Postmodernism, a style that emerged in the 1970s as a reaction to the strict rules of modernism, is a diverse interior design concept that focuses on freedom of expression, eclectic influences, and a blend of historical and contemporary elements. The genre experienced its peak in the image-focused glam style, with its core idea being to break free from the dogmas and ideals of modernism and the international style.
Postmodern design embraces diversity, complexity, ambiguity, and playfulness, mixing different styles, materials, colors, and patterns to create eclectic and expressive spaces. It celebrates bold colors, eclectic patterns, and unique shapes, often prioritizing artistic expression over strict functionality. Designers love to mix and match different eras and styles, incorporating bold hues, unconventional decor shapes, and a layout that often prioritizes artistic expression over strict functionality.
Postmodern interior design celebrates unconventional ideas with an emphasis on playful, artsy, and extravagant style. It could even be considered experimental, as it transforms cheap, everyday materials into expensive objects. The core idea of postmodern design is to break free from mid-century norms and embrace a blend of creativity, irreverence, and a departure from the strict principles of previous design philosophies.
📹 How to Decorate Post Modern | The Most CONTROVERSIAL Design Style of 2022!
In this video we are going to talk about Post Modern design. We will look at the details around this style, a bit of its history, Post …
What is the concept of postmodernism?
Postmodernism is a late 20th-century Western philosophy movement characterized by skepticism, subjectivism, or relativism, general suspicion of reason, and sensitivity to the role of ideology in asserting and maintaining political and economic power. It is characterized by a general suspicion of reason and an acute sensitivity to the role of ideology in asserting and maintaining power. This article discusses postmodernism in philosophy and its application in architecture.
Why is it called postmodern?
Postmodernism is a philosophical approach that denies the existence of ultimate principles and lacks the optimism of a scientific, philosophical, or religious truth. Its paradox lies in its skepticism of all principles, recognizing that even its own principles are questionable. Philosopher Richard Tarnas argues that postmodernism cannot justify itself on its own principles, nor can the metaphysical overviews against which it has defined itself. To return to previous topics, click on the ‘Back’ button or select from the topics list.
What are the main features of a post modernist design?
Postmodern architecture emerged as a response to the modernist doctrines of simplicity and functionality, as expressed by architects like Le Corbusier and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. Postmodernism offered complexity and contradiction, with buildings featuring curved forms, decorative elements, asymmetry, bright colors, and features borrowed from earlier periods. It rejected the “puritanism” of modernism and called for a return to ornament and an accumulation of citations and collages borrowed from past styles.
Postmodern buildings often combined new forms and features with seemingly contradictory elements of classicism, resulting in large buildings breaking into several different structures and forms, sometimes representing different functions. The use of different materials and styles can make a single building appear like a small town or village. An example of this is the Abteiberg Museum by Hans Hollein in Mönchengladbach.
What is the difference between modern and postmodern design?
The primary distinction between modernism and postmodernism is their approach to design. Modernism is characterized by a minimalist approach, whereas postmodernism incorporates elements imbued with sentimental value.
What is postmodern style interior design?
Postmodern design is a unique and unconventional approach to classic design elements, blending elements from various periods and creating spaces that feel both familiar and futuristic. This approach challenges traditional notions of design by blending styles and eras, preserving the past while reinterpreting it. Postmodern interiors may feature classical columns alongside modern furniture or a Baroque-inspired mirror with contemporary art.
This design rebellion challenges the linear progression of styles and embraces a more fluid and dynamic approach to aesthetics. Postmodernism redefines the relationship with history, treating it as a playground rather than a rulebook, using classic elements as building blocks for a new visual design language.
What is the style of postmodern?
Postmodernism, a radical fringe movement in the 1970s, became the dominant look of the 1980s, known as the ‘designer decade’. It featured vivid color, theatricality, and exaggeration, combining subversive statements with commercial appeal. Magazines and music played a significant role in disseminating this new phase of Postmodernism, with Italian designers like Studio Alchymia and Memphis promoting their work globally. Post-punk subculture was also broadcast through music videos and graphics.
The excitement and complexity of Postmodernism were influential in the 1980s, but as the world economy boomed, it became the preferred style of consumerism and corporate culture. Ultimately, Postmodernism collapsed due to its own success and self-regard. However, in the 21st century, it continues to influence us, providing a new way of looking at the world and a resurgent style. The exhibition Postmodernism: Style and Subversion 1970 – 1990, held at the V and A South Kensington, showcased the impact of Postmodernism.
What is postmodernism in design theory?
Postmodernism, a departure from the utopian visions of Modernism, focused on complexity and contradiction. Its key principles were the salvaged and distressed materials, creating an aesthetic of urban apocalypse. Postmodernism began as a fringe movement in the 1970s and became the dominant look of the 1980s, known as the ‘designer decade’. The movement featured vivid color, theatricality, and exaggeration, combining subversive statements with commercial appeal.
Magazines and music played a significant role in disseminating this new phase of Postmodernism, with Italian designers like Studio Alchymia and Memphis being promoted globally through publications like Domus. The energy of post-punk subculture was broadcast through music videos and cutting-edge graphics, marking the New Wave.
The excitement and complexity of Postmodernism were influential in the 1980s, but as the world economy boomed, it became the preferred style of consumerism and corporate culture. Ultimately, Postmodernism collapsed due to its own success and self-regard. However, in the 21st century, it continues to influence our understanding of the world and the resurgent style of Postmodernism.
What are the key ideas of postmodernism?
Postmodernism is an intellectual movement that emerged as a response to modernist themes, such as scientific positivism, human progress, and the potential of human reason to address essential truths of physical and social conditions. The movement’s primary tenets include elevating text and language as fundamental phenomena, applying literary analysis to all phenomena, questioning reality and representation, critiquing metanarratives, arguing against method and evaluation, focusing on power relations and hegemony, and critiquing Western institutions and knowledge.
Postmodernism is characterized by a broad range of artists, academic critics, philosophers, and social scientists who critique science based on epistemological and ideological arguments. Anthropologist Melford Spiro defines postmodernism as a critique of science based on subjectivity, as it cannot be a science and subverts oppressed groups, females, ethnics, and third-world peoples.
Postmodernism has its origins in aesthetics, architecture, and philosophy, with its origins in the reaction against abstraction in painting and the International Style in architecture. Its early thinking began in the nineteenth century with Nietzsche’s assertions regarding truth, language, and society, which opened the door for later postmodern and late modern critiques about the foundations of knowledge.
