LIVE24SEVEN // Property & Interiors
Instant Expert – MID-CENTURY MODERN!
Its time to dust off Grandma’s old sideboard, as fifties’ furniture is well and truly back on the map!
More than half a century after the 1951 Festival of Britain, post-war British design is in fashion again and the modest, functional, lightweight forms of the fifties and sixties look as contemporary today as they did at the height of Modernism.
Following the huge losses of the Second World War, the post-war era was seen as a period of renewal and optimism. The years of austerity and discomfort were replaced with exuberance, colour and countless technical advances that would see a consumer boom across the developed world..
The post-war years were a time of huge economic expansion and Britain was once more confident and optimistic. The 1951 exhibition was seen as a break from tradition and the past and is credited with launching the careers of a great number of new designers while showcasing to the world the best of Great British design.
For the moment there are still plenty of bargains to be found, but it’s time to act quickly, as they won’t be around for long! Here are just a few of the leading designers and manufacturers of the day to look out for!
G-PLAN Possibly one of the most recognised names in post-war furniture design, E Gomme, founded in High Wycombe in 1898, had been making traditional furniture for over half a century. In 1953, it launched G-Plan and revolutionised the way post-war Britons furnished their homes. Donald Gomme, head of design until 1958, created a range of furniture for the whole house.
A catalogue of 'interchangeable' pieces allowed householders to select the furnishings they fancied creating a tailor-made look, which flowed from room to room. Colour, form, shape and style were offered in a unified appearance allowing the buyer to create a ‘look’.
In another groundbreaking move, routine now, but revolutionary then, showrooms displayed the furniture in room settings. The brand quickly became a status symbol and the G-Plan red swing ticket and gold-embossed stamp became marks of good taste.
When Donald Gomme left the firm in 1958, its fortunes waned. The company then hired Ib Kofod Larsen, a Danish designer. Larsen’s teak range, G-Plan Danish, a commercial hit that was produced well into the 1970s, is highly sought-after by G-Plan enthusiasts. Since it sold so well and was produced in volume, it is relatively inexpensive still and keen collectors can often find prime examples languishing in secondhand furniture stores and charity shops, discarded and unloved!
ERCOL In 1920, Florentine-born designer Lucian Ercolani established Ercol in High Wycombe, the Buckinghamshire town that had been the heart of the British furniture industry during the 19th century. Ercolani based his range on classic designs, but lightened the heavy traditional forms with pale woods and slender elegant proportions.
Ercol was renowned for its use of top quality materials such as beech and elm combined with the latest innovative techniques. The firm developed and perfected the art of steaming, which allowed them to produce elegant curves. The firm was also renowned for 'taming' elm, which had a tendency to warp, devising a method of kiln-drying the timber with steam.
Though more expensive than some of its mass-market competitors, who used veneers rather than solid timber, Ercol's designs have the same modest lines and unostentatious feel that epitomizes the best in post-war design.
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