Office furniture has certainly changed since the 1950s, 60s and 70s. In the 1950s Steelcase office furniture designed with lever moldings and tops was all the rage. These round cornered pressed and welded office desks found themselves used in everything from gov’t offices to the executive suite. 1960s office structure saw a return to the use of wood as quality replicas of period furniture were created. Plywood and particle board were covered with quality hardwood veneers. Walnut cherry and oak were the main design elements.
1970s office furniture became a conglomeration of all that came before. Here we saw steel drawers with wood veneer table tops fastened to them. Most of the furniture from this time looks as if someone set a luan closet door onto a pair of short filing cabinets. In fact many people when creating an office environment during the 1970s did exactly that. Today we see all of the past materials as well as space age plastics being incorporated into office furniture for business and the home. Indeed modern plastics are used in the construction of both chair seating and chair structural elements. The overall quality construction of modern office furniture seems to have returned to the 1950s status. The difference being that today form manages to keep pace with function.