Nietzsche believed that truth is a mobile army of metaphors, metonyms, and anthropomorphisms, which have been enhanced, transposed, and embellished poetically and rhetorically, making them firm, canonical, and obligatory to a people.
What makes postmodernism different?
Postmodernism, a movement that emerged in the mid to late twentieth century, was characterized by skepticism and a rejection of universal truths. It embraced complex and often contradictory layers of meaning, breaking the authority of any single style or definition of art. Postmodern art often combines different artistic and popular styles and media, reflecting a self-awareness of style itself. Jacques Lacan, a prominent French psychoanalyst and theorist, had a significant impact on critical theory in the twentieth century and was particularly influential on post-structuralist philosophy and the development of postmodernism.
Lacan re-examined Sigmund Freud’s psychiatry, questioning the conventional boundaries between rational and irrational. He proposed that the unconscious is as complex and sophisticated in its structure as the conscious, and that it is structured like a language that allows for discourse between the unconscious and conscious, ensuring that the unconscious plays a role in our experience of the world.
What is the key theme of post Modernism?
Postmodernism is an intellectual movement that emerged as a response to modernist themes, such as scientific positivism, human progress, and the potential of human reason to address essential truths of physical and social conditions. The movement’s primary tenets include elevating text and language as fundamental phenomena, applying literary analysis to all phenomena, questioning reality and representation, critiquing metanarratives, arguing against method and evaluation, focusing on power relations and hegemony, and critiquing Western institutions and knowledge.
Postmodernism is characterized by a broad range of artists, academic critics, philosophers, and social scientists who critique science based on epistemological and ideological arguments. Anthropologist Melford Spiro defines postmodernism as a critique of science based on subjectivity, as it cannot be a science and subverts oppressed groups, females, ethnics, and third-world peoples.
Postmodernism has its origins in aesthetics, architecture, and philosophy, with its origins in the reaction against abstraction in painting and the International Style in architecture. Its early thinking began in the nineteenth century with Nietzsche’s assertions regarding truth, language, and society, which opened the door for later postmodern and late modern critiques about the foundations of knowledge.
Nietzsche believed that truth is a mobile army of metaphors, metonyms, and anthropomorphisms, which have been enhanced, transposed, and embellished poetically and rhetorically, making them firm, canonical, and obligatory to a people.
What are postmodern colors?
In contemporary postmodern color palettes, a combination of natural and retro shades is observed, including avocado green, mustard, burnt orange, turquoise, and metallic tones.
📹 why i don’t like postmodern design
Hi again! This week’s video is for design nerds I felt like opening up a convo about postmodernism in architecture and interior …
I never considered myself interested in interior design (my apartment’s aesthetic is decidedly “Craigslist bachelor pad”), but just learning the vocabulary of design is really making it so much more tangible and accessible to me. Thanks for these articles! At the very least, my characters will have much more intentionally-designed homes.
Thank you for a trip down memory lane. I was a young adult during the Post Modern era. My brother-in-law was a beginning interior design professional, so we went to a lot of parties at the Merchandise Mart in Chicago. It was a great time to be single! I couldn’t afford the furnishings, but I sure could paint a lot of my decor in bright colors. My stereo speakers where bright blue and hot pink. And the fashion! I’m old an minimalist now. Haha.
Any chance of doing a “How to Decorate Craftsman” or “Victorian”? I know these styles aren’t super in trend right now, but there’s a lot of modern examples of these styles. My house is Victorian, on the border of Edwardian, and we’re restoring and decorating with an modern take, with a nod to the original. Bold moody colors, with original woodwork for example. Anyways, just an idea.
I moved out of home in the mid-90s and was given a lot of mid century modern pieces from my grandparents. In all of the wisdom a twenty year old possesses, I gave it away and purchased cheap post-modern stuff. It took less than five years for me to discover my love of MCM and I’ve spent the last twenty years buying furniture just like the stuff I carelessly discarded. 😭
For my final home, I want to create a beautiful space, but with just enough quirkiness that when the kids or grandkids come to disperse the estate there are moments of “What was he thinking!?” followed by “Wow, this is hard to take apart!” A post mortem practical joke, if you wish. Your posts help inspire me!
I’m moving away from it right now, but for a long time had a heavily Bauhaus inspired post-modern style. I think you need to have a good sense of playfulness to make it work. And I did it with a few easily replaceable pieces–a sculptural yellow aluminum side table, a satellite bowl from MOMA, orange pillows with robots on them, a pillow with the TV no-signal image, a print of David Bowie/Ziggy Stardust, a bright blue sculptural vase. This can work with contemporary furniture pieces, or even some modern pieces, and is an easy way to experiment with the style.
I love love, love how you broke these styles down. I definitely have a personal style that is heavy traditional in its layout and main furniture. However I love adding in those wacky fun décor elements into those rooms. I actually think traditional can mix with post modern VERY well, because of their contrasting purposes. For example: you mentioned traditional feeling “grand” while post modern is “humorous” and then there is modern which puts function as the soul drive for design. Well you could say that modern takes function seriously, while traditional style takes its self seriously which lends its self to being lovingly made fun of just by adding a few post modern elements.
Really love all of these deep dives & the accompanying history lessons. :). I feel like post modern seems to work best with decor & accessories – the funky lamps, a bright bold print for a wall, asymmetrical mirrors & the like. Not really for me, but I could see how some elements would make a home much more personable & interesting. 🙂
My parents had so much of this 80s and 90s stuff! I had an interesting conversation with my mother about design lately. I really like Mid Century design. She said it’s not for her, because that’s the stuff that was everywhere when she grew up and she’s tired of it. I kind of feel the same about the postmodern style. There are very interesting pieces, but it is not something I would have in my home, because it was everywhere when I was young and I am kind of tired of it…
I worked on an exhibition about post-modernism a few years ago. I walked around the exhibition and the young curator was explaining how she had studied the period for her masters. I was just having flashbacks to my first flat with the black and white stripey kitchen and the bright yellow sofa with red cushions on navy blue carpet….
