Customer Reviews

Cocktail Shakers, Lava Lamps, and Tupperware: A Celebration of Lifestyle Design from the Last Half of the 20th Century

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This is a fantastic reference tool for anyone interested in the kitschier, more low-brow side of mid-to-late 20th century design. Obvious items such as sofa sets, credenzas, and shelving units are included, as well as less obvious areas such as moulded bathroom pieces, floor tiles, and typewriters.

However, while I realize this book is on the more fun, playful side (as opposed to being serious home furnishings research material), slightly more reference photos and descriptions could have benefitted the reader. The writeup on netted curtains is merely a rant by the author on how much he hates them - save the opinions for conversation, please, unless we're discussing this person-to-person, I don't care how much you dislike something.

Despite the lack of content in the writing, I do like the use of catalog excerpts - anyone can take a photo of a chair in a thrift store; I'm impressed with the material that the author has presented.

This is conceptually an excellent book, celebrating the home design elements of the second half of the 20th century. Woven plastic "fabric" lawnchairs. Catalog hi-fi holding tables. Padded wet bars. The author clearly values some of these items, and includes others (lava lamps for example) that are disliked but important for the era.

The whole thing is seriously undermined though by the VERY poor quality illustrations, mostly taken from catalogs which appear to be reproduced using a defective polaroid camera with a lens that had been scratched by a rabid porcupine. Horrid illustrations. Most of these items can still be found in homes and thrift stores, they could have been photographed. There are photographs from the time as well. Anything!