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10 hours ago
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Somewhere along the way, we all agreed that homes should look like waiting rooms. Grey walls, grey couches, grey laminate floors — an endless sea of “greige” punctuated by the occasional word-art sign telling me to Live, Laugh, Love.
I’m sorry, but I refuse.
Because I’ve seen what we’re capable of. I’ve seen hand-carved staircases that took craftsmen years to complete. Front doors in Paris and Ghent so ornate they stop you mid-stride on the sidewalk. Sunken conversation pits wrapped around fireplaces, built for actual human connection instead of resale value.
There was a time when a lamp could look like a praying mantis, when a bookcase was a piece of art, when architects designed houses shaped like bubbles just to see if they could.
That spirit isn’t dead — it’s just been buried under a few million coats of “agreeable gray.”
Thankfully, communities of design lovers like Design History are keeping the flame alive, sharing spaces and objects from eras when detail, craftsmanship, and personality actually mattered.
1. The Norman Lykes House (Circular Sun House), Designed By Frank Lloyd Wright, Phoenix, Arizona, 1959
Design History2. Parisian Door
Design History3. “Praying Mantis” Floor Lamp, Designed In 1950 By François Rispal, Paris, France
Design History4. Beautiful Door In Ghent, Belgium
Design History5. Akhavan Historical House In Kashan, Iran
Design History6. Experimental Modern Architecture, Mario Galvagni, Italy, 60s/70s
Design History7. Royal Greenhouses Of Laeken, Brussels, Belgium
Design History8. Beautiful Staircase, Maison Hannon, Brussels, Belgium
Design History9. Staircase At House Of Scientists, 19th Century Neo-Baroque Building, Lviv, Ukraine
Design History10. Cosy Balcony (Garden City Neighbourhood), Cairo, Egypt, 1905
Design History11. Palais Bulles Designed By The Hungarian Architect Antti Lovag, Built By Pierre Bernard, Théoule-Sur-Mer, France, 1984
Design History12. Copley House, Accord, NY, USA
Design History13. Sculptural Space Age Garage Doors, Brussel, Belgium, 70s Era
Design History14. Charlotte Perriand “Maison Du Mexique” Bookcase, 1953
Design History15. Dorothy H. Turkel House In The Palmer Woods Neighborhood Of Detroit, By Frank Lloyd Wright, USA, 1956
Design History16. Casa Praxis In Mexico City By Agustín Hernández Navarro, 1975
Design History17. The Sheats Residence Designed By John Lautner, Los Angeles, USA, 1961 – 1963
Design History18. Brion Tomb By Carlo Scarpa, Venice, Italy, 1968-1978
Design History19. Retro-Futuristic Interior Design, 1970s
Design History20. Casa Amalia (Or The Hernández House), Residential Masterpiece Located In The Santa Fe Area, Mexico City, 1969 – 1973
Design History21. Espace Niemeyer By Oscar Niemeyer, Paris, France, 1978
Design History22. Mailboxes, Paris, France, 70s
Design History23. Elegant Staircase At The Salime Hydropower Plant In Asturias, Designed By Joaquin Vaquero Palacios In 1954
Design History24. Pied-A-Terre By Janette Laverrière, Paris France, 70s
Design History25. Pierre Paulins’s Home With The 60s Déclive Sofa And The 50s Butterfly Chairs, Paris, France
Design History26. Surrealist “Dalí Theatre And Museum,” Figueres, Spain, 1974
Design History27. Alexander Calder’s House And Studio In Saché, France, Mid 60s
Design History28. Ford House By Bruce Goff, Aurora, IL, 1950
Design History29. La Laguna, Former Textile And Yarn Factory Restored Into A Creative Hub, Mexico City, 1920s
Design History30. Villa Planchart By Gio Ponti, Caracas, Venezuela, 1956
Design History31. Milanese Entrance With Stone Cladding By Pietra Di Vicenza Gialla, Italy, 1950s
Design History32. Mid Century Modern Sunken Conversation Pit With Fireplace, USA, 70s
Design History33. Mid Century Modern Wall Panelling With Dramatic Staircase, USA, 70s
Design History34. Nino Gabrio And Stefano Bini, 1970
Design History35. Brutalist Sculpture Door Mount Or Wall Mount, 70s Era
Design History36. Playful Modernism Evens House By Harris Armstrong, Missouri, USA, 1951
Design History37. Marcel Breuer’s Iconic Whitney Museum, Now Known As The Met Breuer, New York, 1966
Design History
Mike Primavera is a Chicago-based writer specializing in everything from humor to philosophy. Follow him on all social media at @primawesome
English (US)