4 ms·

Explaining the enduring popularity of midcentury modern design

24 points by juanplusjuan 10y ago

Alupis 10y ago
Article seems to be mostly an ad for interior design company/service Modsy. Am I missing something? I didn't really find any real explanation as-to why "midcentury modern design" is so popular...
- stuntkite 10y ago
  Nope, that's what happened. Literally no substance, just an ad for a service to render and sell you a new living room.
  - wycx 10y ago
    ...a new living room that looks like it is straight from http://fuckyournoguchicoffeetable.tumblr.com/ http://fuckyournoguchicoffeetable.tumblr.com/
nitrogen 10y ago
As the article suggests near the end, I think you could delete "midcentury modern" and still convey the same point. When form follows function, similar forms will emerge and endure for similar functions.
soyiuz 10y ago
I am not sure if the article says anything substantial about midcentury modern design. The canonical International and Bauhaus movements---represented by iconic designers/architects like Gropius, Le Corbusier, and Eames---were (in some sense) a response to the ornamental style of the previous century. These privileged clean lines over ornament, modern materials over patina, and function over decoration. These principles produced beautiful objects that are modular, uncluttered, and easy to move and maintain. They endure because they still reflect the values of our time. I say this owning nothing in that style, except perhaps a Vitsoe standing desk. Most of my interiors are industrial / rustic, which clashes with midcentury.
- twelvechairs 10y ago
  Agree the article lacks content. Just to raise a point on your comment - though 'midcentury modern' is a slippery term i dont think your references quite capture it. When i see the term it is generally less canonical modernism (architecture-focussed, pre-wwii, Corbusier/bauhaus, france/germany-led) and more something different (furniture focussed, post wwii, influenced by modernism but also arts and craft/frank lloyd wright/etc., scandinavian led with notable american examples). I think theres a reason it has appeared as a term - because many things described by this term are quite definitely not 'moderism'
analog31 10y ago
There was just an article about why everything is beige. I was unaware that "midcentury modern" was a relatively new term. My neighborhood was built up between around 1955 - 1963, and there are a lot of "modern" houses, including a couple attributed to Frank Lloyd Wright. My family's house is a plain rectangular box with practically no decorations. Of course we bought it because of location, condition, price, etc. Inside, it's mostly "Scandinavian." The walls are white. One thing I like about this style is that it works in a relatively small house. Things are actually smaller. The alternative when this house was built, was orange plush carpet, grotesque wallpaper, and huge stuffed sofas.
- chris_st 10y ago
  > The alternative when this house was built, was orange plush carpet, grotesque wallpaper, and huge stuffed sofas. Hear hear. I also grew up in (mostly) "midcentury modern" interior design (thanks, Mom and Dad!) and I find that it... just looks nice. I was trying to explain to someone why I wanted white gadgets (iPad, Kindle, etc.) and wound up realizing that they are closer to the Braun aesthetic than the black ones, which I associate with the black-on-black-with-black-and-did-we-mention-black design of the Panisonics, Technics, etc. stereo equipment of the 70's.
  - loeber 10y ago
    Good point on white and black gadgets. I think you're right.
- danieltillett 10y ago
  Bingo. Mid century furniture makes a property feel larger than other styles. A hint if you are staging a property for sale is use mid century modern furniture to style it. Buyers will feel it is much larger than it really is and pay you more [1]. 1. This is assuming you are living in a house built in the last 100 years and not a palace.
santaclaus 10y ago
I've been seeing a lot of grumpy articles [1][2] by interior designers lamenting midcentury modern, recently. [1] http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/06/style/why-wont-midcentury-modern-design-die.html http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/06/style/why-wont-midcentury-... [2] http://fuckyournoguchicoffeetable.tumblr.com http://fuckyournoguchicoffeetable.tumblr.com
rayiner 10y ago
A lot of mid century modern stuff was extremely functional. From Mies van der Rohe's skyscrapers to Herman Miller's office chairs.

