Design for a living room, Raymond McGrath, ca. 1933.

Design for a living room with grained hardwood furniture - fireplace, table with curved end and low shelving units, one of which divides the space; several chairs, striped rugs on a black floor, yellow walls.

McGrath, an Australian who came to England in 1926, was an architect and designer who built in the International Modern style, but the conservative tastes of most British clients in the 1930s meant that relatively few houses were commissioned that were not traditional in form. In interior design, however, the influence of France meant that modern as well as reproduction French furniture was both fashionable and widely imitated. The determination to create a new yet acceptable style is evident in this drawing in the contrast between highly polished and exotic grained woods characteristic of Art Deco and the geometric plainness in the shape of the furniture and the patterns of the carpets and curtains in the International Modern style. The layout of the room itself is a departure from tradition, as the space is divided by low modern units containing books and ornaments, the fireplace is no longer in the centre, and even the old fashioned house plant is replaced by the more bizzare shape of a cactus, in the desire for novelty.

[Charles Newton, 'British Design at Home', p.122]

This design is a combination of rich Art Deco with constrained Modernist forms. Unpainted woods, from Finnish blond-wood to Australian mahogany, were popular in Modern Interiors. The richness of the grained wood gives a warm and exotic feel to the room and contrasts with the straight lines of the furniture and rug patterns. The layout of the room itself is a departure from tradition. Probably intended to be a dining room and sitting room, the space is divided by low modern units, and the fireplace at the far end of the room has been removed from its traditional central position as the focus of the room.

McGrath, an architect who came to Britain from Australia in 1926, worked on both residential properties and on public buildings, such as London's Broadcasting House. However, his International Modernist brand of design, though elegant, was too radical for the mostly conservative tastes of British householders.

CIRC.563-1974