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50s design: 1952 living-dining room with great details

Posted by: • March 11, 2008

Continuing the theme of the week, another great interior to scrutinize and learn from.

1952 living room dining room by Armstrong

1950s living room dining room by ArmstrongThis 1952 living room dining room comes courtesy the interior designers at Armstrong Flooring. To be sure, this company had a massive influence via their advertising in establishing the postwar look. Seems like they were among the first to figure out that if you employed interior designers to finish a whole room — especially as it was a new look for America — it would be lots easier to sell the pieces — starting with the floor. Heck yeah there is more →

50s living room: A wonderful modern interior with the perfect colonial touch

Posted by: • March 10, 2008

I feel like I’ve been very focused on kitchens and bathrooms the past several months, so for the next several weeks I will be trying to spotlight a greater selection of 40s 50s and 60s living rooms, dining rooms and bedrooms.

1952-duco-paint-living-room-dining-room

1952-duco-paint-living-room-dining-roomLet’s start with this amazing living room dining room from 1952. The color combination is simply mesmerizing – to me, at least. This particular shade of pink (touch of salmon?) is so inviting…its relationship to the paneled wall is brilliant – I would never have thought of trying this…and the ‘peek’ into the aquamarine kitchen is terrific, too.

Notice also how they’ve matched the floor-to-ceiling pinch pleat draperies to at least one chair, a classic designer trick. And last, I think it’s so wonderful how — again — they’ve included colonial details like the gorgeous oil painting and the dining room table (laquered in black to modernize it). This addition of the unexpected…makes this room all the more perfect.