The 1950s interior was truly a modern decorative scheme. Gone were any references to a previous style, gone to was any mention of luxurious or elitist trappings. This was a style that was definitely rooted in the egalitarianism of the war years.
The 1950s saw a break with the past that can indirectly be attributed to the Second World War. The war had seen a deliberate rationalisation of decoration and ornamentation. This was a necessity due to the extreme shortage of materials and the need to divert as much as possible towards the war effort.
This led to a design style that was utilitarian in makeup and was actually branded ‘Utility’ by the British government. Furniture in particular was produced cheaply and was devoid of any unnecessary decoration. It was made available to all classes and was expected to be used by all.
The British government had learnt many lessons from the First World War where rationing was patchy and did not apply to all sectors of society. Many of the wealthy seemed exempt and even unaware that limitations to their lifestyle was expected.
By the Second World War the government was much more in control and enforced rationing on all sectors of society. This creation of a community where all members contributed towards winning the war, was deemed as necessary, not only for the duration of the war, but in the rebuilding of what was hoped would be a new society after the war, where all would see themselves as part of the larger community of equals.
Much of the rationing and Utility ware ideas were rooted in Socialist principles and it is no surprise that a Socialist government was elected by the British soon after the end of the war.
Huge changes were expected, probably unrealistically, and little was delivered. However, the Socialist ideals that lay behind Utility products, did carry over into the 1950s interior decorative styles. For the first time it was thought that the principles of true Modernism, whereby all could benefit from the results of good design for a better lifestyle, might possibly come true.
Designers who had been employed in the government funded Utility scheme, carried on after the war with similar ideas about the need to standardise interiors and furnishings and to make these available to all. The general public, of all classes, were to benefit from these new clean and minimal interiors that were now devoid of unnecessary decoration and ornamentation.
Modern interiors were considered idealisations of the new order of society where all would be, if not equal, at least closer in lifestyle. Interiors were to be shorn of affectations of class and privilege, which included decoration and ornamentation. Society was no longer to be dominated by snobbery and inequality of lifestyle.
Although this ideal did not work out quite as it was intended, it seems part of the human condition to display wealth ostentatiously, it can be said that the 1950s interior went a long way towards producing a standard of decoration that was available to most rather than the few.
