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Design Trend: Three Tips for Creating Mid-Century Style

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Mid-century modern has been a strong design trend for more than a decade now and yet, many of us still feel a little apprehensive when it comes to incorporating mid-century furniture into our own homes. Can we pull it off, or will it seem that we’re trying too hard? Will our homes look like homes or something straight off a Mad Men set?

If this is your worry, one way to avoid the uneasiness of not knowing exactly how that Arne Jacobsen Egg chair or that Le Corbusier chaise lounge will work in your living room is to digitally visualize exactly how your home will look long before the furniture truck pulls up. EMFURN has made this task a lot easier with its online interior design services that allow you to do just that. Not only can you pick out your very own George Nelson Ball Clock, but you can see exactly how it will look placed over your fireplace.

Looking to put together a mid-Century modern home? Keep these tips in mind:

1) Enjoy mid-century classics but feel free to mix it up. Certainly, you’ll want to incorporate some of the classic mid-century designs of the designer greats like Florence Knoll, Ray and Charles Eames, Eero Saarinen and Marcel Breuer, to name a few. But make your home feel less like a period piece by adding accessories that are not strictly design pieces.  Consider ethnic touches like African or Asian sculpture and stools. Or add a traditional touch such as an oriental rug. The room below, incorporating a classic oriental rug and an African stool used as a side table, has just the right eclectic, cosmopolitan feel.

2) Embrace asymmetrical and abstract patterns and paintings. In the 1950s and 60s, abstract art and patterns were all the rage. You can bring some of these same looks into your home but with a contemporary twist. Consider adding pillows with a fun atomic print, or area rugs incorporating abstract designs.  In the dining room below, an abstract painting provides just the right touch to complement the mid-century dining chairs and shag rug.

3) Don’t forget about lighting. Lighting is one of the most important aspects of any mid- century home. And the great thing is there are so many statement floor lamps and pendants that you have a wealth of options to choose from.  From the 1962 Arco floor lamp designed by brothers Achille Castiglioni and Pier Giacomo to the Artichoke chandelier, there are many great designs that can actually make your space. Many contemporary lamps also work well in a mid-century setting. Below, the Coil lamp was designed for modern decors seeking a pendant lamp that is impressive but not pretentious.

 

Mid-century modern has become a classic style that still seems youthful and fresh more than sixty years after its debut in the design world. The simple, clean look that embraces fun and optimism is the perfect direction for how we want to live today. Keeping in mind these few ideas, you are sure to create a fantastic, well-designed mid-century interior!