A Thoroughly Modern Alternative

Mid-to-late 20th century furniture has been a hot style in the US since 2000.  Now it is catching on in the UK.

Vintage furniture retailer Ken Bolan has made a living predicting interior trends that will appeal to British home owners.  Before people bought rustic French country furniture or Swedish designs or garden statuary, he knew they would.
So what does Bolan, owner of the New Talisman showroom in London’s Chelsea, expect customers to be most interested in this year.

Mid- to late 20th century  American furniture – designed by European émigrés, such as Karl Springer (from Germany) and Maurice Villency (from France), who settled in the US before and after the second world war.  Their pieces are seen as a creative reaction to the American way of life, modified by materials including light-touch Lucite, glamorous lacquer, nickel and chrome.

”I haven’t done a market study, but that’s my instinct,” Bolan says.  “There’s a new approach to decorating – people are looking for adventure. And mid-century modern “utterly suits contemporary interiors”.

It’s not surprising that Bolan would want to talk up the designs he carries. And perhaps, like many antiques dealers, he’s also been forced to move into a more modern market.

But since he moved the 20-year-old Talisman from an old brewery in Dorset to a huge 1930s art deco building on the King’s Road in London a fortnight ago (“people are too time poor to leave the capital”), his theory has been confirmed by sales. Glossy black lacquer cabinets, clear Lucite tables, chrome-and-nickel chairs, Springer bar stools and a Villency-style Lucite buffet were some of the first items to go.

And others in the industry also see mid-century modern becoming more popular. “American designs from the 1960s have a very interesting edge and what’s often overlooked is the quality and workmanship in these pieces,” says Kit Kemp, co-owner and interior designer of Firmdale Hotels who just bought some pieces for a property that opens next year. “I’m always looking for something that will make people curious and I particularly like mid-century Lucite and Perspex designs because they look so glamorous. It’s a very modern look but one that can mix in with, say, Swedish 18th Century or William IV furnishings. I believe it’s a style that will definitely take off.”

Given the chorus of voices supporting him, it seems as if Bolan’s call might be right yet again.