Mid-century modern furniture design endures because it is the "peak" of American furniture design says author Cara Greenberg, whose book popularised the term, in this interview for our mid-century modern series.
"Every 30 years, styles are rediscovered," Greenberg told Dezeen. "But each generation that I've observed that comes up since I wrote the book catches on to it at some point when they're furnishing homes."
"So at this point, it's classic ? and it's never going away," she added.
It was in 1984 that Greenberg wrote a book called Mid-Century Modern: Furniture of the 1950's. Though the term may have previously been used to describe furniture created between 1947 and 1957, she has said that her book popularised it and that she was not aware of the term's use when she and her editor titled it. Cara Greenberg wrote a seminal book on mid-century modern furniture. Top photo is courtesy of the Eames Institute
The book was rolled out of an article called Fifties Furniture she wrote in 1983 for the now-defunct magazine Metropolitan Home. Greenberg spent months talking to mid-century modern designers for the book ? such as Ray Eames ? and sifting through the archives of design museums and furniture brands.
A decade later, the antique market for furniture was booming, and legacy brands such as Herman Miller and Knoll began to re-release the furniture based on trends driven by books like Greenberg's.
The peak of American furniture design
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