Modern Nostalgia: Mixing Personal Treasures and Modern Style - Hardcover

Kasabian, Anna; Greer, Nora Richter

4.17

6 ratings by Goodreads

9781564968104: Modern Nostalgia: Mixing Personal Treasures and Modern Style

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1564968103 ISBN 13: 9781564968104

Publisher: Rockport Pub, 2001

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Ease into contemporary home design with Modem Nostalgia. Despite predictions that the new millennium would find us lounging on shiny metallic and disposable furniture, most people still want room for familiar classics-whether graceful 'Windsor dining chairs or a beautiful French country table. If you treasure tradition but long for a fresh, new look, this hook is for you. Here is a collection of rooms that intrigue with a unique fusion of design ideas-harmoniously mixing heirloom pieces and contemporary looks. 'This streamlined, modern style guide will help you:

-Give crowded rooms breathing space, atmosphere, and depth
-Balance rooms with a blend of old and new
-Use "pieces with a past" to create a softer, looser style

Hold on to the things you love, and give them drama and impact with fresh MODERN style.

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About the Author:

Anna Kasabian has 28 years of experience as a writer, editor and communications professional. She writes about interiors, interior design, garden crafts, home and garden preservation projects, and architecturally significant properties. Her byline appears in Woman's Day Special Interest Magazines, The Boston Globe, Boston Magazine, New England Travel & Life, Yankee Magazine's Gardener's Companion, and Boston Elegant Wedding. New work will appear in Coastal Living Magazine. She has also been featured on National Public Radio's Boston affiliate, WBUR, Homestore.com, an online magazine, and as a guest on HGTV.

Nora Richter Greer is a freelance author and has been writing about architecture for over 20 years. She began her career at Architecture magazine and has authored Architecture Transformed (Rockport Publishers). The Search for Shelter (The AIA Press), and The Creation of Shelter (The AIA Press). She resides in Washington, D.C.

Introduction:

It seems that our dawning millennium has thrown the Jetsons out of orbit. Few modern, ‘space-age’ families lounge on shiny metal chairs or invest in disposable furniture. We still want our familiar classics graceful Windsor dining chairs and beautiful French tables. But at the same time, we may be disappointed that our interiors aren’t more stylish and contemporary—perhaps even more airy and clutter-free. We harken back to the Modernists who streamlined design at the beginning of the industrial era.

While living in unconventional times, we can’t deny our dual interests in contemporary and traditional design. But no longer must we choose one style for our interiors, because we can harmoniously mix our heirloom pieces with contemporary design ideas. Although there aren’t any rules, there are some goals, and Modern Nostalgia will describe and demonstrate these.

In the early 1900s, the architectural profession reacted against the excessive decoration of earlier styles, and modernism began. Because the machine age sought to create streamlined, practical, and efficient architecture, modernism brought a radical change to the materials, room layout, and furnishings of home design. These changes continued to evolve throughout the 20th century. While the decorative arts are flourishing once again, modernism still influences contemporary design.

Those who aren’t interior designers may rarely see many examples of this ‘new style.’ So, what exactly do we mean by Modern Nostalgia? It could be described as the fusion of contemporary and traditional design—a weaving together of old and new.

This book examines various ways to blend contemporary and traditional throughout the home and demonstrates numerous helpful techniques. Perhaps the first task will be to clear our rooms of clutter so that our crowded rooms have new breathing space, atmosphere, and depth. Paring down to essentials will help to balance old and new elements and, in the process, we’ll be creating a personal style that better states who we are and what is important to us. Modern Nostalgia is designed to help you accomplish all this.

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