MODERN

Domestic Interiors

Spanning 40 years and with so many houses, decorating is bound to be varied: academic, traditional, atomic kitsch. Today’s owners can choose from the best design of the era; start with the decade when the house was built. In the Forties, for example, traditionalists leaned toward French design; Modernists took a cue from Italian, Scandinavian, and British innovators. Some interiors have a sumptuous Hollywood feeling, while other houses are spare and austere with Modern furnishings. The Fifties and Sixties are familiar still, with their grasscloth, laminate countertops, and mosaic tile. Unadorned wood paneling and furniture might be pale (maple, beech) or dark (teak). MCM furniture is available as stillaffordable antiques and as reissues by Herman Miller, Knoll, and others, with catalog companies such as Design Within Reach selling direct to consumers. Furniture by Bertoia, Breuer, the Eameses, Le Corbusier, Platner, Saarinen, and more remain in production.