Thanks for this! I have wondered where my love of modern furniture in strong colors came from. I love color, but mostly the bold jewel tones found in a painting I love hanginyabovr the red couch. So, not truly post modern, but leaning that way. I also have a side chair with an arts & crafts chair back and seat (yet all simple curves, including lumbar support) and vaguely Louis XV arms and legs. Sounds weird but works in a fun but comfortable way. Anyway, it’s pine and now I’m motivated to paint it a teal or green.
thanks Nick! This style is so hard to characterize. I definitely consider myself in the mid-century camp, with a particular affinity for the classic Danish modern works and simple forms emphasizing horizontal lines. So all my main furniture pieces are mid-century or decent fakes. On the other hand, I live in a 70’s high rise, and I’ve mixed in a few 70’s style decorative pieces here. They add a few curves and pops of color for contrast, but I could never do a full-on bright color Memphis Movement stuff.
I am on love with having a few pieces like this in juxtaposition with my overall style, which is a kind of heavy dark threadbare maximalism (think dark chinoiserie walls and wood paneling with mostly traditional furniture arranged more like an interior garden than like a traditional home layout. A strange velvet chair with soft clean curves here or there is perfect. Makes the whole thing feel like an enchanted forest.
Funny, I lived through the 80s and 90s and don’t recall this stuff as a major trend. I do remember coveting a lamp with a swirly iron base and I’d be happy to own one now. Also, maybe, a swirly-framed mirror. Accent pieces. And I adore the idea of asymmetry. Perfect symmetry can be sterile–and, actually, in quantum physics it is said the we would not have a universe at all if symmetry had not been broken on a grand scale. Deep!
Really interesting article! I was around in this post modern design period but don’t remember it too much…I would be interested in a article showing how to incorporate ethnic pieces (from travels) in a modern way! I don’t want to get rid of my travel collections but don’t like the complete boho style or the maximalist decor…
Love the sculptural shapes but let’s definitely leave those neon colors in the 80’s or for the kids, lol. I’m getting Saved by the Bell and early MTV vibes. I had those neon bicycle shorts when I was like 10, and I recently saw a picture of myself at like 12 wearing neon tie die overalls… 🙅🏻♀️🙇🏻♀️ yeah let’s not bring those back 😅🤦🏻♀️
I’ve always viewed post modernism as rather tongue in cheek, and taken in small amounts for the sculptural aesthetic. I’m having a real problem with the Dr. Seuss aspect this time around. Definitely not my thing, but easily approached by any creative young person. A place to be while acclimating to full blown adulthood.
I think that there are really fantastic, iconic,post-modern pieces, but they tend to be really expensive. There’s a lot of tacky, junky PM out there, and it just looks childish. One or two beautiful pieces in a more subdued room looks sophisticated and intentional; a whole room of it looks like Peewee’s Playhouse.
I think, like with clothes, is always good to invest in timeless big basic pieces like the couch, the bed, the dining set, kitchen stuff like a fridge or stove, etc and if you want go crazy with textiles, coffee tables, side tables, lamps, individual armchairs, sculptures, etc. Which can also be drifted or vintage and give the house a very interesting vibe. (On a side note, Paint is always good to experiment with also.) Because you don’t want to invest big money in a big post modern couch that will look weird or you won’t like in a few years and has no resell value.
@Nick Lewis, thanks for your website. I’m going through a really bad time in my life, and the only good thing is seeing you talking about something that is important to me – taking care of my house, that gives me some drive and helps me forget about the bad things. I’m working on my personal bedroom – I used to share it, but that’s the case – and I’m happy to watch you every night from my living room in England you giving really good advice about interior design, as I’m down to the ground person. I’m also a DIY’er which I know you don’t like, but that doesn’t change the fact I love your advice. Cheers – keep bringing your thoughts, you saving a life here.
Aha–watching this article made me realize that my style is midcentury with a punch of post-modern. Just to be sure, I googled Orni Halloween, the designer of the Leda chandelier over my dining room table: “Orni Halloween was the pseudonym under which Ernesto Gismondi designed a select number of post-modern pieces in the 1980s and early 1990s.” I guess my husband and I have always had post-modern tendencies–wanting to throw in some curves and color among the straight lines and natural materials of midcentury. There is definitely a playfulness to this style that makes midcentury feel less staid. Thanks for giving time and attention to design styles not your own.
I love so much Post Modern aesthetics with Red Grooms, Pee-Wee’s Playhouse, The B-52’s, Tom Tomorrow, Swatch watches, etc. But furniture in my opinion should be more classic and neutral and the aesthetics should last through the decades. And when you’re sitting in something, it had better have good function first and foremost! Some of the chairs in this article look soooooo uncomfortable… No thank you!
I love seeing when you post. I watch as soon as I see it. My problem is that I love all styles. That makes it hard to try to stick with just one. I am like a chameleon. I love Scandinavian, but I also love farmhouse. Transitional is also beautiful, but I like a little oddity in the mix like Victoria and Richard’s style. Thankfully I have an in law appt on my home that I was able to design in farmhouse, a couple of furnished rental homes that I furnished in modern design, and my own home that is Transitional, but I still try to find ways to sneak the different styles into my own home to enjoy. It’s pretty tricky and I’m not convinced I have done it as well as I think I have🙄. I’ve even resorted to decorating my poor chicken’s coop so I can have another style!!! (The coop was originally a child’s playhouse converted) That said, your great personality and knowledge have definitely helped me to navigate through some of these styles with my crazy eclectic mind and I just love your articles. I’m not only learning what is what in style, but I am also learning a lot about myself and how to make things work so I can enjoy them in a more cohesive way. Thank you so much.
I wouldn’t have said my tastes run to post modern at all, but that couch at 9:39? I just flashed back to an amazing duvet/bed set I had for a few years that was very similar to this, though maybe with more deep purples and mustard yellows to balance deep blues and intense pinks and oranges. I absolutely loved it that set, held onto it long after the colours faded. It was a fantastic pop of colour in an otherwise muted space (even as a kid/teen I didn’t like “frantic energy” vibes in my sleep zones) and it never occurred to me that it might qualify as post modern in style. Honestly wasn’t expecting to come away from the article with this insight. Mind blown!
80’s PM to me is Fuscia/Aqua/Gold with black accents. Neon was a different palette completely. current PM interpretation has been sanded down and smoothed out to beige and grey and cream, PM was the stave in the eye of colour to wake up MCM, it worked, suddenly Deco and MCM were popular again thanks to PM.
