A Short Walk In The Contemporary Furniture Gallery From The Mid-20th Century

The minute I check out home decorating trends about an upcoming exhibition of mid-century furniture

at the NGV, it was eagerly bookmarked into the calendar.

And the exhibition, which opened last weekend, did not disappoint.

It Was Way Better Than I Had Imagined.

Not just existed a very substantial collection of magnificently maintained furnishings from the productive post-war duration, when furnishings designers explore "new" materials (like plywood and polypropylene), to create pieces which represented the originalities of area & lightness, in a rejection of the heavy design of seating which had actually preceded, which, in itself, would make the exhibition worthwhile.

However, No, There Was More. Much More.

It had actually been imaginatively and thoughtfully curated, to include whole space setups as they would have remained in a "contemporary house" of the mid-century. This is a photograph of the well-known "Age Dream Home" which was integrated in 1955 in Melbourne to motivate young households to reconsider their ideas on what the ideal family home may be.

Designed by Royal Victorian Institute of Architects' Small Homes Service, in conjunction with the local Age paper, it integrated full-size window walls of slim-framed glazing, open strategy living, modular storage furnishings and the new style of light-legged sculptural furniture.

Simply A Little Ahead Of Its Time.

And here is the exact same living-room reproduction, rebuilt at the NGV exhibit, which, regardless of my fuzzy image from my electronic camera phone (oops), captures the open, tidy freshness of this Brave New World.

Splayed legs, slim and great, natural timber, black painted steel, woven textured fabrics in earthy colours and a lack of elaborate decoration: it was a radical style of interiors after the elegant styles which had prevailed pre-war.

There are incredible display screens of home-maker magazines of the age, like this charming variation from 1950, the text of which is so tasty that please zoom in to read it.

" Moderns have found that beauty in the house and happiness and health on their own go hand in hand ..." - Dulux Paint Advertisement, 1950, Australian Women's Weekly

The publication display system was even influenced by the spirit of the furniture designers of the MCM era, and had his own splayed legs to reveal off.

Ah! I was in paradise - a lot goodness in brilliant furniture design.

And perhaps my really preferred of all, the Contour Chairs, created by Grant Featherston in 1953, which are now worth a fortune; which is no surprise at all, due to the fact that as well as being lovely to take a look at, they are unbelievably comfortable.

So http://www.bbc.co.uk/search?q=mirrored furniture if you remain in Melbourne, or shall be between now and October 19, and you prefer a little bit of excellent style and interesting history, I do advise you to appear and invest a most delightful hour browsing the dreams and hopes of the post-war furnishings designers, who attempted dream of a Brave New World, all from the convenience of one's new-fangled Television Chair.