How to Decorate an Apartment Living Room in Mid-Century Modern Trends

Mid-century modern style is back -- and stronger than ever. Clean and clutter-free, it is an ideal style for apartment living. Because this trend is a smart, attractive look that requires few pieces to achieve, it may also be the most kind to your bank account. Whether you remember the 1950s or not, mid-century modern may be your signature look. Does this Spark an idea?

Instructions

Choose the Furniture

1

Search for a solid-color sofa that exhibits style elements common in modern sofas of the 1950s. Look for one with a tight back, smooth or button-tufted. Combine that feature with track (rectangular) or flared arms -- or no arms. Avoid traditional rolled or overstuffed arms as well as skirts of any kind. Look for chrome or wood legs that are simple, with straight lines and no ornamentation.

2

Look for authentic mid-century modern living room tables, which can still be found at affordable prices from consignment shops, thrift stores and garage sales. Or shop for new tables that evoke the period. The signature leg style of mid-century modern tables was tapered and flared, extending from beneath the top rather than the edge. For recognizable mid-century flavor, choose the popular "step" style for end tables and bookcases, or boomerang style for a coffee table, which are being manufactured once again.

3

Select chairs that have biomorphic shapes, such as were popular in the mid-century modern period. Chairs of that period looked sculptural but were designed to conform to the human body. Choose leather or woven fabrics, which can be solid-color or a small geometric pattern. Although the leg styles do not have to exactly match those of the sofa, try all chrome or all wood legs for a more cohesive look in a small space.

Layer in the Textiles

4

Keep draperies simple in style. Long, pinch-pleated panels were the most popular style of draperies for mid-century modern decor. Choose textural solid-color fabrics or find prints in colors and patterns of the period. Boomerangs and round-cornered squares were common motifs in turquoise, red-orange, gold and tan. These and other modern patterns can be found in authentic mid-century draperies as well as in new fabrics.

5

Decorate the sofa with accent pillows in geometric shapes of square, round and triangle. Choose solid colors that repeat and pull together colors in the upholstery and the other textiles in the room. Arrange the pillows asymmetrically on the sofa with no formal balance from one end to the other. Do not drape throws on the furniture.

6

Use area rugs with caution. Area rugs were seldom used in mid-century modern homes, even on hard-surface floors. If you choose to use an area rug, keep it simple. Select a natural fiber rug or a flat-woven wool rug in a solid color or simple stripe or geometric design with a limited color palette.

Accessorize

7

Decorate with only a few lamps to create a triangle of light. Choose lamps that make a statement, both in size and in their sculptural form. Lamps should be simple in shape, but large, and ideally have simple drum-shaped shades. Avoid small-scale lamps and those with a lot of embellishment.

8

Accessorize a fireplace mantle with one or two large pieces rather than several small ones. For example, the mantle (if there was a mantle over the fireplace) in a mid-century modern home may have displayed a single large vase or piece of sculpture or a pair of modern candlesticks at one end. Often, there was no art hung over the fireplace. Select abstract art in simple frames for your fireplace or elsewhere in your room.

9

Keep additional accessories to a minimum. A single decorative tray in a bold color (reminiscent of the ash trays of the period) may be all that is necessary to dress your coffee table. Use florals sparingly, preferably with only a simple Asian design, or place a large potted plant on the floor. A single personal photo in a frame on an end table or console makes a more modern statement than a collection of photos. The surface area of any table should be more bare than decorated.