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While mid-century modern pieces look great in a white living room with a gallery feel, but sometimes these spaces can feel quite stark. To add personality and depth consider combining sleek mid-century design with bold accents of color, metallics and personal touches as Andrew Suvalsky has done in the design for his own living room at his home in Montclair, New Jersey. 'Midcentury modern design, characterized by clean and architecturally sensual lines, allows you to easily incorporate elements from other periods. A neutral palette, a hallmark of this style, makes it possible to layer in different patterns, materials and finishes,' he explains.
Midcentury Daybed
For ideas, look to icons like Florence Knoll and Arne Jacobson for inspiration – both of whom were prominent designers during the mid-century modern period. Their work still serves as design inspiration for some of the world’s top creatives. If you're looking to bring a contemporary twist to a more traditional living room consider adding in a statement Mid-century living room ceiling light. While not for everyone, abstracts have a timeless appeal and versatility that can add impact in a contemporary setting, or edge in a more traditional scheme.
Mix mid-century modern with other eras and styles for visual variety
Learn our tricks for shopping secondhand to fill your home with vintage treasures and one-of-a-kind style. 'This renovation was completed in 2021 and updated an original William Krisel Mid-Century Modern home in San Diego. Not so long ago terrazzo was banished, only to be used to grace the floors of public spaces. But terrazzo has been making a slow comeback in the world of interior design trends and seeping back into our homes. Terrazzo has technically been around for many centuries, but it made a comeback in the form we know it towards the end of the mid-century modern era.
Showcase mid-century art against a neutral palette
If there’s one thing that’s going to create the illusion of more space in a small living room, it’s investing in the right furniture – it can actually make a room feel wider in seconds. 'The common pop of color is found in the lush blue couch with other traditional MCM colors like sage green, orange, and yellow incorporated in the accessories. Another way to introduce a mid-century feel into your living room is to hang retro art that depicts mid-century architecture and buildings, particularly in California.
Go for Iconic Pieces
The paneling is the perfect backdrop for the furniture and decor, which is a mix of Californian and European mid-century pieces. Atomic art was also a popular mid-century style that can add a cool edge to a traditional home today. Spanning the late 1940s through to 1960, Atomic Age design is characterized by references and responses to nuclear science and the atomic bomb.
Rustic Midcentury Bedroom
Likewise, leggy furniture that doesn't sit flush with the floor and glass and acrylic pieces, too, allow even more light to pass. The movement spanned from about 1933 to 1965 and included architecture as well as industrial, interior, and graphic design. Designers such as Charles and Ray Eames, Harry Bertoia, Arne Jacobsen, and George Nelson created iconic furniture and lighting that are still highly coveted. The architectural style, seen in the work of talents such as Richard Neutra and Rudolph Schindler, is known for its use of expanses of glass, flat planes, and a strong connection to nature. Dane Austin's more contemporary take on midcentury modern, seen here in the couch, side table, and stool, balances the more traditional aspects of this 19th-century home. Gray living room ideas are hugely popular, and they can turn a retro scheme into the modern era with aplomb.
Midcentury Lake House
Veneer Designs chose a super-durable solid-wood dining table to anchor this midcentury modern dining area in Brentwood, California; you can see its wood grain and instantly recognize it's a top-quality piece. Midcentury modern design is all about geometric patterns and shapes, so pairing curved details, like this table lamp, with crisp lines, like those of this couch, is a way to capture the style without being too on the nose. Here, Nina Garbiras chose neutral furnishings "to highlight the architectural details and the view," she says, and brought in the aesthetic in subtler ways.
Barn-like house
35 Boho Living Room Ideas You'll Love - Apartment Therapy
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Opt for plain walls in a retro shade to make the silhouettes of iconic pieces really pop. We've talked a lot about how mid-century interiors are all about form and shapes and unusual materials. This can make for very unique pieces that can at first appear tricky to style if you want to really embrace this aesthetic but still keep your space liveable. Create a seamless flow between the interior and exterior of your home with floor-to-ceiling windows and a minimal color palette.
The fence creates an open, airy feel and incorporates clean lines that stay true to this architectural style. Big, bold lighting with highly reflective finishes (brass, chrome) ruled the day, as did colorful thin-metal versions in organic silhouettes and materials. The midcentury modern movement took hold in post-WWII America, in response to our rejuvenated economy and to the suburban, middle-class housing boom that followed. This pared-down approach contrasted the ornate Victorian style that reigned before the mid-1930s.
Paired with warm wood-paneled walls, the complementary hues put a fresh twist on a primary color palette. Oversized table lamps and an oval coffee table balance the straight lines of this midcentury modern living room. Perk up midcentury modern design by blending the minimalist style with lively accessories. Here, colorful patterned pillows update a sleek midcentury sofa, while deep teal walls introduce bold color.
A Brief History of Mid-Century Modern Furniture Design - AnOther Magazine
A Brief History of Mid-Century Modern Furniture Design.
Posted: Thu, 12 May 2016 07:00:00 GMT [source]
If there's one piece that a mid-century modern living room should not be without it's arguably a designer armchair. From the slimline Wassily chair made from tubular steel, to the sumptuous Lounge chair designed by Charles and Ray Eames, designer armchairs have become iconic features of the midcentury interior and there's certainly plenty to choose from. The jewel-like custom tiled bar cabinet, which provides an ornamental focal point for the living room—and proof that both tile and wood don’t belong only on the floor.
In the living room of the Goldwyn house, an iconic residence in Los Angeles that’s now the home of the Future Perfect gallery, a jewel-toned lounge is swathed in velvet and overseen by a handwoven rattan chandelier by artist Chris Wolston. Though this scheme deftly mixes eras, the clean lines throughout and the dark stained wood feels distinctly midcentury. Mid-century modern living room ideas work really well within a neutral space - whether in a new or period property - as it allows your carefully curated pieces to truly stand out. Taking cues from the natural world, mid-century modern furniture is simple in interior design, channeling fluid and organic shapes that are aesthetically pleasing but, above all, functional. Whether you're looking to simply refresh your living room with a splash of mid-century modern style, or give your space a complete overhaul, we've gathered a host of tips from top interior designers to give you the ultimate inspiration.
Embrace the midcentury look by sourcing a variety of pieces composed of wholly organic and manmade components, or an amalgam of both, as the designer Katie Hodges has done in this Los Angeles living room. "Traditional homes were planned with compartmentalizations that separated service, entertainment, private, and social areas, and the midcentury movement created an egalitarian blurring of the lines," Myers explains. Midcentury modern style is a style of interior design characterized by a contemporary, somewhat futuristic aesthetic and an emphasis on function. Perhaps the ultimate example of mid-century modern design, designer couple Ray and Charles Eames' eponymous house is filled with the couple's own creations.
Combine bright primary colours with ply furniture and a vibrant Formica desk, typical of the 1950s and 1960s, to create an inspiring home office. Complement original furniture with retro-inspired homeware, such as Orla Kiely's Giant Abacus cushion, £40. Original Mid-century sofa in Plain Linen fabric in Saffron, and chairs in Plain Linen fabric in Turquoise, both £46 per m, all Vanessa Arbuthnott. "Clean lines are emblematic of the movement," says Myers, "which means no unnecessary ornamentation." Sent every Thursday and featuring a selection of the best reader comments and most talked-about stories. Frost House has also retained its original Knoll furniture, including a gridded-steel Bertoia side chair, as well as its distinctive built-in cabinetry.
