Mid-Century

I found an old AMERICAN BUILDER magazine from October 1954 that my dad had in the attic. It's been kicking around the studio bookshelves for years. I cracked it open last night and found a pile of gems. The design ideas, advertisements and homes are really worth studying.

The garage door ad jumped out at me, firstly due to the garish designs, but secondly as a classic showcase of a full sample offering from a company displayed on one page. I remember the little magician on the lock mechanism of the garage door of our house, which was built in 1958.



Our house had Aluminum Windows like the ones in this yellow and gray-tone illustration, too!



"Jackstraw!" - I love this interior shot! Look at that flooring texture with matching curtains! I'm going to make an Illustrator pattern from it... The color pallets in these ads are fantastic. Swatch time!



The masthead was cropped and placed on an image of the featured home, which came with blueprints in the issue. I want to have that house! It's a mix between Frank Lloyd Wright and George Jetson.