24 points by juanplusjuan 10y ago

Article seems to be mostly an ad for interior design company/service Modsy. Am I missing something? I didn't really find any real explanation as-to why "midcentury modern design" is so popular...

stuntkite 10y ago
Nope, that's what happened. Literally no substance, just an ad for a service to render and sell you a new living room.
- wycx 10y ago
  ...a new living room that looks like it is straight from http://fuckyournoguchicoffeetable.tumblr.com/ http://fuckyournoguchicoffeetable.tumblr.com/

nitrogen 10y ago

As the article suggests near the end, I think you could delete "midcentury modern" and still convey the same point. When form follows function, similar forms will emerge and endure for similar functions.

soyiuz 10y ago

I am not sure if the article says anything substantial about midcentury modern design. The canonical International and Bauhaus movements---represented by iconic designers/architects like Gropius, Le Corbusier, and Eames---were (in some sense) a response to the ornamental style of the previous century. These privileged clean lines over ornament, modern materials over patina, and function over decoration. These principles produced beautiful objects that are modular, uncluttered, and easy to move and maintain. They endure because they still reflect the values of our time. I say this owning nothing in that style, except perhaps a Vitsoe standing desk. Most of my interiors are industrial / rustic, which clashes with midcentury.

twelvechairs 10y ago
Agree the article lacks content. Just to raise a point on your comment - though 'midcentury modern' is a slippery term i dont think your references quite capture it. When i see the term it is generally less canonical modernism (architecture-focussed, pre-wwii, Corbusier/bauhaus, france/germany-led) and more something different (furniture focussed, post wwii, influenced by modernism but also arts and craft/frank lloyd wright/etc., scandinavian led with notable american examples). I think theres a reason it has appeared as a term - because many things described by this term are quite definitely not 'moderism'

analog31 10y ago

There was just an article about why everything is beige. I was unaware that "midcentury modern" was a relatively new term. My neighborhood was built up between around 1955 - 1963, and there are a lot of "modern" houses, including a couple attributed to Frank Lloyd Wright. My family's house is a plain rectangular box with practically no decorations. Of course we bought it because of location, condition, price, etc. Inside, it's mostly "Scandinavian." The walls are white. One thing I like about this style is that it works in a relatively small house. Things are actually smaller. The alternative when this house was built, was orange plush carpet, grotesque wallpaper, and huge stuffed sofas.

chris_st 10y ago
> The alternative when this house was built, was orange plush carpet, grotesque wallpaper, and huge stuffed sofas. Hear hear. I also grew up in (mostly) "midcentury modern" interior design (thanks, Mom and Dad!) and I find that it... just looks nice. I was trying to explain to someone why I wanted white gadgets (iPad, Kindle, etc.) and wound up realizing that they are closer to the Braun aesthetic than the black ones, which I associate with the black-on-black-with-black-and-did-we-mention-black design of the Panisonics, Technics, etc. stereo equipment of the 70's.
- loeber 10y ago
  Good point on white and black gadgets. I think you're right.
danieltillett 10y ago
Bingo. Mid century furniture makes a property feel larger than other styles. A hint if you are staging a property for sale is use mid century modern furniture to style it. Buyers will feel it is much larger than it really is and pay you more [1]. 1. This is assuming you are living in a house built in the last 100 years and not a palace.

santaclaus 10y ago

I've been seeing a lot of grumpy articles [1][2] by interior designers lamenting midcentury modern, recently. [1] http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/06/style/why-wont-midcentury-modern-design-die.html http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/06/style/why-wont-midcentury-... [2] http://fuckyournoguchicoffeetable.tumblr.com http://fuckyournoguchicoffeetable.tumblr.com

rayiner 10y ago

A lot of mid century modern stuff was extremely functional. From Mies van der Rohe's skyscrapers to Herman Miller's office chairs.