Every space deserves a head-turning focal point, and for twentieth-century design aficionados, there are a few go-to pieces that do the trick every time.

These four modern furniture pieces have helped shape design culture and become symbolic of high design and classic taste. While they forego the ornamentation and hand-crafted qualities of the traditional pieces that came before them, they embody their own sense of history. Read on to learn more about each of these iconic pieces.

Panton “S” Chair

In development for nearly a decade before the public could buy it in 1967, Panton’s design was the first cantilevered chair to be made from a single piece of injection-moulded plastic. The chair has evolved through three decades of development in plastics technology.

Owing to its curvaceous shape, the chair played a supporting role in at least two sexy photo shoots, for a 1971 article, “How to undress in front of your husband,” and, later, a British Vogue cover shot of a nude Kate Moss posing on a Classic Red version of the chair.

Barcelona Chair

Mies and design partner Lilly Reich created the Barcelona chair for the German Pavilion at the International Exposition of 1927, in Barcelona, Spain. Mies set out to design “an important chair, a very elegant chair, and costly,” as he put it, and indeed his Barcelona chair became a status symbol — and still is.

However, though the design is seen as a “philosophical break from historicism and ornamentation, it’s kind of ironic that this icon of modernism, this icon of breaking away from the past, was inspired by a sort of folding chair used by ancient Romans,” says John Dunnigan, head of the furniture design department at the Rhode Island School of Design.

Also, the Barcelona chair is expensive to mass produce. While desirable, in terms of modern efficiency, Dunnigan says, “it’s not a sensible piece.”

Pictured is a Room & Board replica, made from the original specs of the licensed Knoll version.

Egg Chair

Designed in 1958 for the lobby and reception area of a Copenhagen hotel, the Egg chair continues to greet and comfort on-the-go travellers: The newly renovated 1950s-era Terminal 2 in San Francisco International Airport features bona fide Egg chairs, whose pod-like shape allows for a sense of privacy in a public space.

“It’s almost like a cocoon,” says Lynne McDaniel, co-owner of An Orange Moon, a home design store specializing in mid-century modern finds.

“The way the arms come up on the side, it kind of engulfs you and keeps out sound.”

Noguchi Coffee Table

With its sculptural wooden base and free-form glass top, the Noguchi table, introduced in 1948, “still seems unique and fresh and relevant,” says Michael Brotman, merchandise manager of Room & Board, which offers a licensed version of the table.

“It’s one of our bestselling accent pieces for as long as we can remember.” According to the retailer’s market research, young style-savvy buyers “save their money for pieces like this,” he adds.

Luckily, licensed Noguchi coffee tables are relatively affordable and widely available. Unluckily, this piece has become infamous as a symbol of interior design crazes that have become ubiquitous in design blogs.