Very interesting. So many of these pictures remind me of TV show sets from the ‘80s. As a kid in the ‘70’s, I had a bedroom that was in the bright colors of the time (yellow, grass green, orange, bright pink), with big daisies, frogs, and a mushroom lamp. When I decorated my own kids rooms in the ‘90’s/early ‘00’s, there were definite post-modern elements with molded plastic, bright colors, neon, and so on. That style makes perfect sense to me for children. But not for adults. I find it kind of jarring, honestly. Looking around my own house, I definitely use color but they’re all on the muted side. I like my house to feel restful.
Having lived through post-modern, my single word description of it is ‘disposable.’ That joke gets old fast. I recently came across a box I hadn’t opened after a move 15 years ago, and among the things that I had been missing were a number of things which were decidedly post modern, things I had bought when I bought my first house in the 1980s. I had not missed these things at all. (The things I had missed I had assumed had been broken and I just didn’t remember that happening.) Also, back in the 1980s I traveled to New York quite often and I would always drop into Fiorucci and buy some silly post modern style accessory for the ten-year-old daughter of a friend of mind. Again, disposable.
For me, the easiest way to help someone imagine what Post Modern looks like is to tell them “Try to imagine the F.R.I.E.N.D.S. apartment.” That 90s flavor of cooky and fun, mishmash of colors, casual, almost juvenile even. Of course, their apartment also has a Traditional flair, especially with that frame on their peep-hole.
I’ve been loving transitional design lately (closer to an amber lewis and less studio mcgee) so my home is really transitional meets Scandinavian (my interior structure itself is really scandi with pitched ceilings, asymmetric rooms, skylights, etc. so it makes sense to add it in) – but I have a loft where I’m creating a more relaxed and less formal vibe and I have mixed in a few post modern style pieces that are still pretty neutral in color. It really does break up the design and I’d consider adding some to my main living area and bedroom as well! I just don’t personally want to go overboard and seem juvenile. I’m a whole 32 year old now 😆 my favourite piece is a cb2 dupe curved ottoman for under my window.
Thank you Nick for your great website ….a lot of valuable information….great spectrum on history of design…. Need advice on an item I intend to purchase in the near future…I need a sleeper sofa for my studio/guest room.. I’m considering buying from Joybird or Article…any suggestions? Anybody out there in this community has an advice for me? Thank you…. have a great day..
Post Modern is not my favorite. There are elements that I enjoy, like your home for instance, which is modern, masculine, and has some lovely clean lines. What bothers me about post modern, and bothered in the 80s -90s is the abstract shapes and bright, primary colors. Those things look cartoony to me. They feel chaotic to me, which is opposite to the way I want to feel in my surroundings.
I’m definitely not a GenZ but I think us boomers may have something in common. My parents house was decorated with mid-century modern furniture – maybe that’s why I’m attracted to cooky and fun furniture. But not the blow-up stuff. Too much like beanbag chairs. And I’ve sat on plenty of those “seats”! But the colours and the shapes of this era are so much fun, so much more interesting than that modern design I grew up with. The lamp that looked like a melting light bulb, can anyone direct me to a place to get that!!? I love it! Thanks Nick for letting me embrace my inner rebelliousness.
Post Modern is a term that is trickier to define than just by its form. The term has taken on a skewed definition from the original publications, especially when you move outside the interior design category ie: Architecture. There’s a lot of crossover between what can be defined as postmodern and modern. Personally I think Memphis is a style that stands almost completely on its own.
Nick I FINALLY realized that my home is post modern!!! It was built in the early 90s, and when I moved it I couldn’t make sense of the listing description of “contemporary.” I couldn’t figure out what that meant. Tall ceilings, columbs, half walls, strange angles – this house has been fun and strange to move into lol. My style is basically pacific northwest style, except my office. That is my fun room. Imagine The Memphis Group in 2022. I’m thrilled to check the links you recommended and go shopping. My shopping cart at Charish is now full of things I probably won’t buy but it’s so fun to look!
Hey, @Nick_Lewis, can we get a deeper dive into contemporary post-modern decor? This article is great, and has inspired me to make some changes to my home. I’m curious for tips on styling existing furniture to achieve the contemporary version of this vibe. For instance, people who already have the big furniture pieces like beds and sofas. And maybe more details for each room, like kitchen, entryway, bathroom, living room, bedroom, dinning room, office etc. How to select: wall/ceiling color, art for different spaces, light sources, curtains, small appliances, decorative items.
Thanks for explaining Post Modern, Nick. I had wondered what it meant, exactly. Your explanation was very understandable. My home has more of a modern/eclectic design, but there were a few examples you showed that I could enjoy. (Hence the eclectic side of me) Especially the newer, more neutral versions of the style. And that adorable “ballon dog”! Too cute!
Thank you for giving me the name for what I like and loved in the 80s. 🙂 I think a traditional living room with those McDonald’s flowerpot/vases… that would be hilarious and awesome. Why wouldn’t I want my decor to make me smile every time I look around? I wouldn’t have one of the horribly uncomfortable sofas (I don’t need to sit on them to know they’re not comfy, I did in the 80s and the butt never forgets!) but crazy throw pillows in different geometric shapes? Sign me up. Unfortunately, it looks weird in my 125 year old house, so I stick to little accessories to make me giggle along with my antiques.
God I eat these articles up. This was an incredibly informative one, Nick! Make’s me appreciate the calmness of my home’s aesthetic a little more 😛 ****One more photo credit: Lone Fox for the first photo with the yummy couch– from his 400sqft studio redo for Kelsy who had requirements for her wheelchair use and her big doggo.
IKEA did a limited edition post modern collection about a year ago. And every once in a while they release classic IKEA staple pieces, like the Kallax and the Malm, in bright bold coloured laminate that could absolutely be used as foundation pieces for a post modern design. I myself have an ocean blue Brimnes chest of draws and a mint green Kallax. The Halved rug would probably work too, now that I’m thinking about it.
Uh. My style is kind of American rustic/colonial/European country/Mediterranean /Morocco/Eclectic. I literally cannot find any defined “style” that means my aesthetic. I thought it might be BoHo, but I hate rattan/wicker/pampas grass/all brown and beige, which is NOT BoHo to me. I’m colorful, world traveled, personal, comfortable…ugh. I just don’t know how to take these articles and apply them to my house.
