By "authentic", I mean remaining in constant use and intact since first concieved in the period?
This question occurred to me today as I was leaving the home of a client I've been working with the past few weeks. Her house was custom-designed, built, and furnished in the mid sixties. She and her husband are just now preparing to downsize as octogenarians, and they obviously had the taste and means to do the period justice. The place is full of the stuff that inspires this forum. It has been a real treat for me to be able to spend time there. I'd like to document it with photographs, but I hesitate to ask permission. I think it has been difficult for them as they face the transition.
Most depictions of these types of environments I see today are either period photos or contemporary interpretations. Even my own house represents a somewhat reinterpreted contrivance, of sorts. So it makes me wonder and imagine that these places, however few yet remain, are rapidly disappearing altogether.
I've always loved MCM...
I've always loved MCM funiture in smaller doses.
When I come across a home that is "authentic" with wall to wall accurate 50's + 60's design, it always comes across as tacky and a little bit hokey to me. Its especially true for me with scandinavian and danish furniture.
That said, the handful of homes that were the exception were very minimilistc california modernist homes, luther conover, greta grossman, ect. This type of design seems to have aged much better than the majority of MCM design that is popular today.
Our place
Our home was designed and built in 1964 but we did not move in until 2007. Our collection is primarily post-war American and Scandinavian and I think I could potentially take some nice B&W pictures and pass them off as period.
I don't think our place looks "tacky and a little bit hokey" in the least. I think we have a wonderful selection of timeless design. There are some icons, there are some obscure pieces, but I think it all looks balanced and well curated. The only criticism I've heard that I thought had any validity was that it could be perceived as a museum. And that I did not entirely agree with because we use everything as it was intended and nothing is off limits or "on display".
We treat our belongings with a measure of care and respect and expect our guests to do the same. Not because we are terrified of damaging any precious collectible, but because that is what you do no matter what you choose to live with. Regardless what your aesthetic, if you buy nice things and treat them with reasonable care, they will give you many years of service and enjoyment.
But our belongings are not original to our house. To address the original post, I have had the privilege of visiting a number of houses over the years that held a wonderful assortment of great modern furniture, art, and design objects. However, I can probably count on one hand the homes that were truly perfectly intact examples of a period environment or interior. It is just quite rare for people to stay in one home for that length of time, for the family to remain intact, and for none of the furniture to need replacement or for the place not to experience some renovation.
Farnley Hey
This house was for sale a while ago. I wonder what happened to it?
Another place was the home of Peter Moro in Blackheath London, architect of Royal Festival Hall. I had the fortune of visiting Peter there shortly before he died. His place was full of Robin Day furniture and various other works. He gave me his copy of "The Modern House Revisited"http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/obituary-peter-moro-1179... http://www.paul-holberton.net/the-modern-house-revisited,product,view,80...
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-33444593.html
foxxxy
Your phrase "tacky and a little bit hokey" in regards to Danish/Scandinavian furniture is curious. Can you elaborate on that? And is it just this style of furniture that looks hokey to you when used exclusively, or is it other styles too---Mission, American colonial (real, not revival), etc.?
I've heard others be very dismissive of particular things like Eames shell chairs because their only association with that style is elementary school desk chairs and stuff like that. There was a lot of ho-hum Danish-style sold in the US through Sears, Montgomery Wards, etc., and I'm wondering if that's your primary point of reference when you say you don't like this style done exclusively in a home. Maybe it reminds you of houses like that when you were little. I knew a few myself.
That aside, I agree with the above poster who said that very few people keep the same furniture for 60 years. I look at lots of real estate listings and even the ones in areas with 50s-60s modern houses with original owners never have all of the original furniture. (Though there was one recent one that did---but I think only because the owners were kind of dysfunctional. It wasn't even good MCM and it was in horrible shape and the house was not kept up either. Sad.)
Great Website For those in the UK
I am a long term lurker and blame this site for my burgeoning interest in MCM Furniture!
Anyhow, read this thread with interest and thought you might be interested in this specialised Estate Agents in the UK. Not just MCM, but there are definately some modernist gems lurking around!
http://www.themodernhouse.net/sales-list/
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