Sam Chermayeff Extends Florence Knoll's 1961 Storage Classics

Sam Chermayeff has designed a new collection for Knoll that extends the design language of Florence Knoll's 1961 credenzas and desks into five new typologies: a bookcase, bar cabinet, console, side table and coffee table.

Florence Knoll's original low-profile pieces, with their steel profiles, flush cabinetry and marble tops, revolutionised office design when she designed them in 1961, consigning traditional filing cabinets and heavy bureaux to the past. Sixty-five years later, the 'Knoll Chermayeff Storage' collection moves those classics out of the executive suite and into the home, where they have increasingly been put to use over the last decades.

Chermayeff framed the project as a continuation of the designer's own logic. 'If Florence Knoll was still around, she would've responded to the current climate by reshaping her own system to fit domestic needs,' he says. 'Back then, people didn't put their socks in a Florence Knoll credenza, but she would've been like, "of course people do that now".'

The Berlin-based, American-born architect took an architectural approach to his debut collection for Knoll, pairing bold precision with finishes that allow personalisation. Florence Knoll's '2544' credenza drew on the minimalist principles of her former mentor Ludwig Mies van der Rohe.

A family connection

Chermayeff has a personal history with the brand. His father, Ivan Chermayeff, led Knoll's rebranding and graphic standards in the early 1990s with Tom Geismar, and also designed the MoMA logo. 'In my memory, there was a Florence Knoll credenza in my father's office,' Chermayeff says. 'I remember Massimo and Lella Vignelli also had one in their office/house. In both cases, I remember red things on top of them and flowers. My son will probably remember the toys in the new ones that we have.'

The adaptations are light. Tall open shelving and console tables with push-to-open drawers all clearly belong to the Florence Knoll lineage — an evolution, not a revolution, as the source describes it. Every piece is fully finished on all sides, with particular attention paid to silhouettes, so each can float and take centre stage in a room.

Materials and finishes

The side table is available in five veneers, ranging from Ebonized ash to Oxford walnut, as well as deep red, green and blue lacquers. The tabletop comes in seven types of marble, in either gloss or satin coatings. The bookcase is also available with clear glass shelves. The bar cabinet features a mirrored top half with a glass rack and is particularly striking, the source notes, in Dark Red Ultra.

'Florence Knoll was a genius in how she used materials,' says Chermayeff. 'I like to follow her way, and I think it's best when the top is lighter and the body is darker — but not too dark. In my mind, the most classic combination is chrome, maple veneer, and white marble. You get that feeling with many of the colours and light tops. But then there's black stone, which really has something and is lovely to live with.'

He credits the durability of the original system for the range of expressions the new collection supports. 'I love this system for being able to withstand a lot of different expressions,' he says. 'It's generous in that way, and even though I took it on a little walk, it's still Florence's thing.'

The 'Knoll Chermayeff Storage' collection will be available in the UK and EU in November 2026, marking the first full domestic rollout of the extended Florence Knoll system under the new typologies.