Modern Originals: At Home with Midcentury European Designers

This intimate portrait of both iconic and unknown midcentury European designers and architectural masterpieces reveals an inspiring personal approach to modernism. This gorgeously photographed volume features the intimate and private spaces of both the icons and unknown vanguards of European midcentury architecture and design. Showcasing the functional beauty of midcentury design, Modern Originals presents the innovative homes by some of the most compelling and influential European midcentury designers, including Le Corbusier, Alvar Aalto, Finn Juhl, Robin and Lucienne Day, and Gae Aulenti, to name a few.

Williamson gained exclusive access to homes that are often closed to the public, and this intimacy is reflected in her richly detailed photographs. Each chapter is dedicated to a single home where the interiors are intact as they were lived in by their designers. Examples include the iconic Studio Achille Castiglioni in Milan; the Helsinki home of Aino and Alvar Aalto with signs of functionalism preserved; Finn Juhl's Scandinavian farmhouse, with warm woods and bursts of primary colors; and Carlo Mollino's eccentric Italian lair filled with his sensually shaped designs. This rare glimpse into the personal spaces of legendary designers in the midcentury canon reveals the highest expression of their ideas created for the most demanding of clients: themselves.


About the Author
Leslie Williamson pursues both fine art and commercial photography, garnering numerous accolades, including being a Surface magazine Avant Guardian and featured in Communication Arts magazine. In addition, her work has appeared in Dwell, Surface, and Travel + Leisure magazines, among other publications. She is the author and photographer of Rizzoli's Handcrafted Modern.