The Evolution of The American Household's Living Room

PAST TO PRESENT The Evolution of the American Household's Living Room 1800s AND EARLIER WEALTHIER 19th PARLORS BECAME VICTORIAN ERA CENTURY HOMES A SHOWCASE space 1830-1890 • The parlor was used to entertain guests • Parlors became a space to showcase their best furniture and possessions (e.g. wealth) • Furniture was built more for decoration than function • Used to display knowledge (e.g books, artifacts, portraits, etc.) • Homeowners valued furniture based on the time it took to create each piece • Removed heavy, large style of furniture featuring dark woods and fabrics MID-LATE 1800s MORE HOMES FOR 1890's MISSION ART NOUVEAU the MIDDLE-CLASS ERA FURNITURE Style • Furniture featured: parallel/perpendicular lines, little to no carving and dominant square shapes • More homes were beginning to be built for middle class families • Flourished during the mid-late 1800s outside of the US • Elaborate style developed in • Parlor space no longer only for the wealthy. reaction to furniture being made by machines • Furniture was built more with function and simplicity in mind rather than ornamentation • Furniture featured plant form inspired design with curving lines EARLY 1900s HOUSES WERE DECREASED The DEVELOPMENT getting SMALLER SPACE for LIVING OF BOARD GAMES • Smaller houses led to replacement of parlors with the modern living • City and industrialized street life becomes increasingly cramped and noisy • Board games developed as a popular way to entertain guests in the living room. room • Socialization moves from front porches and stoops to indoor living rooms 1920s-1930s BUILDINGS KITCHENS LIVING ROOMS got BIGGER moved BACK moved FORWARD • Suburban shift and increasing consumerism leads to the construction of bigger homes • Kitchens relocate towards the back of the house for more • Living rooms are located at the front of the house for formal entertaining purposes privacy ART DECO THE INVENTION BAUHAUS' Style of RADIO INFLUENCE • Art-Deco Style furniture feature streamlined forms • The radio became the focal point in the living room • The Bauhaus Movement influences furniture design to become characteristically modern • Increasingly geometric and linear designs • Simplified Art Nouveau style to • Broadcasts were forms of entertainment and information, such as President Roosevelt's "fireside chats" which were delivered to the public via radio • Emphasizes clean lines, straight edges, function over form, and the rejection of superfluous details compete with mass produced products which were growing in popularity • Rooms were sparsely furnished and with the addition of steel in material, more "hygienic" 1940s MORE TIME SPENT BACKYARD as in THE BACKYARD A LIVING ROOM • Backyards became the focal point of socialization rather than the living room • After the "building boom" following WWII, the backyard was considered the "outdoor living room" • The backyard is described as an escape from life's difficulties 1950s INVENTION of the The SOCIAL MID-CENTURY MODERN TELEVISION ROOM 1940s-1960s • Rapid increases in television production during this time • Made the living room the most social place in the house • Furniture and home design flourished • Functionality was extremely important - design focused on needs of a family 1960s AND ON Remember shag? Al LIVING ROOM at INTO the 1970s THE BACK OF THE HOUSE • The living room shifts again towards the back of the house • Brighter colors and increasingly varied materials were in use. Brown, orange, yellow, stark white, and black were popular as well as neon. • Created more privacy to overlook the backyard • Popular trends : Wood paneling, textured walls, foil wallpaper, built-in furniture, and hide away entertainment centers. INTO THE 21ST CENTURY RETRO style COMBINED FURNITURE LIVING ROOMS • Contemporary reinterpretation of a variety of design styles from the 20th century • Modern living rooms are being combined with other rooms • Open floor plan connects living room with the kitchen and dining room. SOURCES: PRESENTED BY: http://www.restorations.net/mainstyl.htm http://www.shmoop.com/1950s/culture.html http://press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/471921.html http://www.ruksliving.com/modern-entertainment-centers.aspx http://www.livinghistoryfarm.org/farminginthe50s/life_17.html http://www.55places.com/blog/goodbye-living-room-hello-great-room http://www.celf.ucla.edu/2010_conference_articles/Arnold_Lang_2007.pdf http://chnm.gmu.edu/courses/schrag/wiki/index.php?title=American_Home_Life http://www.retroplanet.com/blog/retro-design/retro-decorating-ideas/1970s-decorating-style/ http://www.slideshare.net/esaperstein/the-concise-history-of-early-american-furniture-presentation WHOLESALE FURNITURE BROKERS