The clean, cool lines of modern architecture was a direct rebuttal to the neoclassical styles that came before. Rooms flowed into one another and often included floor-to-ceiling glass walls to open the house to the natural world. "The new structures placed emphasis on efficiency and function, as well as informality and comfort," says author Lisa Skolnik. Inside, bold, spare furnishings like low-slung sofas and ovoid glass coffee tables were arranged with minimum clutter and often featured built-in furniture to keep the space open and airy. Clocks, lamps, and glassware took on asymmetrical and free-form shapes; most popularly, kidneys, amoebas, and boomerangs. That lime-green Egg chair of grandma's--which you thought hideous as a child--would now be snapped up in a second by a savvy collector.

A paean to midcentury America and Europe, a nod to designers and architects whose influence is still felt today, and an inspiration to aficionados, Retro Modern is as clear and streamlined as the movement it celebrates. --Dana Van Nest

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