In the mid- to late-nineties, when Nick at Nite actually ran vintage programming from the early golden days of television, I was an avid viewer of shows like "I Love Lucy," "Leave It to Beaver" and "The Dick Van Dyke Show."
I loved the crazy shenanigans the characters got into...
the husband and wife relationships that always found humor in marriage...
the then-traditional family values and roles in the home...
...and of course the crazy shenanigans characters got into while in their then-traditional roles...
...and I think most of all, the loving relationships between husband and wife...
There is so much I love about the side of the 1950s these beloved television shows illustrated. I recently began re-watching "The Dick Van Dyke Show" on Netflix (my, how in-home entertainment has changed in the last sixty years) and felt my eye constantly drawn to the interior design of the Petrie home and Rob's New York office. It was the dawn of the suburb, post-World War Two, when baby boomers were settling down and trying to create quiet, simple lives, while experimenting with the new advances in technology, like electric appliances in the kitchen and televisions in the living room. Both home interiors and exteriors reflected this wave of streamlining, progress, and futuristic innovations, as the country blasted into space exploration and had big visions and hopes for the new frontier. Despite the threatening shadow of the Cold War, it seems to me that optimism was high as scientific advances were made in all areas of life. Jobs were plentiful, and education was improving. Cars were polished, powerful, slick, and sturdy. Homes were large and functional.
I love the long sleek lines of 1950s and '60s interior design and architecture, the simple forms. Furniture was low and long, and patterns were usually not busy, but when they were, they had a comforting repetition. Right angles, geometric shapes, clean lines, and symmetry ruled the themes of design. Wood and metal, often brushed, were popular textures. Everything was polished and refined. I found some of my favorite examples of 1950's looks around the home. I found a lot of modern concepts that reflect the looks of the '50s, whose brighter more confident and pure colors appeal to a 21st century audience. I've noticed recent design has echoed much of the mid-twentieth century design, perhaps because that was a time of looking forward into the new space age, and now we've arrived at the period of time our parents and grandparents recall as their own. See if you can tell which photographs were taken in the fifties, and which could have been taken yesterday.
