Furniture behemoth Herman Miller owes its success to one man. 

Gilbert Rodhe was a cartoonist and department store illustrator before he began to design a new breed of furniture.  Herman Miller was gasping for breath, an almost casualty of the Great Depression.  Rohde convinced Herman Miller’s founder,  D. J. De Pree, that sectional furniture would resonate with Americans living in cramped, overcrowded homes. 

Rohde was right. Currently Herman Miller is one of the largest manufacturers of office furniture and owns the rights to produce many great American classics. 

Sectional sofas are common with my clients to this day.  Now, however, they are usually the answer to filling enormous rooms rather than their intended purpose of space economy. 

To my knowledge none of his groundbreaking designs are being manufactured.  Authentic pieces sell in the thousands.  Perhaps our current economic conditions will spur a revival.