Of course we still love Mid-Century, but we’re becoming increasingly attracted to darker, more decorative, heritage pieces. Our recent salvaging of some beautiful William Morris fabric has got us thinking all Victorian. We’re loving the lush patterns of Morris, dark wood furniture, more decorative elements, and the curvy lines of bentwood chairs.
ReFound school chair with William Morris back-rest
ReFound Mid-Century chair with William Morris seat and Arts & Crafts plant-stand with William Morris fabric
From our 21st Century perspective its easy to forget that Arts & Crafts was the modern, with-it thing of the 19th Century, the equivalent of the new designs of the 1950s and 60s. All the best Mid-Century designers were influenced by the principles and aesthetics of the Arts & Crafts movement; quality materials, traditional craftsmanship, attention to detail, and making the everyday beautiful, so we’ve married both, using Arts & Crafts surface designs and bold colour on more modern shapes.
The recent exhibition by Jeremy Deller which brought together works by William Morris and Andy Warhol captured the spirit of this new approach to the Victorian, mixing with Mid-Century and Pop, drawing parallels in the thinking of both ages. Both of these art and design behemoths used mass-production printing techniques and had a commercial approach, wanting to put art into peoples homes, not just into galleries.
Jeremy Deller Love Is Enough
We are happy to see the increasing cult of the New Victorian style featured in month’s edition of Living Etc, in a feature on the updated Arts & Crafts look, featuring a magnificent velvet House of Hackney sofa in my personal favourite Morris design, Blackthorn. On our fantasy wishlist for sure!
Living Etc October 2015
We think the key to the New Victorian style is all about picking the best quality design from all eras and mixing them with confidence.
Rachel LC