History is cyclical, so is design, so are trends. Whether you know it or not, every 10 years, we experience a renaissance in design movements. It starts somewhere in small creative circles, then Joe Q Public catches on and it explodes. Currently, we are going thru a 20th century modernist movement as it pertains to architecture, interiors and exteriors. One can see examples of historical design elements all around us from bold 1960s graphic fabric prints to the mid-century modern styling in furniture and interiors.
I was so surprised to see in our own showroom a shower enclosure that had matte black metal gridwork built within the tall glass wall panels and pivoting door. It reminded me of my grandmother’s casement windows at her 2-story brick home in Queens, NY. The home was built in the 1940s and the metal window frames were painted black. I noticed much home décor trimmed in black…black painted crown molding crowned pale painted walls, wooden window and door molding in black, black painted trim on ceilings, black doors against pale walls and that ever trendy white subway tiling with black trim pieces. I mean it was everywhere!
I’d like to mention here another trend…subway tiles. I make sure to educate my customers that subway tiles were originally used in the NYC subway system beginning in 1909; that the traditional size was 3 x 6, but sizes have updated and are available in 4 x 12, larger, thinner, and more elongated sizes. Many love this look for their backsplashes and bathroom walls, though the many consider this trend passé.
One day I stumbled upon an online video of a film by Ray and Charles Eames, the American power design couple that led another phase of the modernist movement from the late 1940s into the 1950s and ‘60s. They had played with film, art, furniture, industrial design and architecture. At that same time, Europe also was experiencing a design movement, most specifically the Scandinavians…it was called Danish Modern. Today we know it all as Mid-Century Modern…it is everywhere and I am loving the simple, elegant lines; the minimalist approach of
One day I stumbled upon an online video of a film by Ray and Charles Eames, the American power design couple that led another phase of the modernist movement from the late 1940s into the 1950s and ‘60s. They had played with film, art, furniture, industrial design, and architecture. At that same time, Europe also was experiencing a design movement, most specifically the Scandinavians…it was called Danish Modern. Today we know it all as Mid-Century Modern…it is everywhere and I am loving the simple, elegant lines; the minimalist approach of designing interiors where as Ludwig Mies van de Rohe quoted in: “Less is More”. I have always been a devoted fan of historical design and even my own tastes went from the cluttered, dark, heavy look of Victoriana and the intricate curly-ques of Art Nouveau to a more streamlined, clean uncluttered look.
The original Ray and Charles Eames film is about their Case Study #8 home which was built in 1949 and is located in Pacific Palisades, California. It is their own 8 mm film, more like a slideshow accompanied by flute music, showcasing their modernist home. Unconventional in construction, using prefabrications and off-the-shelf materials, it is a study in total open-space living, again, something open-minded homeowners now are exploring.
There were elements of Weiner Werkstatte, Vienna’s school which brought together
architects, artists and designers working in ceramics, fashion, silver, furniture and the graphic arts. Bauhaus, yet another early 20th century modernist design movement that started in 1919 Germany by the architect Walter Gropius, again mimics the very angular, box-like, black grid in construction. Bauhaus literally means “building house”. The Bauhaus style was marked by an absence of ornamentation and by harmony between the function of an object or a building and its design. Frank Llyod Wright also used this same grid-like patterning as a major design element throughout many of his homes.
Again, I was surprised to see sections of the building’s exterior walls using that same black metal grid-like casement design. I even saw hints of the Dutch modernist painter, Piet Mondrian, where large brightly colored slabs were used for exterior walls also in a grid fashion. Mondrian influenced modern art in the 1920s thru the 1930s and is synonymous with abstract art and famous for his vivid blue, red, yellow and white colored panels outlined in black. In 1965, Yves St. Laurent paid homage to Mondrian by designing a collection of mini dresses using this exact design.
And last, but not least, most are very familiar with another early 20th Century movement called Art Deco which flourished around the world, but had its beginnings in Paris, France. It took its name from the Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes, a World’s Fair held in Paris in 1925.
See what I mean? Design truly is cyclical.
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