Importance of Cultural Impact in Furniture Design; Examples of the Istanbul/Yenikoy-Oklahoma State/Stillwater

Abstract

Furniture, the necessity of human life, could be investigated in terms of historical social life, geographical regions, and technological developments. Furniture, named according to its purpose and place of use, has also been an indicator of the status and taste of consumers. Furniture has shown influences on developments in every field of society throughout history, merging with the concepts of production and consumption and carrying numerous innovations until today. In addition to social developments, furniture has been influenced by cultural impacts. Furniture is used in various places such as homes, restaurants, cafes, and gardens. In this study, wooden tables were selected within the scope of research and were limited to cafes and restaurants as the place of use. The preference for the sizes and shapes of tables changes according to users, design, and capacity of the spaces in Turkey, similar to the world in general. A total of 30 cafes and restaurants from the Turkey/Istanbul/Yenikoy region and the USA/Oklahoma State/Stillwater region were investigated in this study. The shapes, dimensions, table-top materials, foot material, and construction types of the tables in these places were the subject of investigation. It was observed that products with similar functions at a similar type of place have significant differences in terms of design and use of material depending on cultural factors in the case of selected tables. The results obtained in this study support the view that culture has a significant impact on furniture design. In a table sample with highly characteristic similar features and usage function, it was estimated that 33.4% of the samples differed significantly due to cultural impact.