In times past, a company's top brass was easily distinguished from the junior executives by the magnificent, mausoleum-like offices from which they operated.
The rooms were big, dark and forbidding. A massive mahogany desk usually dominated the setting, flanked by heavy cabinets and a row of stiff-backed, leather upholstered chairs. Bolts of leaden draperies successfully shut out most of the light and a bigger-than-life painting of the company's founder often glowered down over all.
Such offices were designed to fill visiting clients and the company's lesser officials with awe -- but more often the effect was merely depressing.
Then some of the more progressive furniture manufacturers began creating a new kind of interior for the executive office -- clean and modern, to match the exciting new buildings being designed for business and industry by men like Wright, Gropius and Le Corbusier.
The new interiors are simple and functional. The rooms are bathed in light, the furniture is a handsome combination of polished wood and chrome. The visitor comes away with the feeling that this executive and his firm are as up-to-date as tomorrow, know where they're going and will use the most modern methods to get there.
The pieces on these pages are by Herman Miller, leading manufacturer in the modern furniture field. The desk, still the center of attention in any office, has taken on a new L shape, partially surrounding the executive with a large working surface and storage section.
The simplest Miller desk retails for about $60; the executive can furnish an office with a complete L desk, matching storage cabinets, hand-screened draperies, cotton pile rug, several modern, upholstered chairs and a foam rubber couch for around $2,500.
Special fixtures like the natural cane screen front ($80), metal file basket ($50), and built-in circline fluorescent lamp ($85) are optional additions.
Special fixtures like the natural cane screen front ($80), metal file basket ($50), and built-in circline fluorescent lamp ($85) are optional additions.
Above and right, two versions of the L shaped desk. The basic desk top is available in a number of finishes (at prices ranging from $120 to $180) and can be combined with several different storage units ($226 to $354).
These office pieces are also ideally suited for the home. The desk, complete with tray, retails for $275; the typewriter stand, complete, is $217.
Miller also provides an inexpensive secretarial line with desks at around $60, typing tables slightly less. The desk's open front permits a better view of secretary's legs.
Above and right, two versions of the L shaped desk. The basic desk top is available in a number of finishes (at prices ranging from $120 to $180) and can be combined with several different storage units ($226 to $354).
