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I'm a 90s kid but watched many 1940s Looney Tunes and Tom and Jerry cartoons. Mid century modern furniture is all the rage today, but I prefer the 1940's rounder styles.
Does anyone here have any idea what are some wall/wallpaper paint colors and styles that were big in the 1940s and which colors were popular in 1940-1949? Actually, what's the contemporary furtniture style, spanning from circa the late 30s until the early 50s called? I've asked all around and no one can thing of a name!
I mean the one after art deco but before MCM, as seen in glam 1940s movies and even in Tom and Jerry cartoons, see bellow.
Some interesting features typical of the times: soft pink, green, teals or light blues on walls, sofas and armchairs. Clam-shaped armchairs/sofas. Draperies (sp?) hiding the legs of some of them. Of course there were many earlier 1880s/1920s style leftovers but surprisingly little is written about the 1940s contemporary being eclipsed by art deco and MCM that it doesn't even have a name. IMO it looks much better than most late 1960s & 1970s so it's weird it doesn't get much love.
And some of the many Tom and Jerry examples, H&B did a great way portraying the contemporary styles:
One thing that seemed almost universal in 1940s home was draperies at almost all the doorways, as well as the windows. The 40s was also the era of bark cloth, used both in draperies and upholstery, so you had some very bright color palettes available there. Floral patterns for all surface were really popular, even for the linoleum floors. Furniture design was big on the "colonial" style, which was considered "homey" and popular with the emphasis on family friendly living as people recovered from the war. Ruffles were a trend, especially in bedrooms. Wallpaper was also popular, and primary colors were a trend as opposed to the more pastel colors of the 1950s.
Last edited by Bungalove; 05-17-2020 at 11:35 AM..
^^Thanks! As for rounded, I mean compared to the straighter-edged MCM but that's not hard to achieve. To me MCM works better at offices and public spaces while the 1940s style is cozier for homes. What I don't get is the color palettes, was it vivid or pastel? Or maybe both? And how can one differentiate it from the 1950s, I sometimes have hard time. And not only me, online many a 1940s furtniture is labelled MCM. I think pink and teal were also big in the 1950s and 60s.
^Thank you, as well. A nice article although some points seem rather revisionist imo. I bet most real homes were not as OTT as some of the catalog examples. Even today most real homes don't quite look like what you see in brochures and magazines.
Hmm. Doesn't quite go with the rustic "barn" style you said you loved in your other thread. Maybe what you want is grandpa's barn that was converted into living space for the newlywed kids in the 1940s and just sorta stuck there.
Last edited by Parnassia; 05-17-2020 at 02:58 PM..
^Well I can own several properties one day. Or I can use some barn props in a 1940s contemporary apartment like vases with hay. Or why not a barn-like interior with 40s courches and sofas.
I am too young to remember details of my pre 1950 home, which would not have been in fashion anyway. I do remember my grandmother’s Heywood Wakefield solid birch bedroom set, however. It was all solid birch with rounded corners. You can google Heywood Wakefield to get an idea of their “modern pieces.” Color was light and on the yellow side, but the old pieces mellowed in old age.
I discovered, noodling around, that if you google Better Homes and Gardens, you will be taken to their site, and from there you can pay a fee to become an “Insider” which allows you to read any issue of their magazine dating from the late 1920s. There seems to be an in color decor spread in each issue. You could probably learn a lot doing that.
Do remember what was happening in the early 1940s. The world was at war. After the war, things really changed. I imagine quite a few old 1930s era sofas were junked and late 1940s sofas were happily placed in many homes.
But I don’t think my parents bought new furniture until the 1950s. One of their first purchases was a chrome dinette set with formica top.
I am too young to remember details of my pre 1950 home, which would not have been in fashion anyway. I do remember my grandmother’s Heywood Wakefield solid birch bedroom set, however. It was all solid birch with rounded corners. You can google Heywood Wakefield to get an idea of their “modern pieces.” Color was light and on the yellow side, but the old pieces mellowed in old age.
I discovered, noodling around, that if you google Better Homes and Gardens, you will be taken to their site, and from there you can pay a fee to become an “Insider” which allows you to read any issue of their magazine dating from the late 1920s. There seems to be an in color decor spread in each issue. You could probably learn a lot doing that.
Do remember what was happening in the early 1940s. The world was at war. After the war, things really changed. I imagine quite a few old 1930s era sofas were junked and late 1940s sofas were happily placed in many homes.
But I don’t think my parents bought new furniture until the 1950s. One of their first purchases was a chrome dinette set with formica top.
When my parents bought their first new home in 1954, an end unit row home, they brought most of their furniture from their previous 30's-era cottage. I still remember the "Chippendale" style dining room set that was kept until my Mom sold her last house in 2008. I also fondly remember the nubby dark green fabric divan. It was supremely comfortable to nap on and heavy as a tank. I would love to have that divan even today - it was a timeless piece of furniture! I think the only new furniture my parents bought was a bedroom set for themselves and my mom had that until her death in 2013.
I am too young to remember details of my pre 1950 home, which would not have been in fashion anyway. I do remember my grandmother’s Heywood Wakefield solid birch bedroom set, however. It was all solid birch with rounded corners. You can google Heywood Wakefield to get an idea of their “modern pieces.” Color was light and on the yellow side, but the old pieces mellowed in old age.
I discovered, noodling around, that if you google Better Homes and Gardens, you will be taken to their site, and from there you can pay a fee to become an “Insider” which allows you to read any issue of their magazine dating from the late 1920s. There seems to be an in color decor spread in each issue. You could probably learn a lot doing that.
Do remember what was happening in the early 1940s. The world was at war. After the war, things really changed. I imagine quite a few old 1930s era sofas were junked and late 1940s sofas were happily placed in many homes.
But I don’t think my parents bought new furniture until the 1950s. One of their first purchases was a chrome dinette set with formica top.
I might have to splurge on the Better Homes and Gardens subscription! My mom always got that, and Colonial Homes.
I still have some of my family’s Heywood Wakefield pieces. They are the maple Colonial style, not the blonde style (although give picked up some of that over the years, too).
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To me MCM works better at offices and public spaces while the 1940s style is cozier for homes. What I don't get is the color palettes, was it vivid or pastel? Or maybe both? And how can one differentiate it from the 1950s, I sometimes have hard time. And not only me, online many a 1940s furtniture is labelled MCM. I think pink and teal were also big in the 1950s and 60s.
