Colors
22 July 2022
In partnership with Samsung
Although feminism has (almost) overcome the shackles of the housewife’s kitchen imagery, the aesthetic codes of that era persist. The kitschy pastel shades from American magazine advertisements of the fifties and sixties are now paraded in highly contemporary designs, leaving behind the stereotypes of mass consumption.
After its peak in the 1960s, the palette of watered-down monochromes gained in modernity and became the guiding thread of collections by Hay, Montana Furniture, Reform and Samsung… Representations abound under the sign of a purity at the frontiers of vintage, modern, pop and the sublime.
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Era
1950-1960
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Cradle
United States
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Room
Kitchen
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Material
Formica
Formica Revival
Once out of fashion, American laminate kitchens are back in fashion and in line with today’s clean, minimalist style.
Contemporary brands such as Hay and Reform have taken up the visual codes of post-war kitchenettes (plastic crates, lockers, XXL toasters) with the same palette as in the past, but with a renewed, more sustainable range of materials: 100% recycled polypropylene, ceramics…
A retro aesthetic that extends to the fronts of the refrigerators. Samsung’s BESPOKE line also invokes the sixties with panels in sweetened colours that can be customised and interchangeable. A concept that allows the kitchen to juggle with moods, and to go from exotic vanilla to maritime lexicon to the Formica years in no time.
Vintage-pop interiors
Furniture is no exception. The return of vintage is playing into the hands of desaturated tones. Interior architects and object designers have understood this and are orchestrating a symphony of refined sherbets applied to synthetic-looking materials, reminiscent of the plastic utopia of the Americans of the time.
Grannies bathroom
Old school palette
The pop years and the old school palette are also hovering over fashion in a hyper couture version. The pink Prada suit worn by Austin Butler in the latest Elvis Presley biopic is already iconic. So are the argyle tunics from Casablanca, inspired by the popular wardrobe of the golden age of rock’n’roll.
With the same palette, the young generation of designers is reclaiming the watered-down hues of this very special era.
