What does this have to do with design and antiques? Well, it is this mentality that has shaped the way this generation approaches both. Their approach to design is transitory. Like a phone, their interior décor is subject to frequent change. Millennials purchase furniture with the notion that it’s cheap and disposable—like a cell phone. The French architect and designer Robert Couturier feels that Millennials “are not aware of the history or the culture of furniture, nor do they want to know. They don’t care.”

 

If you look back at the post-war period, mid-century design makes perfect sense. It picked up where Art Deco had left off due to the interruption of World War II. Our country was front and center on the world stage. Americans had sacrificed much during the war and now their pent-up demands required satisfaction at all levels. Home construction took off. New neighborhoods were erected practically overnight. These homes had to be furnished. The clean and simple designs of mid-century furniture were easy to manufacture on a large scale and every department store had it. Designs by Eero Saarinen and Florence Knoll could be easily reproduced and in quantities to satisfy this postwar demand for “new” and “forward-looking” design. America was breaking out from its past. We were cutting ties with Europe. Design was to be our own—and represent this country’s bright future.

 

Yet cynicism took hold of the country in the 1970s, and we once again looked back to Europe. We had chintz and prints in the ’80s and French country in the ’90s, followed by the mid-century revival in the early 21st century. We are now in a period often referred to as “modern” or “transitional,” characterized by the blending of traditional and modern styles. Though tastes are clearly running more modern, there seems to be a hint of traditional pieces being blended into the mix. One furniture company refers to it as “classic made current.”

 

In speaking with designers and architects, it is clear that there is debate about whether mid-century has seen its last days for this cycle. If you go back to the 19th century, almost every possible style was revived—Gothic, Renaissance, Chippendale. As is always the case, the revivals were followed by a new movement. In the late 1800s, this was the Arts and Crafts movement. It was in turn followed by Art Nouveau, which is seen as a transitional period between the various periods of revival and the modernist styles taking hold in the early 20th century. In many ways the Art Nouveau period is similar to the transitional/modern style in which interior design now finds itself—the mixing of the old and the new.

 

There is some certitude about the next trend in interior design according to these designers. Clutter is gone. No more collections. Clean lines in the furniture and clean rooms are the order of the day. As one designer put it, nobody has time or desire to clean tchotchkes and put them back in a certain order. “That’s what their parents had and my clients don’t want that!” says another. In the words of interior designer Bunny Williams, “It’s all about the mix. Mix is good.” Fellow designer Miles Redd concurs, “The current fashion is to mix antiques with modern.” I just hope this is not a short-lived fashion trend!

 

Mid-century is a design trend that abhors mixing. I liken mid-century to wearing a plaid suit. Forget about wearing a striped shirt with that suit. The same can be said of mid-century, which allows no room for antiques. As one designer, whom I shall not name, said, “Mid-century is easy to do. Not much thought goes into it. It’s a whole look. You can’t introduce other design elements. Mixing takes time and skill.”

 

However, mixing the old and new is nothing new. In fact, Italian architects and interior designers have been mixing the modern with antiquity since the 1960s. Beyond the world of fashion, Italy has been applying its national sense of modern design to furniture and the decorative arts for years. With the enactment of laws to preserve the ancient buildings that dominate Italy’s cities and countryside, Italian architects and interior designers were forced to preserve the living history that surrounded them. For decades, they have been deftly converting the ancient into the modern and created interiors that demonstrate a seamless mix of antiques with the sleek, contemporary furniture for which Italy is so well known.

 

Are we there yet? Have we learned how to balance that mix of the old and new? Is there a renaissance of the classics, but interpreted in a modern vein? How does that explain the new movement of “fine design”? Designer Brian McCarthy finds that some of his clients “are turning to the artist to design their current furniture, thus producing a unique one-of-a-kind look.” Echoing McCarthy, designer Alex Papachristidis sees the future being “about one-of-a-kind, custom-made, artisanal furniture.” For Papachristidis, “it’s about mixing antiques with beautiful sculptural pieces of furniture.”

 

In many ways, antiques are similar to fine design. They are not mass-produced like the furniture and accessories of the mid-century era. Quite the contrary, antiques are one-of-a-kind pieces that were handmade without the aid of a computer or a laser-guided lathe or planer. Sure, sometimes a pair was required. But mass-produced—never.