Yuk, uh no. Some will like it. Others, yeh, uh, maybe. It is however, truly creative and fresh with a genuinely different perspective. Inspirational, for some. But is this soothing, comfortable and therefore pleasing to LIVE with.? To each his own. There’s a choice and a style for EVERYONE. Freedom, indeed, is truly liberating that in and of itself. Live and let live.
We’re missing a design style that I don’t know the name of from the 70’s and early 80’s. It was to Boomers what ‘farmhouse’ has been to us. I think of it as ‘prairie.’ Lots of gold, olive greens, orange, and some barn red. Pottery, quilts, ruffled curtains, braided rugs, and cookware hanging on the walls. It was homey with autumn colors and all the rage among the working class. While todays parents dress their kids in beige, our parents dressed us up in prairie dresses with bonnets and cotton sun dresses. The wood sofa set with the hideous brown/orange/gold BARN fabric that was in literally everyone’s basement rec room was part of this.
A lot of the seating choices shared for the new post modern revival look more like late modernism to me (e.g more 1970s, as there’s still a lot of uniformity to their shaping). For me, the aspects of post modernism that I like is the use of strong geometry emphasized by contrasting colour, or use of black to contrast with/outline the brights… So I could see myself incorporating textiles and wallpaper using strong geometric patterns, contrasting paint choices (e.g black door frames against bright yellow, blue and pink walls) and furniture like side tables or accesories such as fruit bowls and lamps using slightly oversized geometric forms. The aspect of PoMo interiors that I really don’t understand is painting a freehand squiggly line border around a doorway.
No one who saw my house would think MCM, Scandinavian, or Japandi but, in fact, those are the “bones” of my interior. Because I have collected folk art over time, and other art as well, I need underlying simplicity. PM is not for me: I don’t want the “bones” to stick out and distract from the African sculpture or Spanish colonial retablo that I’m currently focusing on. As other have said, for those who like it mazeltov, but I couldn’t live with it…evah.
Just watched the Art Deco article before this one and now I’m trying to figure out where I lean most lol. I think I would be able to incorporate more Art Deco successfully than Post Modern. I’m definitely feeling the sculptural and asymmetric aspects of Post Modern, whereas I like the color and geometric patterns of Art Deco. Thank you for these articles!
I feel like this is a very high risk high reward style. If you can pull post-modern off, you will definitely have a very unique and memorable home! But there is a big potential for it to look bad if you don’t plan it right. Not everyone can pull off a brightly colored couch, let alone a hot dog shaped one! Most people will get the best results just incorporating touches of it into their home, but I have respect for people who can furnish a whole apartment/house like that! I stick to a transitional style because that’s what feels like home to me, and it’s easy to shop for (every antique mall near me has tons of furniture that fits the style for great prices). Also, it’s very cozy and difficult to mess up, lol.
I think what’s followed postmodern design (where we’ve been stylistically for the last few decades) is actually a dichotomy: Urban contemporary on one hand, nostalgic farmhouse on the other. I think it represents and identity crisis of past meeting future in the present – on the one hand we’re trying to recapture what feels homelike from prairie/pioneer days (at least in American history) and the urban idealism of what we imagine to be ideologically pure about a minimalist, futuristic lifestyle (which incidentally integrates mid century) These two may seem at odds but a space that respects both characteristics is actually really pleasant space to live in. To me, at least.
I LOVE post modern… In other people’s houses. Because I am not patient enough to dust all of this textured decor items and oddly (in the best way) shaped furniture. Nearly all of my design choices for my space, I choose in equal parts for form and ease of care. Anyone who has the patience for this and can have a home in a post modern design is my hero.
We are traditional for the most part; but have some fun stuff too. Sconces are twisted metal with bamboo texture we recently painted with hammered black paint. Wall hangings of metal ladders with climbers. A few other fun things to give just enough fun to the traditional style. The other small items our son has given us from his travels around the world in the Navy. Guess you could say we’re rather eclectic but not over done or cluttered.
I always enjoy your humour! I’d like to request a article on choosing a dining table – or if that’s too specific for one article, maybe on choosing pieces for a dining room. I’ve heard about certain materials staining. I’ve also had a cheaper Ikea table that looks nice but would like an upgrade next time I buy one, but nervous about making mistakes. And my parents recently got a nice rustic looking table, but I find the wood is so unfinished and it dents and stains (from oil mostly) very easily, so now I’m even more nervous of things to look out for that I won’t know!
I think this article paired with your chair article is really interesting because I would consider a lot of Bauhaus and mid-century furniture, especially the chairs, sculptural. Like the womb chair, tulip chair, egg chair and especially the zig zag chair. They are very functional, but have gorgeous form. It seems like what separates those design styles from this one isn’t better form, it’s that new post modern pieces are just less functional. Which is fun when it’s knick knacks or just a few home furnishings here and there, but for people who are trying to get as much function as they can out of their square footage, prioritizing this design style will be a hinderance. I think it’s better as an accent more than a focus.
I love the idea of post modern. I just find the modern minimalist style so boring and bland. I hated the time when white and beige and brown and clean lines were all over the design pages/blogs/shows. I appreciate how furniture designers can show their creativity through traditional furniture like tables and chairs that still function as furniture. It is hard to get right though I think. You can definitely go into “just throwing random weird stuff together” territory.
I took an art class in the early nineties called “Contemporary Art Forms”. Most of it was an explanation of Post Modernism, the movement. It was very philosophical, deep. About as far from playful kooky as you could get. But…I do love abstract items that are for primarily decoration. On the other hand, things that are for actual use I prefer comfort, so the materials and the construction needs to accommodate that for me. I find it hard to stay with the neutral color palette even though I like seeing it in pictures. I always start veering off from it.
I designed my daughters room in a fun postmodern design. She’s 7 years and she’s so in love and proud of her room. The downside was that it took quite some time putting it together because I really had to search for the right pieces. It can also get quite costly fast because of the design aspect of this style.
Stylists often talk about having a primary and secondary design style and I love having mostly an organic modern home with some postmodern accents. Like a side chair, lamp, art piece in postmodern. It’s a great “sprinkle” style that gets a lot of compliments and if you get sick of your weird item just change it out, it’s small. I think it gives some personality. Love what you said about humor and irony too. I have a very grown up apartment, but some cute little monster prints from a local artist in my bathroom and a cross stitch that says “go f— yourself” in my breakfast nook. It’s funny bc of the contrast, and also the naughty words in something so feminine as cross stitch. But they blend into the color scheme so well that you almost wouldn’t notice at first glance.
