs, his office quickly became an important fixture, also dabbling in not only furniture but lighting, textiles, and interiors.
Though he might not be as recognizable as other designers of that era, and maybe he doesn’t have the most varied furniture portfolio, you can’t deny his great steel-frame furniture pieces are iconic—and good-looking to boot. Warren Platner’s furniture is still available today through Design Within Reach. 
