Decorating Whimsically.

Most American furniture in the 1950s was lean and spare, with virtually no curlicues or ornamentation of any kind. Indeed, American modern furniture designers prided themselves on simple, almost stark designs. How did interior designers and consumers spell relief in the 1950s? It was spelled "kitsch" — a German colloquialism for trash or rubbish. Kitsch has been called — only partly tongue-in-cheek — the only art form developed by the middle class.

1950s Pop.

The zany, playful, extreme accessories and decorations of the 1950s are called kitsch or "1950s pop." To call them whimsical is an understatement. The 1950s accessories were simply marvelous to the extreme.

Wild Lamps.

There are some first-class examples of 1950s kitsch in lamps of the decade. There were lamps whose bases were ladies' legs; "bubble" lamps that hung in clusters; a weird chandelier called "Sputnik" after the...