Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Mad Men Chinoiserie Style


House Beautiful has a great piece online showing rooms from issues of House Beautiful circa 1960s that have wonderful Mad Men style. The bedroom above from the November 1960 House Beautiful uses three different types of screens-louvered, silk, and painted foil to create a bed niche. The living room below from the September 1960 issue is filled with Oriental works of art. Both rooms demonstrate the timeless quality of this look. (I know, the chenille bedspread has to go!)


14 comments:

  1. I love the Mad Men interiors, and you are right - I definitely see the homage to that era.

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  2. That is great to be able to look back and research the Old House Beautiful issues.

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  3. CC-It was a great idea of House Beautiful to do.

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  4. I love how seamlessly chinoiserie can work with MCM -- it's a very "now" look I think, too.

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  5. Averill-Very Frank Lloyd Wright. It's a great look.

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  6. you and your maddism! you crack me up! the living room is a dream. tatami mats are surprisingly affordable... i noticed you mentioned Frank Lloyd Wright to Averill. wright had such a passion for Japanese art and architecture; i never noticed or knew it until i read "loving frank" this summer. it's a real page-turner. it talks about how he made a fortune in in the early 20th century buying and selling japanese woodblocks. a way-cool post. toodles, kitty.

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  7. Kitty-My parents almost bought a Frank Lloyd Wright in Lake Forest where I grew up. It was very Japanese. I saw the house once when I was about 10 and I still remember it. Even an indoor koi pond.

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  8. Lucky! My dad and uncles lived in a FLW fraternity house in Muncie, Indiana. By the time I went to school there, it was pretty much dilapidating. Today it is ruined; I believe it's actually condemned. Such a shame! It, too had a koi pond. Love FLW's work.

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  9. Kitty-I think my taste was very much influenced by this early impression of his work.

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  10. I can just see "Bets" in the bedroom, walking around dreamily with her tiny tiny waist and her pearls...great post, LOVE my Mad Men!

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  11. Chic Provence-She would be right at home.

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