Ornament is not a crime

In the 1970s and 1980s, postmodernism followed hot on the heels of modernism, as designers challenged the formality and seriousness of architecture and design. Favouring expression and eclecticism, they created fresh, surprising and provocative designs using a distinctive visual language that combined bright colours, unexpected materials and a good dose of humour and irony. Today a new wave of interior designers are once again turning to postmodernism for inspiration. These contemporary rebels are challenging the Modernist gospel of ‘ornament is crime’. Breaking free of the minimalism of mid-century modern and the neutrals of Scandinavian design to inject homes with pop and personality. These twenty-one homes from around the world transform the ordinary and everyday with joyful colours and patterns, the celebration of surfaces and the juxtaposition of materials.