Tips for a Mid-Centry Mod Living Room

Mid-century design is so versatile: just add some contemporary touches and it will swing from masculine to feminine, from bold to cute, from sophisticated minimalism to bohemian. Today I'll share my top tips to getting the look pictured here.

Get The Look

Bold rugs. Go graphic and select black and white rugs in geometric patterns.  I choose a dark navy striped rug to keep with the subtle blue themes in the room.

Period artwork. Bring the past to life with the rich colors of midcentury artwork, be it travel posters or vases.  I replicated a 50's patterned round vase with a bead (shown on the bookcase) and chose a Victorian circus poster as my centerpiece artwork, which I hand-framed to match the furniture colors.

Sheepskin chairs.  I created this trendy look using the modern lounge chair kits from Lindsay Pastore of Small Scale Living and short-haired plush felt from a craft store.

Mid-century accents.  Stay true to the period with furniture items like a mid-century credenza or geometric bookcase (also from Small Scale Living).

A contemporized touch. Bring your living room into the present with a few modern trends. I choose inspiration from the industrial chic movement and added over-sized letters, a huge riverstone coffee table and floor mounted artwork. 

The letters were created by purchasing tiny wooden letterforms from the scrapbook section of my local craft store (each letter is about a quarter inch tall) and spray painting them in bright metallic. 

For the artwork, purchase the small or medium sized pictures from the 1/12 scale dollhouse line, or make your own (as I did).

I replicated the riverstone coffee table by sculpting air-dry clay, spray-painting metallic antique gold, and glossing with high gloss spray paint.  In a matter of minutes (minus the dry time), I had a fab modern table.

Personalize.  Give your room a lived-in look with items unique to your inhabitants.  I was modeling this room off plans for my real living room, so I filled it with my "necessities of life" for a graphic designer: books on travel and famous artists, graphic posters, and trade magazines for designers and illustrators.