Museum of Domestic Design and Architecture, Art museum and specialized archive in Hendon, London, United Kingdom
The Museum of Domestic Design and Architecture is an art museum and specialized archive in Hendon focused on collections covering interior design from the 19th and 20th centuries. The holdings include decorative arts, textile patterns, and wallpaper designs that document the history of private homes in Britain.
The museum was founded in 2000 at Middlesex University, bringing together extensive collections including the Silver Studio archive spanning from 1880 to 1963. This founding phase enabled the preservation and accessibility of important design sources from British domestic culture.
The museum holds collections like the Charles Hasler Archive and Crown Wallpaper Archive, showing how British home design preferences evolved throughout the 20th century. Visitors can see which patterns and styles were common in households and how these designs shaped everyday life.
Visiting requires advance booking, as the collections are primarily accessible to researchers and visitors with specific interests. Plan sufficient time and contact the museum beforehand to ensure the materials you wish to examine are available.
The Silver Studio archive holds over 20,000 designs for textiles and wallpapers that inspired mass manufacturers from the moment of their creation. These designs actually reached the living rooms of many British families and shaped the look of their homes.
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