Description
Book SynopsisDemocratic in intention and approach, the book will argue that the home interior, as independently created by the ‘amateur’ householder, offers a continuous informal critique of shifting architectural styles (most notably with the advent of Modernism) and the design mainstream. Indeed, it will suggest that the popular increasingly exerts an influence on the professional.
Underpinned by academic rigour, but not in thrall to it, above all this book is an engaging attempt to identify the cultural drivers of aesthetic change in the home, extrapolating the wider influence of ‘taste’ to a broad audience – both professional and ‘trade’. In so doing, it will explore enthralling territory – money, class, power and influence.
Illustrated with contemporary drawings and cartoons as well as photos, the book is not only an absorbing read, but an enticing and attractive object in itself.
Table of ContentsPrologue
Chapter 1 New Money, Old Ideas
Chapter 2 Disapproving Dilletantes
Chapter 3 New Century, New Style
Chapter 4 The People Decorate
Chapter 5 Post War Populism
Chapter 6 1951 And All That
Chapter 7 The Empire Strikes Back
Chapter 8 Carrying On Regardless
Chapter 9 Back To The Future
Chapter 10 Having It And Having It More Abundantly
Epilogue
