Industrial Influences

I am sure there are some interesting  reasons why Industrial Style is on the upswing again. We see it more in housing, furniture, and decor. Restoration Hardware does quite well with it!   It has existed, more and less, through the last 160 years, in vintage or modern form.  

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Back in 1851, the British built The Crystal Palace (right) in London. It was made of glass and iron, a tribute to the new Industrial Age. Millions went to see it, although it was prone to various disasters...

Many architects felt that this style's celebration of   industrialization and mass production  was dehumanizing. Jobs were disappearing.  In reaction to that, new emphasis and pride was placed on hand-crafted, pre-industrial  design. It was called "honest" construction. 

And so now, as then, the style rises and falls, perhaps with the economic times...who knows? But it seems pretty honest to me, and I enjoy it.   ~    I hope you do, too! 

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The two galvanized steel coffee tables on either side of the fireplace look great! :

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LOVE this one!

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Notice the mirror which is like a large gear~

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To wear in your industrial environment...some interesting earrings:

 Industrial Jewelry by Danial Kamman   via                                                                     

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Ohhh, that table...

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 I understand the aversion to mass production, and assembly-line, cookie-cutter products. I understand the reaction to the fragile Crystal Palace (read more about it here). Yet, in  these and the many other examples that I saw embracing industrial style, I found the style, as used, to be quite personal -- and human.  And as much as actual salvage and re-purposing is used, it can only be good for budgets and the environment, right? ( Ok, that could be a theory as to why it's on the rise...)
I give it a thumbs up! What do you think?
                                      ~Valerie