Essential reading for all collectors and design aficionados, this book is the ultimate survey of mid- century modern design and architecture now available in a sleek, compact form. A definitive survey of mid-century modern design and architecture in an accessible compact edition, this book offers a rich overview of one of the most popular, collectable, and dynamic periods of design. With rich and diverse examples of everything from furniture and lighting to ceramics and textiles to graphics and posters to interior design and architecture, this sleek compendium of mid-century style includes over 1,000 illustrations representing classic designs and little-seen rarities, as well as entries on nearly 100 major creators, such as Dieter Rams, Robin Day, Isamu Noguchi, Lucie Rie, Charles and Ray Eames, Alvar Aalto, and Oscar Niemeyer. An additional illustrated dictionary features hundreds more influential mid-century designers, manufacturers, organizations, schools, and movements. Organized into three parts—“Media and Masters,” with six sections on applied arts; “Houses and Interiors,” featuring twenty seminal homes and their furnishings; and an “A–Z of Designers and Makers”—and complete with thirteen specially commissioned essays by renowned experts, this illustrated book is a must-have for collectors, design aficionados, and anyone seeking inspiration for their home.

The 1950's house was a scientific triumph, designed in a laboratory and tested on inhabitants of all ages before being built for the masses. Never had homes been so thoroughly contemporary, with antiques and period styles entirely banished. Mid-Century Modern explores the interior decor of this seminal decade, concentrating on all aspects of a home's decoration-walls, flooring, surfaces, lighting, and, of course, furniture. Case studies examine beautiful present-day homes that exhibit mid-century style in an exemplary way, and suggest ideas for taking the 1950's look-complete with collector's pieces-and mixing and matching it with elements from other eras.

Mid-Century Modern Interiors explores the history of interior design during arguably its most iconic and influential period. The 1930s to the 1960s in the United States was a key moment for interior design. It not only saw the emergence of some of interior design's most globally-important designers, it also saw the field of interior design emerge at last as a profession in its own right. Through a series of detailed case studies this book introduces the key practitioners of the period – world-renowned designers including Ray and Charles Eames, Richard Neutra, and George Nelson – and examines how they developed new approaches by applying systematic and rational principles to the creation of interior spaces. It takes us into the mind of the designer to show how they each used interior design to express their varied theoretical interests, and reveals how the principles they developed have become embodied in the way interior design is practiced today. This focus on unearthing the underlying ideas and concepts behind their designs rather than on the finished results creates a richer, more conceptual understanding of this pivotal period in modernist design history. With an extended introduction setting the case studies within the broader context of twentieth-century design and architectural history, this book provides both an introduction and an in-depth analysis for students and scholars of interior design, architecture and design history.

Bursting with beautiful ideas for bringing a signature mid-century look into your own space, as well as practical advice on what will work where, this is an essential guide for any lover of interior design and mid-century style. In this beautifully photographed book, Mark and Keith of Mini Moderns show you how to create a timeless mid-century look in your own home. Known for their striking use of pattern and colour, Mark and Keith's designs are inspired by everything from childhood memories to commentaries on popular culture, and through this lens they explore how different influences and designers have created key mid-century looks. They delve into the cornerstones of mid-century style, from colour and pattern to materials and curation, and share their secrets on how to bring together the things you love to create your own look. They also include inspirational case studies to demonstrate particular looks, from Beatnik Beach House to Scandi Rustic, Seaside Modern to Studio Townhouse.

A visual and comprehensive guide to a hugely popular graphic style. The distinctive aesthetic of mid-century design captured the post-war zeitgeist of energy and progress, and remains hugely popular today. In Mid-Century Modern Graphic Design Theo Inglis takes an in-depth look at the innovative graphics of the period, writing about the work of artists and designers from all over the world. From book covers, record covers and posters to advertising, typography and illustration, the designs feature eye-popping colour palettes, experimental type and prints that buzz with kinetic energy. The book features artworks from a wide selection of international designers and illustrators whose work continues to inspire and influence today, including Ray Eames, Paul Rand, Alex Steinweiss, Joseph Low, Alvin Lustig, Elaine Lustig Cohen, Leo Lionni, Rudolph de Harak, Abram Games, Tom Eckersley, Ivan Chermayeff, Josef Albers, Corita Kent, Jim Flora, Ben Shahn, Herbert Bayer and Helen Borten. Theo draws from a broad range of sources including advertising, magazine covers, record sleeves, travel posters and children’s book illustration to show the development of the design style globally, and how this continues to influence design today. The book is packed with hundreds of colour illustrations, including classic designs, such as Saul Bass’ film posters and Miroslav Šašek’s children’s books, alongside lesser-known gems.

In The Moderns, we meet the men and women who invented and shaped Midcentury Modern graphic design in America. The book is made up of generously illustrated profiles, many based on interviews, of more than 60 designers whose magazine, book, and record covers; advertisements and package designs; posters; and other projects created the visual aesthetics of postwar modernity. Some were émigrés from Europe; others were homegrown—all were intoxicated by elemental typography, primary colors, photography, and geometric or biomorphic forms. Some are well-known, others are honored in this volume for the first time, and together they comprised a movement that changed our design world.

Taking full advantage of the ressurgence in popularity of retro-fifties design, this highly praised book lets the reader rediscover the wonders of boomerang-shaped coffee tables, the funky curvaciousness of biomorphic furniture, the industrial sleekness of cool metals, unusual angles, and other design delights. Photos.

From the 'soft modernism' of Scandinavian furniture to the sleek, clean lines of the lighting created by the Castiglioni brothers in Italy, Judith Miller's Mid-Century Modern reveals the glory of one of the most exciting periods of design history: the late 1940s to the 1970s. The book explores the most desirable interiors, furniture, ceramics, glass, metalware and textiles of this hugely popular period. It features all the iconic designs and designers of the era, with price codes to help value and appraise your mid-century collection. The careers and influence of ground-breaking designers, including Alvar Aalto, Charles and Ray Eames, Robin and Lucienne Day, Arne Jacobsen and many others, are described in stand-alone feature pages. Key pieces (including a number of previously unpublished examples) are placed in an historical context with coverage of innovations in design, production methods and materials.

An intimate and revealing collection of photographs of astonishingly beautiful, iconic, and undiscovered mid-century interiors. Among significant mid-century interiors, none are more celebrated yet underpublished as the homes created by architects and interior designers for themselves. This collection of newly commissioned photographs presents the most compelling homes by influential mid-century designers, such as Russel Wright, George Nakashima, Harry Bertoia, Charles and Ray Eames, and Eva Zeisel, among others. Intimate as well as revelatory, Williamson’s photographs show these creative homes as they were lived in by their designers: Walter Gropius’s historic Bauhaus home in Massachusetts; Albert Frey’s floating modernist aerie on a Palm Springs rock outcropping; Wharton Esherick’s completely handmade Pennsylvania house, from the organic handcarved staircase to the iconic furniture. Personal and breathtaking by turn—these homes are exemplary studies of domestic modernism at its warmest and most creative.

The mid-twentieth century was a dynamic period in international design, including interior design, and has retained its influence on popular culture today. This handbook shows readers how to create a tailor-made home inspired by the iconic designs of this period. Working through the home one room at a time, the book highlights classic items of furniture and signature accessories. In-depth case studies demonstrate the essential elements and provide inspiration. Colour combinations are explored to help personalise these inventive styles for the home. Anyone eager to bring mid-century chic to their own home will find this book a valuable resource.