This is one of the best descriptions of post-modernism that I’ve ever heard. I must say, I don’t really feel the design holds up when the colours are bland-ified. It just looks dumb. While I wouldn’t strive for a room like the 80s examples given in this article as they just go too far the other way (even in the 80s no one went THAT extreme on every piece), the more colourful examples given by nick here are great. The chevron credenza, for example, is wonderful as a focus piece.
Post modern. The original totally kooky should take off into the ethers and not return. Matbe in a coffee table book. Maybe if you have a giant space and don’t need furniture that functions. As a total style, not just accents, it’s headachy. Then the new adaptation of it, maybe they should give it a new name, very confusing. The pictures you’re showing are really confusing. It’s is very juvenile. Young people thought they wanted MCM and then lived with it and found it was too restricting, went off the rails and bought some of this stuff. By thrifting and vintage being added to the mix you slide into boho. By then it’s just a mess.
Post-modern is good for people who… need whimsy are childlike and/or emotionally immature go to raves or electronic festivals need a lot of attention have difficulty sitting still throw parties regularly hoping guests will talk about your “unique” decor prefer fantasy over reality need to post a lot of IG photos and what a colorful, eye-catching backdrop tend to eat out most nights rather than cook at home are emotionally stuck in 1987-1992 consider themselves artistic don’t like to lounge or relax on their furniture can’t tolerate being alone I’m sure I’ve forgotten a few. Having a piece here or there is different that immersing oneself in an entire home or apartment of this style. Back in the day, Paisley Park was an homage to post-modern décor.
I think post-modernism is really good at proposing the question: ‘why not?’ although you might not agree with some aesthetic choices, I wouldn’t personally sum it up as a movement completely overthrowing functionality. To me it reflects back at modernism; not everything in our life is purely functional, and even then like you said yourself: ‘the abstract idea of a function can be so flexible’, why then would you not be able to consider ‘starting a conversation’ as a function? I think it confronts us with the insight that what we think a chair for example should look like, is just a learned assumption. As long as you can sit comfortably on it, perhaps what it looks like should not be set in stone.
I agree that architecture and interiors that are non-functional on purpose are bad design (though I think they can be excellent art) what constitutes “excessive” and “unnecessary” ornamentation is a pure matter of opinion and can’t be “good” or “bad” design. As long as the stairs can be safely and effectively used as stairs, having a funky mix of colors and patterns, or every spindle a different shape and style, is something you personally might find displeasing but someone else might find whimsical and fun. We’re only on this planet a relatively short amount of time, and so much of our time is taken up by things that are so serious so why not allow some playfulness into design? I think postmodernism isn’t always a “fuck you,” sometimes it’s just fun. And, yeah, ok, maybe it’s a bit childish, but so what? I’m paying my bills on time, I’m taking care of my responsibilities, maybe a weird shaped table that looks like it could have been on the set of a Nickelodeon show in the 80s makes me smile, and if so, that IS serving a purpose.
I hope this isn’t too all over the place. I think what I like about postmodernism is that it doesn’t take itself too seriously, which is what I think about modernism.There is space for more artistic applications of design, which is what makes it personally more engaging to me as both a designer and a fan of design. I don’t think it is a fair assertion that the goal of postmodernism is to enrage fans of modern design. but I do think the point is to make people feel strongly about design . Part of my feelings around modern design stem from my own experiences studying and practicing product design In design school, there is a lot of focus placed on modern design, so much so that in my class on the history of product design, we basically started with the bauhaus.I grew skeptical about modernism because everyone sang its praises, and I had always been a fan of other historical designs, gothic design, arts and crafts, art nouveau I know that this website is often more focused on residential design, and I can recognize that a full postmodern space can be jarring to live in, but I think postmodern objects can live very successfully in an otherwise traditional or modern space. And I think postmodern design specifically can do a lot for our public commercial surroundings and how we engage with our built environments outside of the home.
I’ve been reading Jane Jacob’s book “The Death and Life of Great American Cities” and she makes some really fascinating points about how modernist architects like Le Corbusier founded modern urban planning and how their ideas (surrounding city planning, e.g. the Radiant City) were detrimental to cities in the 20th century. Its crazy how modernist architecture seems so honest and people centered, but these same architects laid the groundwork for “urban renewal” and destroying neighborhoods. Its a great book, highly recommend.
i feel you on the smaller scale postmodern spaces and objects but you kind of lose me when you try to paint all of them—especially the larger works—as being fundamentally alike in a way that is fundamentally negative. eg, i’ve been to the disney concert hall many times over the years and honestly never really think about how it looks anymore. but in terms of functional qualities—acoustically, crowd management, entry and exit etc—i think it is pretty undeniably successful. why are we willing to say “#notallmodernism” but not “#notallpostmodernism”?
This gets personal and I need to pen down my thoughts. Postmodernism always fascinates me given how diverse and different it is manifested across different fields – philosophically it has impacted me a lot since college, yet postmodern art isn’t my cup of tea. Personal taste aside, it seems a bit problematic to reject postmodernism as a whole in architecture and design. I am primarily trained in urban planning and design, and Caroline’s earlier comment about Jane Jacob’s critique on modernism in this realm brings out a very pertinent question on understanding the rise and fall of modernism in architecture before the arrival of postmodernism. A crucial part of modernist design and architecture is this new layer of social responsibility, whereby better design is believed to be able to lead to a better way of life (physically, aesthetically, even morally) and ultimately a better world. Those are progressive and promising at the first glance, but are a bit arrogant and overly ambitious as well. Beyond the usual critique of aesthetic blandness and the lack of personal identity, the fall of modernist design is kind of ironic to me due to its increasing insensitivity towards human and the contextuality into the 70s, and it is frustrating how the essence of human-oriented design is often missing or even executed in the exact opposite ways. This is a core reason why modernism as a movement has begun to be regarded as elitist, exclusive, detached from the working class, and even inhumane, despite its democratic intentions.
