Lifestyle

Mid-century modern art, culture, and living at its finest

On the Road Again: Trailers
With a renaissance underway, broken-down travel trailers return to reclaim their modernist roots
Let's Have a Party: Is Your Home Ready?
Your home looks ready—but do you have the nitty-gritty ingredients for a swinging soiree?
Shimmering Nostalgia: The Aluminum Christmas Tree
The aluminum Christmas tree makes a comeback as the cool yule centerpiece that's a natural in the modern home
Home-Run Pursuits: Working at Home the Modern Way
An ambitious breed of California creatives finds their modern residences ideal, natural workplaces
Mid-Century Breakthrough: "Third Stream" Music
When a meeting of classical and jazz in the 1950s sparked controversy and an era of new exploration
From Russia with Modernism: Theremin
Born nearly a century ago, the enchanting theremin is still ahead of its time—struggling to be heard
Mid-Century Modern Art: Shag's World
Where bottomless cocktails and hedonic cool are served up with mid-century style and optimism
Modern Real Estate: Too Alluring to Fail?
Values of modern homes fell with the housing crash—but their appeal still stands strong
Art Imitates Life: Artists Inspired by Modern Architecture
Passionate fine artists and the mid-century modern architecture that inspires their compelling canvases
Soundtrack for Modern Living: Esquivel in Orbit
Lounge music legend Juan Esquivel transported easy listening to some strange and wonderful destinations
Mood to be Wooed - Classic Crooners
Beyond candlelight and cocktails—classic crooners of the mid-century who enhance romance for a song
Laughing Stock of the Mid-Century
Crazy, cutting-edge comedians who made America a safer place to improvise, analyze and criticize
Retro Living: Blasts from the Past
15 retrolicious ways to break through the time warp and relive the mid-century today
Hello, Cool World: Painter, Karl Benjamin
SoCal painter reconnects his hard-edge modern art with classic artifacts of mid-century California
Bohemia by the Bay: Looking Back on the Beat Generation
Non-conformist spirits of the mid-century and their San Francisco haven
Buried Treasures: Unearthing Time Capsules
Mysterious time capsules—returning from deep sleep to evoke the 'now' for future generations
Falling for a Futuro
A tenacious California architect takes on the restoration of his out-of-this-world dream home
Mid-Century Jazz: Listen to the Cool
Uprising at the dawn of mid-century modern—California's 'cool school' of West Coast jazz
Prefabulous or Fad?
Designers and builders of prefabricated homes go modern and green—but what lies ahead?
The Eichler Homeowners
Spotlight on Joe Eichler's homeowners—is there a California temperament that inhabits the Eichlers?