James Stirling was an influential British architect in the mid and late twentieth century, but he designed very few pieces furniture. As a young man in 1950 he moved from Liverpool to London and designed this small side cabinet for his own use, probably making it himself as well. He used it as a drinks cupboard. It is simple in terms of form and materials and owes much to the Dutch de Stijl designs of Gerrit Rietveld. The flat planes and the rhythm of solids and voids are highlighted with strong contrasting colours. They show an architectural sense of design: the cabinet is like a miniature modern building. Later in life Stirling became more interested in the revival of historical architectural styles and he was a prime mover of Postmodernism. But this little cabinet, one of only four known furniture designs by him, remained with him throughout his life.