I never ever comment, but I have to say I’m so glad I found your website. You’ve managed to perfectly encapsulate my thoughts in ways I didn’t know how to articulate before. I’ve actually started completely redoing my apartment, buying new (old) stuff from Marketplace thanks to you. The thing that had always intuitively bugged me but I don’t know why you summarised in another article: dishonest materials! They all had to go. Starting afresh. 😊
Love when you got to the part of art vs design. I’m an artist by education and a (software) designer by profession, and I watch a lot of interior content. I find there’s a pretty strong divide between people who view themselves as artists or designers and how that translates into their space. For instance, almost across the board, designers will advise not to go all in on one style and to mix and match while artists will absolutely go ham on a theme. Imo I think that tension is probably what gives you that ick about post modern buildings. As a designer, I feel the same about these buildings, but as an artist, I can’t say I like them but I don’t hate them in the same way because of the history and knowledge of how postmodernism in art evolved. They’re evocative, challenging, and thought provoking in ways that interior design probably shouldn’t be, but I can’t hate on people that push the boundaries. That being said, I 100% agree with you on unsustainability of building such large spaces that don’t feel comfortable or functional for the people that use them. I would prefer to see postmodernism make use of found objects and blend with natural elements that would make it more of a mature reaction to the types of modern materials that came with mass manufacturing.
We are sat and ready to learn Update Okay so I disagree with a majority of this article but honestly it was really nice to hear you out and have a discussion with myself about the topic. I think a majority of the time I tend to watch content that only validates my preexisting opinions/assumptions, so it scratches a new itch when I find an intelligent argument from an opposing perspective. It’s a refreshing feeling knowing that I agree with you whole heartedly on some topics but then have contrasting ideas on others. Keep it up king 💕
I clicked onto this article as a surrealist artist who likes SOME postmodern pieces and came away pretty much completely agreeing with you. When a space or object is terrible to use, unless it is purely meant to be art, I wouldn’t want to interact with it. That being said, I do own Alessi’s juicer and it is actually easy/painless to use! I haven’t had any juice drip down the legs and I find that it works quite well. Do I have to find the appropriate sized glass and use two hands? Yes. But I purchased it partially because I see it as a functional art piece. I do find it a little annoying that the designer didn’t give two flying f***s if it worked or not though. Luckily, it happens to work well for me (probably partially because I’m not juicing 10 lemons a day). I love your distinction between art and design- a full article on this would be great. Honestly, to each their own on what people want to include in their daily life! I do see how a lot of postmodern pieces/buildings could be seen as “bad design”
I really appreciate your explanation on the difference between art and design. That cleared things up in my head. Postmodernism indeed feels like a hybride form of art and design. At the cost of loosing functionality it can win on the ‘artistic expression’ side of things. From a purely design point of view there’s definitely critique to be had. I personally do think it’s really cool that an art museum can look like an artwork itself. The feeling it evokes is also a very important design choice and can communicate what the building is about. Plus it adds to the variety of architecture in a city. Even though I’m generally not into most postmodern designs I see (especially oversaturated objects that look like toys) I do think it’s cool it exists.
Thank you for describing postmodernism in architecture and interiors. I did not know much about the subject and just did not take it seriously and just knew I did not like it. It has something that bothers me especially in comparison to other historic design periods. It’s somewhat cartoonish is my reaction to it. I’m not an interior designer. I had worked with interior designers and architects for many years as a graphic designer/illustrator within the facilities planning design division of ARAMARK Inc. I’m a painter now at age sixty-three and grew up in a home which was filled with classic design pieces from the late 1940’s through 60’s, because my father was a design director for four major companies in his career which was mostly in the commercial end of office and restaurant design. Our home was filled with Eames, Knoll, Bertoia, Saarinen, Risom, Nakashima, Nelson and McCobb. My dad worked with Paul McCobb and became friends with him back in the late 1940’s. They both served in WWII and Paul was launching his Planner Group furnishings in the late 1940’s and my dad designed a showroom space for the furniture. You would have liked my father. He originally in the 1950’s designed future automobiles for Ford and Mercury in their Advanced Styling Division. I enjoy your articles very much.
I work in the AEC industry, and often work closely, if not for architects. I love hearing your explanations of design theory and, as a result, having some insight to their design process. Your explanations have also helped me build my “design vocabulary” and I feel like I have a better eye for validating the built environment and interiors I encounter. Love that you briefly mentioned the Museum of Pop. As a fellow former Seattle-ite, I always thought the building looked interesting, but out of place.
I would love a (ideally negative) commentary on the overall architectural design of Oslo compared to, for example, Copenhagen! We have no national architects like they have in Sweden and the most boring residential buildings are been built – where do we go from here? What is your opinion on typical buildings in Oslo and on national architects (riksarkitekter)? Can some buildings improve the whole city or do we need to do some major urban redesign? How do we approach design anchored to the building’s surroundings and the country’s culture when Norway does not have a very rich culture?
I don’t think postmodern designers thought that their approach is the right or true one and the only way we should do design. As you said, it’s an answer on modernism. I use and like both influences 🙂 Form follows function is a great concept (even THE concept imo) but when you take it too far it gets plain and boring and lifeless so adding a bit of fun and unseriousness is the way to go. Postmodernism for me has something to do with accepting that not everything can be perfect and that it’s okay to add a bit of irrationality. By designing a lemon squeezer for example I still think that the modernist approach should be the leading one in the industry. The postmodern one is really just an art piece of course. Maybe the problem is the consumer who doesn’t understands this or confuses it… and the money hungry industry reacting to it… just an idea.
Given that postmodernism came about during the 60s and 70s, a time when counter culture was really popping off in every way in the West, it kinda makes sense that the rise in rejection of the norm came about. I’ve got 0 background in design so maybe I’m talking out of my ass, but it feels like the logical step given that every other facet of society faced the “fuck this, we’re literally doing the opposite” at that time. Music, fashion, even societally with what we expected of men and women to be doing/behaving/thinking from a gender norm point of view. The decision to do the exact opposite of what was expected at the time, in a funny sort of hindsight way of looking at it, couldn’t have been more expected 😅
It’s also interesting to deep dive into Scott Brown’s impact on historic preservation and the firm’s commitment at the time to retaining the historic fabric of cities and their shaping of modern urban planning practices (ie south street, UPenn Library) also HIGHLY RECOMMEND Venturi’s “complexity and contradiction” which is a better lens into the framework of postmodern ideology in architectural theory
“A thoughtless sculpture draped over a building”, well-said, Noah! That’s exactly it. I loathe those Gehry buildings — also definitely NOT good Feng Shui! I agree with your views here. I see Post-Modern Architecture as coming from the ego-mind, rather than the spiritual-mind. It creates chaos rather than harmony in any environment, and it’s about as far from nature as we could ever get, which is destabilising for the human mind and heart.
