So, on to the matter at hand. I've mentioned before that Mrs. G. and I have a somewhat unreasonable fondness for the early 1970's when it comes to home decor. This extends beyond mere furniture into the realm of published design advice. Outdated, sure, but there are nuggets to be had. Here are three books worth picking up, should you be fortunate enough to stumble across them:
The "Better Homes and Gardens Decorating Book" is one of those old rig-binder numbers, kind of like the old "Betty Crocker Cookbook". Published in 1975, it is, to be sure, full of day-glo monstrosities. But the good outweighs the bad. Besides, if you do chance upon this tome, it will likely only cost a dollar or two, pittance really.
Highlights include rooms like this, where Steelcase conference chairs mingle with a classic modernist lamp. The paint may be a bit much, but all that furniture would be damn hot in a pale orange room with a hard wood floor, right?
High definition be damned, it will be a cold day in Hell before I hang some flat t.v. on my wall. I say we bring back the console. Up with t.v. as furniture!
This little nook is designed specifically for listening to records...the vinyl kind. Included are a thick pile shag carpet and not one, but two, Eames easy chairs. The Playboy mansion never had it so good!
"High Tech", published in 1978, is a source book for using industrial products in home design. I found this excellent book in a box marked 'free' in someones trash years ago. What a score. The cool ideas in this book are too numerous to list, many of them strikingly modern despite this book being 32 years old. Highlights include:
I love to cook. The thought of having a restaurant level stove, complete with broiler, griddle and hood vent, is absolutely insane...especially in a New York apartment.
Do you need two rolls of toilet paper and an ashtray in your bathroom?
And since I am technically running a more-than-slightly-dorky menswear blog over hear...an actual closet with a dry cleaners carousel in it...every peacock's dream.Lastly, a somewhat more well known classic, "The New York Times Book of Interior Design", from 1976.
The jammin' inspirations from this bible are too numerous to mention, so I'll just leave you with this:
This rooms got me and Mrs. G. written all over it: modern paintings, a glass table, rough hewn pottery, mismatched pillows, a big plant...you name it.The moral of the story?: the 1970's may have left us all with the bad taste of cheap cocaine and polyester in our mouths, but the furniture and home design had a surprising tendency to be rock solid. Go back and look it over...you might just be surprised.
