Living Room Mid Century Modern Interior Design – When asked to describe my home decorating style, I often struggle to come up with just one word. We have a small farm house, a small barn, and lots of crops. I really like the combination. Another style I’m loving right now, especially in the living room, is mid-century modern. Here, I’m sharing some of my favorite mid-century modern living room decor ideas!
First, let’s define what we mean by mid-century modern (MCM) decor. Characterized by clean lines, minimal design, and natural light, mid-century decor is easy to incorporate into a variety of home styles. It’s retro and includes colors like teal, ocher, and amber.
Living Room Mid Century Modern Interior Design
Of course, I still love my neutrals and chose some subdued colors to make my mid-century living room decor.
Updated Mid Century Living Room Decor
If you’re looking for some background, Mid Century Home is a great website with architectural history and great photos for inspiration. And, I have a Guide to Interior Design styles that is full of examples.
When I find a decor style that I like, like mid-century modern, I only take a few things into consideration. Otherwise, the room can feel forced and unnatural.
If you want to add MCM decor, you can try to start with something like artwork or rugs as these can be inexpensive and make a big impact.
Feeling overwhelmed? Check out my post with 6 Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Low Profile Accent Chairs for more inspiration.
Mid-century Modern Interior Design Explained
Mid century not your jam? Check out other ideas like my Neutral Living Room Update or 11 Living Room Decor Looks to Enhance Your Space. And if you need help getting started, check out my article, How to Decorate a Room From Start to Finish If you know me, you know my dad and I are a regular designer. I design, he puts in his two cents (asked or not), and then he creates that design… sometimes I help. But really when we are making the whole house, MY HOUSE anyway, we can say, “I love you, it makes sense, but we need a long time away from each other.” So, when I read this article on Architectural Digest about how a mother, son, and sometimes father (and little brother) came together on this amazingly beautiful house, I was amazed. That probably says a lot about my father/daughter dynamic but I didn’t care I thought I was amazing. There is clearly a shared taste and mutual respect for each other’s opinions 🙂
He is a talented photographer and has obviously taught children to love and respect design. Hack a parent? He is helping his son, Brandon Creed (music manager known for Lizzo, Troye Sivan, and Mark Ronson) with his college housing. What fun! What I want to say from the article is that Brandon was showing his parents a house that he called a “dotal dump” but he “could see it.” That’s exactly what my father would say. Don’t worry if it’s a family! Amirite??
But let’s get into this room and get to the nitty-gritty of why it’s so cool and important. You know when we say something is “important” we mean it
🙂 This entryway was Shari’s favorite place to create and it’s easy to see why. The first piece I’m blowing up is the custom door. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like that. It could be a simple cold door of the late-modern but instead, it has a lot of visual depth and texture from the heat and texture of the wood pieces. It was important to Brandon that this home have a zen feel and that’s exactly the feeling you get looking at this entry. I think the earthenware mixed with the different colors of the concrete walls, AND the wood floor inlay looks cool and organic. Fun fact – those French snails are from his grandfather’s farm! A fun and unexpected design choice that feels very intimate and personal. And yes, it’s a turtle pond with a real turtle 🙂
Midcentury Modern Living Rooms
I have to let you know that the art in the house is amazing and brings so much color and fun. Brandon has been collecting art for years. It also doesn’t hurt that her older brother is an artist who lets her know what up and coming artists are. Looks like I’m going to call my girlfriend to up her game… But this art brings the room to life and complements all those cool fabrics and rugs perfectly! First, you will see sheepskin benches on top of these different linen benches. Then suddenly you see the tan boucle chair cushions until… BAM green chair seats. Such a heart!
Let’s also see the structural balance. There are many rectangles and squares (ie benches, table, credenza, art). But then you see the actual designs (ie the sheepskins, the patterned chairs, the table decorations, and then the awesome muted pendants). Oh and I really noticed the amazing burgundy rug that completely stops the place and the little dog statue outside. GAH, this house is beautiful.
There are almost too many cool things in this room to mention but I’ll do my best to keep it short(ish) so you can finish this post before dinner time. The first thing I noticed, besides the warm mid-century modern color palette, is that there is a lot of furniture in this space. If you don’t know, we have a whole design mistake post about “too much furniture”. However, this is an example of when this rule should be broken. All of the pieces feel so curious that you might crash somewhere. Color-wise, the reason why this room is easy on the eyes is because everything has a warm base (even the sheepskin chairs, the sheepskin ottoman, and the white wall color). Again, everything is tonal with a few pops of green and blues. Now look at the small art and pendant installation above the fireplace! Since the room is very colorful (something Brandon said was out of his comfort zone), they only needed to add small pieces of art to balance the room. Simply putting them in a single shape that mimics the shape of the sick wood culture is just the icing on the cake. And let’s not forget to love a beautiful tree that gives the “real” room life and tons of height. Finally, the decision to make a black pole raises your eye and balances the space visually. Okay, I’ll continue now.
THIS IS A WAR. How can you handle those cool things? The multi-long island is happening right now but it’s a classic in this area. It seems that you would really enjoy cooking and relaxing (while someone else is cooking…my favorite way to spend time in the kitchen :)) As an observer, if you sit on those stools, you would feel that you are truly involved. . of action. I think that’s how most people feel sitting at the kitchen island, but there is something warm about this arrangement. Also, the chairs are amazing and the tone of the wood speaks perfectly to the MCM style.
Key Traits Of Mid-century Modern Interior Design
Let’s talk a little about work. Although we can’t see the left wall, I think there are several wall cabinets as well as tons of storage on the island. But look at the storage exposed on the oven wall. It is easy to cook and hold a cup of coffee with these coffee shelves. Plus it looks and feels very snug-in which I like. Also, the pot with mix-and-match/colored cookware, as well as the copper pots above the wall ovens (and the pop of green on the stools) make this kitchen just a kitchen of white and some wood. Big fans. Finally, an unexpected 10/10 for me is the stainless steel appliances. They just feel good about the style of this house. Oh, and those skylights provide that beautiful atmosphere we all love.
If you are looking at the kitchen, turn around and you will see this beautiful breakfast nook. Again, here Shari and Brandon made an unexpected design decision to use this set of antique European tables and chairs. But there is a story and it is better. This set belonged to his grandmother and was the dining table he grew up eating with the family. Now, four generations later, he goes to dinner with his son. He told you it was the best.
So more than a food line, it’s a cool wall mural (yes, that’s the real Warhol). But apart from the famous writers, look at how balanced and diverse it is. The Warhol is the anchor, so you have a small piece with a black frame on the bottom right, and the clear 3-D case of.