Table Of Content
Upcycled pieces were in vogue with the sustainability movement gaining ground, while others embraced maximalist tendencies with clashing, colorful-patterned furniture. By the mid-1980s, nearly every American household had a TV — MTV was on 24 hours a day—and, on average, people were glued to their sets for 7 hours a day. The decade's most popular shows heavily influenced how Americans furnished their homes. As the post-war American middle class grew in the 1950s, regions of the U.S. revisited their colonial roots. Practical Cape Cod houses became a staple in U.S. suburbs — often updated with a more modern siding, like aluminum or asbestos-cement shingles. Some people began to proclaim their individuality with unusual installations of common exterior siding, such as the diagonal siding on the facade of this otherwise commonplace mid-century Cape Cod.
Furniture of 1930s and 1940s Kitchens
Rooms were thoughtfully curated with antique furniture, showcasing the craftsmanship of bygone eras. Art Deco manifested in luxurious materials such as chrome, glass, and mirrors, creating an atmosphere of sophistication and opulence. Instead of focusing on expensive and extravagant things, it shifted toward industrial materials, nautical elements, and modesty in design and décor.
Technology and Modern Amenities
For instance, the 1936 yellow Armstrong kitchen with geraniums showcased how color could be boldly used to create a cheerful atmosphere. The preference for brightness and nature was echoed in choices like the 1936 key lime living room, reflecting a desire for cheerful, light-filled interiors. These rooms symbolized the merging of indoor comfort with the natural world outside.
Donald Deskey and American Modernism
Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Detroit, Michigan, in particular, have impressive collections of Art Deco structures. In the 1930s, your home could echo the glamour and modernity of the era with its distinct color palette and patterns. From muted tones to bold Art Deco designs, your home’s interior would have been a canvas of contemporary style and elegance.
This 1930s Virginia Home Proves That Vintage Finds Always Add Character - Southern Living
This 1930s Virginia Home Proves That Vintage Finds Always Add Character.
Posted: Tue, 20 Feb 2024 08:00:00 GMT [source]
Retro Designer Meets a Modernist
Despite the economic hardships, there was a distinctive resilience in design, showing that beauty and utility could coexist in times of scarcity. Its influence extended beyond visual aesthetics, permeating architecture, fashion, and industrial design. The 1930s stand as a pivotal juncture in the evolution of house interiors and design principles, marked by a compelling fusion of historical influences and avant-garde innovation. Before World War I, the French invented Arts Décoratifs, a brand-new style that influenced art, architecture, sculpture, painting, and design. By the 1930s, Art Deco was the visual style not only in the EU but also in the States.
Before the impact of World War II, which loomed in the background, the emphasis on interior design mirrored the somber mood of a nation seeking comfort and stability amidst uncertainty. Though Moon doesn’t find his home to be a full Deco interior, the gilded walls of the sitting room certainly honor the opulent and bold elements of the style. There goes Kristie’s green, drawn from the home’s original Depression-era bath tile, climbing up the dining room wainscot onto the window trim before coming to rest on the ceiling (the ceiling!). It then sallies forth into the living room and keeps going until it reaches the trim in Kristie’s home office, where it is joined by a wall color that is called, no kidding, Steamed Spinach. It takes courage to talk about your favorite color that way—and the kind of confidence that comes from knowing what you’re doing. Most people, after all, would rather whitewash every room than risk painting a living space anything remotely medicinal.
Kitchen Innovations
Meanwhile, in a cosier corner of your home, a vintage chair might be illuminated by a low-hanging, industrial-style lamp, which echoes the era’s fascination with new technologies and materials. Your walls would likely be adorned with Art Deco artwork, featuring bold lines and a sense of movement that energized the room. That’s why a rough-tough wooden table paired with a cheap, industrial-style ceiling works here. Besides, the rest of the room features all the key elements of interior design from the 30s, including a concrete floor, low-hanging lights, and steel legs on the chairs. Then streamline moderne arrived with the Chicago World Fair's "A Century of Progress." This style was a pared-down version of art deco and heavily used the latest engineering technologies.
One-story ranch houses quickly became two-stories, like the 1970s-era ranch shown here, because bigger was better. A squared-bay window one might have seen on a Lustron home decades earlier is added to the once-simple ranch design. In Southern California, George and Robert Alexander's construction company helped define the modern style, especially in Palm Springs. Alexander Construction worked with several architects, including Donald Wexler, to develop prefabricated, modern home styles constructed with steel. Like the Lustron home, the Quonset hut is a prefabricated, steel structure of distinctive style. Romney huts and Iris huts were WWII modifications of a WWI British design called a Nissen hut.
Take a Look at These 1930s - 1940s Kitchens
This will not only keep the space from becoming too busy but will also tie each aspect of the room together in a harmonious way. As new technology became available in the 1940s after the war, a blend of new and old design elements began to emerge in the kitchen. Familiar, nostalgic items from this time era sat alongside new advancements, such as the toaster, electric stove, and electric tea kettle. The 1931 Armstrong sunny yellow kitchen featured this versatile material not just on the floors, but also as a linoleum counter, marrying durability with style.
As you explore the nuances of 1930s interior design, you’ll notice that each room in the home had its own distinctive style and functionality. The design elements often served dual purposes – aesthetic appeal and practicality. By 1937, the influence of Art Deco had seeped into bathroom design, leading to the creation of the Johns-Manville Art Deco bath. This style featured sleek lines, bold geometry, and a disciplined formality that brought modern luxury to a home’s most private spaces. The 1930 Fenestra casement window was a hallmark of architecture during the era, embodying a blend of functionality and elegance. These windows typically featured steel frames that allowed for larger, unobstructed views, and were often used in the popular English Revival style of homes.
Your ancestors might have faced budget constraints, prompting a shift towards more cost-effective and functional design elements. Elegant, restrained, and extremely eclectic—that’s the best way to describe interior designs from the 30s. By implementing exotic, rarely used colors and décor elements into the composition, Streamline Moderne could turn a boring room into a thing of beauty. The 1930s are also known for polished finishes, heavy use of industrial elements, and spacious, minimalistic rooms. The beauty of interior design is that you don’t necessarily have to be a pro to embrace it.
