Trending in Interiors : Ribbed Furniture

Anyone with an interest in interiors will have noticed that ribbed furniture is making a big comeback right now. Inspired by Greek and Roman architecture, ribbed furniture had its last heyday in the mid 20th century. As we know, almost anything that can be branded mid-century modern is trending at the moment, particularly anything with a ribbed design. We have noticed a big upswing in online searches for ribbed furniture, as well as intense interest on social media. Anyone old enough to remember the 1950s or 60s must surely have fond memories of the iconic kitchen cabinet with its pull out worktop, reeded glass and ribbed cupboard doors. The height of style at the time, they were functional and mass produced. Well, ribbed furniture has moved on a lot since then.

Ribbed Furniture in History

Ribbed furniture, also known as reeded (sometimes even rippled), originally took its inspiration from ancient Greece and Rome, as we’ve said. Ribbing or reeding is a decorative feature, a series of vertical, convex mouldings. Used on ancient carved columns, it disguised horizontal joints and a less-than-perfect circle, as well as giving the illusion of extra height. Ribbing is the opposite of fluting (a series of vertical, concave mouldings). We see the influence of both in neoclassical design, with another upsurge during the Renaissance and a much more modernistic approach in the 20th century.

Not Only Furniture

It’s not just furniture that can be ribbed either. Coins can also be reeded. These days, this is to make counterfeiting more difficult and to identify different coins by touch alone. In 17th century England, however, it was common practice to scrape a small amount of silver off the edge of coins, thereby devaluing the currency. It was Isaac Newton, during his time as Warden of the Royal Mint, who introduced coins with a reeded edge to stop people skimming off the silver. Nothing to do with ribbed furniture but a fascinating fact nonetheless.

Ribbed Furniture in the Contemporary Home

At one time, reeded furniture would have been predominantly wood or glass. If you do a quick online search today though, you’ll find that today’s contemporary ribbed furniture encompasses almost anything with a series of raised vertical or horizontal lines. It includes stitched upholstery and vertical quilting on chairs, sofas and beds. Modern materials are combined with traditional wood and glass. Magnificent metallic leaf and ombré finishes, velvet, leather, marble and exotic woods have taken mid-century functionality to a new level of opulence. Gone are the post-war, plywood cabinets, to be replaced by exquisitely-crafted, quality materials. Check out our gallery of superb, luxury ribbed furniture. The perfect addition to any high end interior.

Reeded Furniture Gallery

Reeded Lighting

We have a whole range of gorgeous, luxury lighting to explore – far too much to include here. Maybe we’ll save that for its own post some time soon. If you can’t wait that long, set aside a little time to browse through our luxury chandeliers, ceiling lights, floor lamps, table lamps and wall lights. Not everything is reeded or fluted, obviously, but take a look at the close up shots to see each light in finer detail. If you have any questions at all – about ribbed furniture or anything else in our luxury furniture collections – just give us a call. We would be delighted to help.