Photography courtesy of Frances Lincoln.
It’s hard to avoid mid-century aesthetics in contemporary design—from architecture to furniture, the fervor for the style of the ’50s shows no signs of slowing down.
The Mid Century Modern Garden 35 at Amazon UK is filling the void and few people could be better placed than its author Ethne Clarke to write about these...
...influential spaces the writer grew up in one of the first mid century planned communities in Illinois where war veterans and their families built new lives in the optimistic 50s
The Mid-Century Modern Garden is £35 at Amazon UK; a US version with the title The Mid-Century Modern Landscape will be published next week ($22.02 at Amazon).
Photograph by Steven Brooke for Raymond Jungles.
An updated Eichler house illustrates the seamless transition from interior to exterior and the importance of lounging pool-side areas.
Midcentury houses were built around those new lifestyles with spaces that segued smoothly from inside to out; expanses of glass allowed light in and views out, and the patio and pool became key elements of many gardens of this era.
In mid-century gardens, a scattering of shrubs was low maintenance yet stylish.
Photograph by Steve Martino.
A sleekly minimal deck surrounds the swimming pool at the Alexander Steel Frame House in Palm Springs (circa 1960-2).
Photograph via Alamy.
The mix of new materials and technologies combined with sleek space-age aesthetics gave rise to some beautiful and ergonomic lounge chairs that were more often than not, portable and light too.
Photograph by Steve Martino.
Steve Martino, a landscape designer based in Arizona, creates a modern day homage to Mexican artist Luis Barragán in a Palm Springs Garden where jewel colors and sculptural planting are reflected in a turquoise pool.
Mexican artist Luis Barragán used some of the boldest hues, taking the white cube austerity of modernism and applying the richest color that contrasted with the extraordinary light of his native Mexico.
To add to the effect, porches were often recessed.Photograph by Ethne Clarke.
The desert surrounds a Palm Springs house and the planting reflects the arid surrounding landscape. Typically for many homes of the era the entrance is downplayed, flowing seamlessly by using the same materials in the landscaping as for the building.
Photograph by Ethne Clarke.
Even for arch Modernists, natural materials were all-important.