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No matter what vein of mid-century modern you are going with, curated and considered is always a must. Any decorative pieces you do bring in ensure they have a home, like on shelving or a mantel, and look for organic, curved shapes – handblown glass pieces and quirky ceramics are perfect for injecting a retro vibe. By the end of WWII, materials reserved primarily for building construction (steel, iron, plywood, glass) were, once again, plentiful, and innovative manufacturing processes added plastics to the mix. Midcentury furniture designers merged natural materials with affordable synthetics, such as Plexiglas, Lucite, vinyl, and fiberglass, and experimented with molded plywood, wood veneers, light finishes, and raw surfaces. Pieces by mid-century modern designers such as Ray and Charles Eames, whose lounge chair sits next to a floor-to-ceiling window, and Isamu Noguchi decorate this Los Angeles loft that was designed to nod to Japanese minimalism. A number of designers and architects who were active during this period created furniture pieces that have gone on to become modern classics, including chairs by Ray and Charles Eames and lights by Isamu Noguchi.
Contemporary Midcentury
In this dining room, wooden wishbone chairs encircle a matching midcentury-style table. Floral-patterned wallpaper sets a colorful backdrop for the simple furniture, while an unexpected coat of red paint turns two of the chairs into unique accent pieces. 'Mid-century modern style furnishings are very easy to use in any home style and work well with other, more traditional decor elements.
Base your scheme around symmetry
The room is clearly very inspired by the mid-century look and all the pieces have that fabulously retro feel, and yet the room doesn't look overwhelmed by the furnishings. The simplistic warm white backdrop, and the fact that all the pieces sit low to the ground, giving you plenty of negative space above gives the furniture room to be the focus but also keeps the space looking fresh and contemporary. And you are likely to see pine wood planks on original midcentury homes with exposed ceilings that often have a warm slightly orange cast.
Mix High With Low
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 Pool House
What Will the Next Mid-Century Modern Be? 3 Contenders to Watch - Apartment Therapy
What Will the Next Mid-Century Modern Be? 3 Contenders to Watch.
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White Eames shell chairs sit around a streamlined wooden table in the dining area, which also has a graphic "Modernist" lamp from Z-Lite. Sculptural furniture is displayed against a backdrop of walnut panelling that wraps the apartment. A black and white Akari light by Isamu Noguchi for Vitra peeps into the living space from an adjacent room. The result is a beautifully realised interior with a strong retro flavour but a contemporary layout and details. Natural oak panelling and stone was used together with Polish-made glass and ceramics to create tactile surfaces. For our latest Dezeen lookbook, we have collected 10 projects from the Dezeen archives that showcase elegant mid-century modern interiors with a contemporary feel.
Decorating Trends - Art Deco is the New Mid-Century Modern - Apartment Therapy
Decorating Trends - Art Deco is the New Mid-Century Modern.
Posted: Mon, 19 Mar 2018 07:00:00 GMT [source]
Create the illusion of space with slimline furniture
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.
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.
Winter's Moon have a great selection of lampshades and cushions made up in vintage fabrics and barkcloths as well as retro-inspired designs such as Brie Harrison's beautiful Carnation print. Soften the striking, biomorphic forms with the textured weaves of natural linen for a relaxed feel suited to a period or contemporary home. Pattern was a big part of mid-century style, flamboyant, geometric, and abstract prints in particular. You can find some fabulous wallpapers if you want the pattern to be a real feature or just inject a hint of pattern with soft furnishings like the hint of leopard print used in this space. With its sleek lines, low slung silhouettes and sophisticated designs our love of this look is going nowhere... Original midcentury-era pieces are still around today because of their reliance on top-quality materials and excellent craftsmanship.
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.
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.
If your living room is part of an open plan living space, create a cohesive scheme by peppering all areas with nods to mid-century modern design. The primary colors of red, yellow and blue give a nod to the bold simplicity that mid-century modern design encapsulates. White walls - the main element of white living room ideas - are also fantastic for allowing the room to act as a kind of 'gallery' space for mid-century-style artworks. 'Mid-century modern style decor is characterized by architectural details and furnishings that were popular in the 1950s-60s era,' says Tiffany Leigh, of Tiffany Leigh Design. Thrift stores, antique shops, and flea markets are all great spots to score midcentury modern furniture.
Wall paneling ideas should be crafted in wood for an authentic mid-century modern feel. It often references organic forms, from amoebas, microscopic organisms and plant life to the human figure, as well as alchemy and chemistry symbolism in predominantly curvilinear shapes. Slim legs, sludgy color, and rounded arms to make it comfortable enough to lounge across.
A simple handrail lines the steps to the front door, providing an unobstructed view of the door. The industry was booming, Abstract Expressionism dominated the art scene, the Pop Art movement was on the rise, and consumerism was huge. Freeform furniture designs of the day, such as kidney, boomerang, and biomorphic shapes were mimicked in popular patterns, too.
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.
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.
