Design inspired by Danish and Swedish furniture from the past continues to pop up on the high street, which is no bad thing.
John Lewis’s Content by Conran range currently includes this Aspen Armchair. The chair’s distinctive shape is midcentury style at its best. It has slim arms, sled legs and is upholstered in a bright yellow fabric called “Starfruit”, which may not be everyone's first choice of colour, but it works well with this design.
It costs £1,095 from John Lewis.
Looking for some great 1950s and 1960s patterns for your walls? Take a look at the newly launched Conran Fabric archive collection at Surface View.
The collection uses designs by Terence Conran and his contemporaries drawn from the archives at the V&A. The example pictured shows a classic slice of Fifties style and was designed by Conran for David Whitehead Ltd in 1952 (you may remember the oven glove we featured last week based on a design produced by the same company). The collection is based around eight different designs from the Fifties and Sixties, catering to all design tastes.
The designs are available on print or canvas and prices vary dependant on size and format, starting at £120 for a 800 x 1000mm print.
See the range online
Truly the stuff of fantasy, the Conran Shop's Marilyn Trunk is the perfect piece of luggage for travelling by ocean liner from London to New York. Crafted from walnut wood and veneers in a 1920's style, the trunk is inspired by the golden age of transatlantic travel.
Realistically most of us are not really in need of such a fantastic piece of luggage but it does make a stylish and relatively compact dressing table measuring W55 x D63 x H113 cms. It has plenty of storage for make-up, toiletries and accessories and best of all, a secret drawer to keep your jewellery in.
Living the Gatsby life doesn't come cheap – the trunk costs £2,395 and you can find it here.
It's a reissue, but this Habitat Perspex Table Light is still a rarely-seen item.
Originally sold in the early 70s in Habitat stores, this is a late 90s reissue in a clear perspex, as opposed to the 'smoked' original. Everything else is as it was, right down to the flatpack – you'll still have to make it yourself when you get it through the post.
It's been 'used' but us described as being in 'great condition', with a good price too right now – just £9.30.
The humble kitchen bin has been given a retro spin by a few manufacturers, opting either for space age or 1950s styles, but this Classic Bin, from the Conran Shop, takes its inspiration from a more obvious source – an old-fashioned garbage can.
Part of Conran’s Well Considered Collection, the classic bin is available in a choice of either red or black powder-coated stainless steel and holds 45 litres of waste products. There isn’t much more that can said about a bin really, but as bins go, this one isn’t bad.
The classic bin costs £35 from the Conran Shop.
A modern-day midcentury gem from the hands of Sir Terence Conran – this Beatrix armchair.
Love the sloping back and (to a lesser extent in terms of angle) arms, along with the angled wood legs, with the retailer describing it as a 'relaxing chair that is perfect for curling up on with a good book'. I think we would agree with that.
You can customise the finished product with five leg stains and an incredible 91 fabrics and 23 leathers, all of which might alter the price one way or another. But as a guide, you can pick up the Beatrix from £850 right now.
