In Private - by Joanne Turney (Paperback)

About the Book

Book Synopsis

The 1970s is often considered the period that design forgot. In Private sets out to challenge this view, offering a cultural history of domestic interior design in Britain and America over the course of a decade that shaped the contemporary relationship between fashion and interiors.

With each chapter dedicated to a different room in the house, this book explores style, design and socio-cultural influence from the sitting room to the sauna, and from the kitchen to the conservatory. Considering the key critical discourses which arise from the style and function of each space, In Private looks at how the public sphere informed the decorating styles, furniture and furnishing of the private home, from shag pile carpets to Swedish duvets.

Demonstrating how the cultural environment of the 1970s sparked the ideas, styles and practices that have become common currency in today's interior design, the book examines questions of sensuality, tactility, fashion, fantasy and gender. Illustrated throughout and packed with original research, it provides an insight into 1970s innovation and eclecticism in fashion, textiles and the domestic interior.

Review Quotes

"Out to prove that the 1970s were not a dry period for design influences, Turney has provided us with In Private... Each chapter is associated with a different domestic space, and Turney does well to identify the prominent adjustments that evolved during those 10 years. All the black-and-white photographs supporting the text appear to have originated from various lifestyle magazines promoting the illustrated item. Recommended. All readership levels." --Choice Reviews

"In Private offers a rich and provocative exploration of the varied textures, surfaces, and functions of the 1970s domestic interior in Britain and the USA. In the process, Joanne Turney offers a powerful argument for the centrality of interior design in giving form to the contentious socio-political, cultural, and personal issues that defined that era. With its rigorous and engaging analysis of a largely under-researched era of design history, In Private is an essential reference for scholars of interior design." --Alexa Griffith Winton, Smithsonian Design Museum, USA

"Original, analytically and contextually robust ... [this book] perfectly captures the intersection of design and society, to meticulously address the complex nuances and contradictions of shifting gender relations and domestic politics ... It is informative, fascinating and fun, and has achieved the no mean feat of affording me an intellectual appreciation for my own childhood avocado bathroom suite." --Emmanuelle Dirix, Antwerp Fashion Academy, Belgium

About the Author