The fabric also had a fuzzy velour-type texture, but it was scratchy against the skin. But the couch was a part of her home as long as I could remember: It was printed with a repeating image that might have been a rustic barn with a wagon wheel perched outside or an old mill with a water wheel, surrounded by reddish orange and gold flowers, and possibly wild fowl like pheasants or turkeys.
Grandpa died when I was age 5 in 1980, so my memories of him are hazy. When I was growing up, Grandma lived in a small prefabricated Lustron house built for World War II vets on the northwest side of Tulsa.
“The good news was that fabric was going to last forever-but the bad news was that fabric was going to last forever.” The list nailed Grandma’s house in other ways: “Bonzana” on the old TV, lace doilies, tomato pin cushions, hard candies, crossword puzzles, transferware, shag-rug toilet covers, and leftovers in Country Crock tubs. The site TipHero took the meme further in a list associating this couch style with an “ancient” television very similar to my grandma’s large floor model with turned wood in the frame. Everyone’s.” I paused, because my grandmother did, in fact, have this exact type of couch. Over a picture-patterned sofa in an autumnal-colored velour with scrolling dark wood trim, it declared, “Everyone’s grandparents had this couch. Sputnik 1’s minimalistic, futuristic look was nothing short of iconic and would be a strong influence throughout the entire Atomic Age craze.Futzing around on social media, as one does, I recently stumbled upon a meme that hit close to home. In 1957, the USSR surprised the world with the launch of Sputnik 1, Earth’s first artificial satellite. New age materials like fiberglass, plastic, Plexiglass, molded plywood, Lucite, acrylics, and more opened up a world of exciting, new possibilities for furniture designers.įurniture designers, just like the rest of the population, were fascinated with the Space Race. When the war was over many of these innovative materials became more readily available – as did the possibilities of using them in a variety of new ways. To fill this void, new – and often cheaper – alternatives were created. Bringing Space Age Design HomeĪlong with the war effort came a lack of available materials domestically. Only a 20-pound chunk of the 7-ton Sputnik satellite survived its crash to Earth in Wisconsin. Hope and excitement in new possibilities reigned as the country strived to look past the destruction of WWII. To add to the atomic fever, there was also a growing competition between two world powers, the US and the USSR, in reaching an entirely new frontier, space. Many had become fascinated by the prospect of nuclear power – an energy source with seemingly endless possibilities that would make their lives better. The war effort around the world had immensely helped in developing new technology.
On a human level, the world was desperate for a new start – and a brighter future. People had little money to spend and the materials previously used to build and furnish homes were scarce and expensive. The end of WWII left much of the world in a deep financial slump further degraded by a drop in manufacturing and production. To understand why there was such a huge swing in popularity toward all things futuristic, you have to take a step back and look at the socio-economic state of the world during this period. Photo from IKEA Catalog, circa late 1960’s.
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