Furniture was originally acquired to complement the displays of painting and sculpture and to provide historical context. The first piece, a 16th-century cabinet à deux corps, was acquired in 1969 and was soon followed by a pair of William-and-Mary chairs of about 1690. Some European and American 18th-century objects were acquired in the 1970s; the most notable of these are a marquetry commode attributed to Pierre Langlois, a pair of joined wood candle stands by Benjamin Goodison, and a pair of side tables designed by Robert Adam. Also acquired at that time were modern chairs by such international artists as Mies van der Rohe, Eero Saarinen, Harry Bertoia, and Marcel Breuer. The collecting of modern furnishings continued during the first half of the following decade with the acquisition of an adult's chair, a child's chair and a dining chair by Frank Lloyd Wright. The museum also received through a bequest 25 pieces of furniture designed in 1933 by Leland Atwood and George Fred Keck for Keck's House of Tomorrow that are among the earliest examples of the modern style in American furnishings. Contemporary studio furniture is also represented in the collection by Folding Chair by UW art professor Thomas Loeser.

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