This has come at the perfect time! I am a traditional girly but also love a lot of the postmodern pieces too. Have been trying to figure out a way to successfully blend these two styles together and I think a good start to that is doing more research about Postmodernism, since I’m already super familiar with a more classic and traditional style. edit And I know this is basically you talking about how you dislike the style, but I’m still hoping to get a little bit of Inspo from this lmao. 🙈
I grew up in the 80s, and back then I couldn’t explain why, but as soon as I moved into my first own place in the 90s, I started thrifting “modern” furniture from the 50s. It probably sounds silly but I really suffered when I had to live in an 80s building for a while. It wasn’t only the aesthetics, the place was so dysfunctional. For example, the window side of the bedroom/side where the headboard of the bed had to go was a polygon, so you had these pointless triangular spaces to both sides of the headboard where only a triangular night stand would have fitted. And I won’t even start on how to darken a room at night with five windows pointing at each other at angles. But now I am in a modernist 60s building, the floor plan is so well thought-out and “user friendly” that furnishing the space was easy. Even though it’s just a small studio, it feels open and airy. I couldn’t be happier!
As a recent interior and spatial design graduate, you are the lecturer I wish I had. Your commentary is so valuable to young designers – in my case, I feel like you have articulated a lot of design principles that I intuitively thought of but never put into words, and hearing them said out loud has given my process more structure. Thank you for your articles Noah, I love this format!
While I dislike most post modern architecture, I quite enjoy post modern objects, I appreciate their kitschy, quirky playfulness. I love many things Stark and Sotsass have created. Maybe I am favourably biased cause I am a generation Xer and grew up surrounded by this type of design. Having said that, postmodernism definitely lacks the timeless beauty and elegance of modernism.
i appreciate how educational this article was. i definitely think art and design are both subjective, so there isnt “right” or “wrong” way to look at it. your articles got me hooked good on the Mid Century Modern style, but i also like elements from the Postmodern design like playfulness and graphic element. Def agree that most of the architecture is just bad and obnoxious.
Id love to hear you dive more into art vs design! Im an artist; when I translate my artistic desires 1 to 1 to design I feel queasy and overstimulated by the result. I have to always reign in and simplify silhouettes, patterns, form etc when i’m decorating my home. Its been a huge learning process! Its a challenge to understand where the unexpected details should be placed to effectively deliver my vision without overtaking the function of a space. On the flip side, I feel as though theres a shared bridge between composition in artwork, and design. Maybe because good composition requires clarity on placement, shape, repetition and scale? It sounds similar to design in that way, which I find very interesting haha.
As someone in his 50’s, just be aware that tastes change. What you like in early adulthood will probably morph into something different or even the opposite. Post-Modernism was my favorite architectural and interior style for decades, eventually giving way to warm Minimalism and Japandi by my mid-30’s. I never went through a Modern and Mid-century Modern phase, I always found them compromised.
Hey! I’ve watched most if not all of your articles at this point. The visual references really help in understanding the ideas, but it would be great if you could include names/references wherever you have them. For instance, this article contains an image of a gorgeous couch, but I have no way of finding out what it is and if it is attainable at all!
Good points! Pomo being reactionary isn’t something I’d thought of, but it just doesn’t build anything off of modernism. Maybe it’s better thought of as “antimodernism” in the context of architecture/design. I still think it’s fun, but in an anthropological way, like, why do people like the Cheesecake Factory (or Las Vegas, but I repeat myself)?
i agree with a lot of points brought up, and i myself am not fond of postmodern interiors and architecture, but I do disagree with the notion that postmodernist architecture and design is not directly linked to postmodernist theory. Postmodernism was all about rejecting the set rules and grounds of modernism, claiming that they have been unable to respond to contemporary issues and struggles, as it created rigid limitations that individuals must adhere to. Here, postmodernism, inspired by anti-colonial and cosmopolitan movements, came to nullify this assumption, and to present a new way of thinking that rejects the narrative of only one “right” and “wrong”, which I think is powerful and revolutionary. This does come into play in design, where previous modernist design could be viewed not only as erasing individual expression, but also forcing people to one way of life, as the “elitist” architects know better. It rejects that and presents alternative forms of spatial and functional design in rejection of the rigidity of modernist design. Does it present a sustainable functional design? Most instances than not, no it doesn’t. Does it resemble mostly a statement? Probably. Do I like it? No, it’s not my cup of tea but that is at the core of postmodernist philosophy. That’s what I mean, I don’t like it and I agree how it may be immature in design specifically, but I think it is very much an essential part of postmodernist philosophy.
I love your analysis and your willingness to break down why you hate it 😂 I too love modernism, but I don’t really see how a modernist building would fit into its surrounding context any better than postmodern buildings would. And ig I don’t really have a problem mixing art and architecture (we’ve done it throughout history after all). So for me the question would be; ceci n’est pas un lemon squeezer?
“immature reaction ” – I largely agree with you! I hate what I call Toytown buildings. Spheres plonked on top of blocks on top of stripy bits – like a kid manically mashing Duplo blocks together. I love modernism very much, and yes, it can take itself a bit seriously, and I like post-modernism’s tendency to reach for colour, or to be playful… but myyyyyyyyy god it’s done badly so often. In other forms of design I tend more toward maximalism, but I love the elegant and very human, organic frame that good modern architecture & design provides for living. By contrast, postmodern architecture & design can feel like junk food. I do not need a lot of it and ugh I don’t want to live in it. I would always choose a beautifully proportioned and structured modern building over a punky postmodern building. (I do love the Museum of Pop Culture though, it always makes me smile when I go through it on the monorail and you get the sunlight glinting all those beautiful metallic curves.)
As a philosophy student, one question I might ask is can you separate postmodern philosophy from postmodern design? I would say no. I feel like there is some misunderstanding of postmodernism in this article, but of course there also might be some applications of it in design where designers do not give it what it is due–perhaps they misunderstand some elements also. Some of your critiques of it in design are critiques I hear of postmodern philosophy by those who do not offer a charitable understanding of it alongside their critiques.