Today's home is filled with pieces from Pottery Barn, IKEA, and Crate &
Barrel, and we pore over glossy catalogs in hopes of achieving the
"modern interior." This idealized aesthetic is the subject of Penny
Sparke's study, as she explores the style in both its absolute form and
the diverse decorating approaches seen in the contemporary home.
The shift from Victorian to modern style, The Modern Interior reveals,
was not as simple and smooth as it is often perceived and the book
probes the complicated history behind that transition. Sparke examines
the work of such designers as Marcel Breuer, Frank Lloyd Wright, Charles
and Ray Eames, and Mies van der Rohe, and draws upon design examples
from the United States and Europe to reveal that, unlike the designed
exteriors of buildings and institutions, the idea of the "interior" has
been a largely abstract conception promoted through exhibitions, retail
stores, and mass media.
A comprehensive and in-depth investigation of the design environments we
live and play in, The Modern Interior will be essential reading for
all scholars and interested observers of architecture and modern design
culture.
