Celebrating 70 Years of G Plan

This year, G Plan is celebrating its 70^th Anniversary! Although we can trace our roots back to 1898, when Ebeneezer Gomme started handcrafting ornate furniture sets in High Wycombe, G Plan as we know it now was formed in 1953.

G Plan has crafted some of the most iconic furniture throughout the 20^th and 21^st Centuries, becoming a prevalent household name. Let us take you on a journey from post-war Britain to present day, explaining our story and how we came to be one of the most renowned furniture manufacturers in the UK.

1950s

Let us begin in the 1950s, more specifically, 1953. Donald Gomme, the grandson of Ebenezer Gomme, launched the Gomme Plan – otherwise known as G Plan. Rationing was still taking place in the fallout of World War 2 and many people were still trying to rebuild their lives. However, a sense of optimism filled the air, with younger couples wanting to move drastically forward from pre-war life.

Much had already changed in the areas of furniture and interior design. Post-war furniture manufacturing mostly consisted of dark oak veneer, due to a Utility Scheme set up by the government. Many homes were badly damaged during World War 2, so building houses and a sense of home literally from the ground up was paramount. With the dawn of G Plan came a new, revolutionised furniture market. The way home interiors could be organised and displayed was reimagined. G Plan was the first furniture brand that allowed consumers to purchase individual pieces of furniture, as opposed to matching sets. Alongside this, G Plan trained its own sales teams, presenting G Plan ranges to independent retailers and promoting furniture through marketing and advertising campaigns.

Modern Furniture for a Modern Life

With G Plan came a flexibility that had never been experienced before. Consumers were able to purchase specific furniture items on Hire Purchase, a very popular way of financing goods and spreading the cost of items across a longer period. G Plan designs were also made available to purchase over an extended time frame, allowing consumers to save and buy furniture one piece at a time, or according to their budgets. The first range to be launched under G Plan was ‘Brandon’; a collection of sofas, armchairs, bedroom and dining room furniture. The Brandon range was crafted from light oak wood, paving the way for refreshing, bright and simplified furniture designs.

1960s

As we enter the 1960s, various G Plan showrooms had opened across the country, allowing consumers to see for themselves how G Plan furniture could be displayed in specific room sets. A flagship store, ‘The G Plan Gallery’, had even been opened in Hanover Square, London.

Donald Gomme retired in 1958, opening the door to a more Scandinavian-influenced G Plan furniture style. Danish designer Ib Kofod Larsen was commissioned by G Plan to produce an exclusively stylish furniture series, simply named G Plan Danish. This collection of furniture saw the introduction of beautifully coloured teak rosewood; it become hugely successfully and greatly admired by consumers, however it did come with a higher price tag.

To this day, Ib Kofod Larsen G Plan items are still highly sought after, due to their rarity and effortlessly stunning design. Pieces can be identified by an inscription of Ib Kofod Larsen’s signature and the words ‘G Plan Design’.

However, as we move into the latter end of the 60s, we see the introduction of the profound G Plan Fresco range. A brainchild of Victor Bramwell Wilkins, the Fresco collection includes large influences from Italian and Scandinavian design. Intended to be minimal and striking, Fresco furniture included modular units that could be stand-alone items, or positioned to create groups of shelving and cabinets, creating versatile pieces that could fit into any size of home.

With iconic sculpted handles and a distinctive teak wood finish, the G Plan Fresco range made massive waves in the furniture market. The most sought-after items to this day include the Fresco nest of tables, coffee tables and sideboards.

Image: Pavement Vintage

A Hollywood Icon

An absolute icon that came from 1960s G Plan furniture design was the 6250. Known as ‘The world’s most comfortable chair’, the 6250 was a leather swivel chair that offered unquestionable comfort and classic G Plan style. It even had its 5 seconds of fame, when it made an appearance in the 1967 James Bond film ‘You Only Live Twice’. Do we think the 6250 deserves its own Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame? Absolutely!

1970s & 1980s

G Plan furniture featured very heavily throughout households during the latter end of the 20^th Century. In 1987, the Gomme family retired from G Plan, leaving behind a rich legacy of furniture design and manufacture.

A new board of directors took over, continuing to grow G Plan based on the brands core values: style, comfort and quality. The 70s and 80s began to see furniture design become heavily influenced by pop culture, music and fashion, leading to bolder and brighter printed fabrics and grander styles.

A shabby chic aesthetic flooded the 1980s G Plan furniture market, seeing the arrival of a more lived-in, homely look, whilst staying true to the classic teak wood finish that had become iconic within the brand.

1990 & 2000s

During the 1990s, G Plan began to move away from traditional furniture making and focused more on the upholstery craft. Still renowned by generations for its well-built, high quality manufacturing processes, wooden G Plan furniture could still be found in homes worldwide.

In 2000, the new millennium saw a new custom-built G Plan factory in Wiltshire, with the brand also acquiring the international 9001 Quality Standard Certification. Despite diverting from cabinet making, G Plan continued to inject colour and stunning designs into people’s homes, taking inspiration from reminiscence of how the brand originally began.

2010s & 2020s

As G Plan moved out of the Noughties, the brand continued to evolve and adapt to the ever-changing furniture marker. Consumers began to have more disposable cash, meaning they had more remit to purchase non-essential household items.

2012 saw the launch of G Plan’s Vintage Collection. Inspired by the original G Plan furniture designs from the 1950s and 60s, this retro-inspired furniture brought with it a sense of mid-century modern. Minimal, stylish Sofa and Armchair designs came to the market, packed full of character and charm.

G Plan continues to innovate its ranges, including its well-loved Classic, Lounge and Vintage collections, to create chic and ultra comfortable centerpieces of the modern home.

Present Day

Earlier this year, G Plan launched the Jay Blades X G Plan collection. This stunning range of furniture combines the attention-to-detail and rich heritage of craftsmanship from G Plan, with the upholstery expertise and bright creative flair of award-winning TV Present Jay Blades. Each piece of furniture in this collaboration is packed full of personality and sense of fun; designed to be a stylish, yet practical talking point of any home.

Jay said, “A sense of home has always been important to me, and I love the fact each piece in the range is named after a place from my East London roots. It makes the collection even more personal and gives it a real sense of purpose. I was blown away by the beauty of G Plan’s craftmanship when it came to designing a comfy sofa, they create pieces that I want to spend time on”.

Created with Personality. Designed for Life.

The Jay Blades X G Plan collection includes four distinctive sofa designs, three iconic swivel chairs and a characterful selection of footstools. The beauty of this collaboration is that each piece entirely customisable, with design features such as distinctive metal plinths, decorative bookcase arms and the ability to include a Two Fabric Story on specific models. The Two Fabric Story allows you to combine opulent accent fabrics with beautiful block colours, to create a piece of furniture specific to your taste and style.

Over the years, G Plan has crafted some of the most enduring and highly celebrated furniture. Now working with over 300 retailers nationwide, the company to this day is still arguably one of Britain’s largest upholstery manufacturers. The G Plan factory in Wiltshire also has 15 production lines and nearly 300 employees onsite.

We are very proud to celebrate 70 years of furniture manufacture and really cannot wait to see what the next 70 years ahead hold in.