apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Uh-uh, not this time... this one totally tricked the majority of the crowd. Over a hundred of those playing along said the sixties, and over 80 guessers said the seventies but it is actually from 1952!

Only 32 readers said the fifties, meaning that this one was a nice tricky one. Here are some comments from the of the readers who got it right (pat yourselves on the back!):

Art: 50's. But I've been wrong all but once.
Moddog: Looks like the late 50s to me.
lookingupatleaves: 50s. I base this mostly on the style of the furniture and the fabric used for the drapes.
right angle:Based on fabric and the table, I voted 50s.
Maggie Ann: I'm going with late 1950s....
This photo came to me courtesy of Pam of Retro Renovation. She kindly sent me a scan of the photo from one of her vintage magazines, asking if I would like to use it for a Guess the Decade.

She followed up with some more info on the room and the book that it appeared in: The room was from a home in Johnson City, Tennesee, designed by architect Alfred Abernethy for his family. It appeared in "Living for Young Homemakers" with the tagline, Live High On a Low Budget.

Pam also added the following interesting points in her email to me:
In the postwar period, a proud America was defining its own sense of taste and style for the first time. While this home is very modern, it's also interesting to see the colonial touches - the other trend, reaching back to our pioneer heritage, that was very much a part of our newfound design identity. Another big trend during the period was "bringing the outdoors in," which you clearly see in the Hearth Room.

Also of interest is the color palette. While we tend to think of pastels when it comes to the 50s, "reassuring autumnals" also were very popular. These were taken specifically from brilliant New England fall colors. This interest in autumnals also came out of the 'outdoors in' trend - and even out of the desire to "instill a sense of warmth and security" during the Cold War.

As always, thanks to all who played along!

Photos: Thanks, Pam!