Page 46 - The Hunt - Spring 2020

VINTAGE
Mid-Century
Modern—for Millenials
Start with small pieces and clean lines.
Among to newlyweds and other young folks nesting in their new homes, Mid-Century Modern
is back. They throw around the term with abandon when referencing the style that has suddenly become a hip and trendy classic.
Despite its popularity, the term can encompass everything from plain old contemporary to high-tech, so you have
to know what to look for. The description was first used in 1953 and connotes a style popular from the mid-1940s to about 1970. It’s characterized by clean lines, organic
and streamlined forms, and a lack of embellishment.
The simple one-story homes built for
the throngs of returning World War II soldiers began as cookie-cutter, mass- produced neighborhoods around 1947. These houses were much cheaper to build than the more ornate and gracious Victorians, Georgians and Colonial Revivals from
earlier years—and many could be thrown
up quickly.
Soon, forward-thinking architects sought to evolve standard tract homes into
prettier, glassier, classier mid-century homes, replete with architectural wow factors and individuality. Well-known architects like Marcel Breuer and Charles DuBois upped the ante with longer horizontal lines and flat roofs.
This modernist style really took hold
as new materials and building techniques allowed architects to break with the forms and methods of the past. Decades on, the clean lines, open floor plans and expansive windows—with the intention of bringing
the outside in—continue to hold an appeal. “The homes were able to deliver so much in less space,” says Michael Dreyfus of Golden Gate Sotheby’s International Realty. “You can get three and four bedrooms in a very small footprint.”
Such efficiency was popular with buyers— and only a new style of furniture would
look appropriate in these spare and simple interiors. The dust ruffles, chair skirts and antimacassars of earlier decades had no
place here. Some architects of such modern houses even designed the organic, functional furniture—or used pieces from all the new
design studios popping up that specialized in the look.
th
“The mid 20 century was a design
renaissance for furniture, interiors and architecture. The sleek, distinctive style of chic simplicity is beloved and has seen a major revival” in recent years, according to Elle Décor.
Krystal Reinhard, owner of West Chester, Pa.’s Old Soul Décor is seeing the uptick, too. “It’s been very popular for a while,” says Reinhard, who’s also an artist and designer.
Reinhard’s store, gallery and showroom features eclectic design, vintage and antique home decor, artworks, rugs, lighting, jewelry, and more. She first saw its resurgence a decade ago when interior design clients asked for
the “real thing”—expensive high-end pieces from the likes of Marcel Breuer, Ray and Charles Eames, Herman Miller and Eero Saarinen. “You’d spend a ton of money to buy the real pieces online,” says Reinhard, noting the “high-quality rosewood and walnut” used in their construction.
These days, thanks to its wild popularity among the younger, less affluent crowd, “the
152 THE HUNT MAGAZINE spring 2020
By Merrill Witty
COURTESY OF POOK & POOK, INC., DOWNINGTON, PA.