It was with an ounce of guilty delight that I recently read an article in Architectual Digest predicting the end of the obsession with midcentury modern design and Scandanavian design characterised by simplicity, minimalism and functionality that emerged in the 1950s. Eames and Bertoia were champions of this design aesthetic and the obsession for owning originals or knockoffs of the originals has not subsided in 60 years!
“Midcentury modern” itself is a difficult term to define. It broadly describes architecture, furniture, and graphic design from the middle of the 20th century roughly 1933 to 1965. This has been the dominant vintage style of the last 15 years and for some time it seemed the demand for it was insatiable. Think Mad Men and Scandinavian design. This season our mid century properties have received the bulk of the attention with advertisers desperate to emulate these interiors.
Now don’t get me wrong. I love this design aesthetic, but sometimes a change is as good as a holiday and a holiday would be super dooper.
The easiest place to gauge trends in our switched on 21st century is in the online marketplace. Chairish, just such a marketplace reports that searches for “more ornate and feminine” are on the rise. That means Chinoiserie, Art Deco, Hollywood Regency and lots of Pink. The trend seems so perfectly suited to a new era of celebrity “royalty” such as Melania Trump who purportedly is working with a designer on a “Glam Room” within the White House. Not a new idea – its’ borrowed from the likes of Mariah Carey, Celine Dion and of course the Kardashians but before that from the glamourous movie stars of yesteryear.
Designer Francesco Bilotto, says that a glam room “combines a person’s beauty and fashion needs all in one space, making it easier for a ‘glam squad’ to collaborate on the overall look.”
Beyond beauty needs, other decor touches may include rich, textured wallpaper, sumptuous seating, a piece of lucite furniture, curated and displayed collections of expensive fragrances and rare beauty products.
Restaurant design, too, is taking a turn for the ambitiously ornate, as seen at Yvonne’s in Boston, with its overstuffed tufted sofas and hand-chipped Calacatta gold marble floors, and at The Edmon in L.A., where there are muted gold accents and chandeliers aplenty. Closer to home elements of The Bungalow interior echo these
ornate sumptuous interiors as does the super sexy Kloof Street House, which we are very delighted to represent.
Perhaps all the austerity of the last few years post 2008 has fueled a desire to return to glamour and opulence together with a move to more individuality within that design – as so clearly noted in international magazines such as living Etc or Town and Country. If opulence is not tempered with individual style and a fresh point of view however it becomes merely empty and vulgar. We will see where these trends go. I am not personally expecting profound authenticity or artistic individuality to come from either the Trump glam room or anything at the Kardashians cribs but “glam rooms” have an old, world glamour that is Mysterious, sexy, unknown – everything our over shared social media lives are not. Looking forward to investigating these intrigiung spaces in more depth in the next post!
Thanks as always to Architectural digest, Living Etc, Town and Contry, Good Life, Instagram and pinterest for all the inspiration!
