The Mid Century Modern Living Room style of decor was developed between 1945 and 1975. It is a beautiful, classic, and timeless approach to decorating and styling that has a massive following in interior design enthusiasts. Wood paneling, beamed ceilings, leather furniture, and older style lighting are just some of the things that you need to think about when you are looking for mid-century modern decor ideas.
Here at Kudos house, we have sources some of the best ideas that you can use to get that look throughout your living room.
Mid Century Modern Living Room Ideas
This photo is a beautiful example of a mid-century modern living room that has a little more modern incorporated. It is an ideal example of how you can use this type of decor in a contemporary house.
The majority of mid-century modern houses would have lower ceilings and wooden beams. However, this is a high, modern ceiling. The way that the interior designer has overcome this is by a low hanging, MCM style lampshade. This light automatically draws the eyes away from the ceiling and down to the decor that style intended.
The wooden cladding panel on the faux chimney breast wall takes the focus away from the uPVC window framing too. Matching dark wooden chairs with contrasting light wood chairs give the classic mid-century modern look, while the plush sofas provide a more modern feel.
An iron and wood table paired with an acrylic table give the room added effect.
Mid Century Modern Living Room Chairs
Mid-century modern living room furniture has a unique style, and chairs are no exception. There is no easy way to describe these chairs. However, there are a few distinguishing features of the form:
- Wooden Framed and padded seats like this one
- Wooden-legged, single piece cushioned seats like this one
- Mainly cushioned seat with no arms, and wooden base like this
As you can see, there are a few features that give off the look of MCM. However, you could not say that all of the chairs here are the same. The beauty with these chairs and this style of decor is that you can quite easily mix and match any of them in a living room, and it will not look out of place.
Mid Century Modern Living Room Furniture
As I have already explained, there is no easy way to explain what MCM furniture is in one sentence. However, what I can tell you are some of the influences of the style. The American style of mid-century modern became popular in America between the mid-1930s and 1960s.
The MCM style originated from what is known as the Bauhaus movement. This movement arose from the love of the look of large areas and geometric shapes within the design.
As you can see in this image here, specific components make up this style movement:
- Bold, yet almost neutral colors
- Random, yet planned patterns
- Abstract décor
- A mixture of industrial metal and wood with the comfortableness of plush furnishings
You can also see from the image that almost anything of this style will go together in one room. None of these items or patterns would look out of place in one living room.
Mid Century Modern Living Room Pictures
This image looks like a showroom of what was on offer in Mid Century Modern Living Rooms. It shows how the geometry of furniture was used to give the desired look. If you have read any of our other living room articles, then you will see that the furniture is entirely different from this style.
Wooden clad walls were an almost inevitable feature of the time, and they have used this to their advantage here. The majority of the time between the MCM period and the more modern styles that we see now try to break up straight lines. However, in the MCM period, they use them to their advantage.
Keeping straight lines and other geometric shapes add to the features, even down to the patterns on the seating.
This next image is more of a modern take on the MCM style. However, you can still see the methods coming through in the implementation. Let’s take a look at some of the similar aspects:
- Industrial style lighting
- Wooden Furniture
- Geometric shapes in the wall art
- Random, but planned, patterns
- Wooden and plush furniture
This picture is an ideal example of how you can incorporate Mid Century Modern living room into a modern style house.
- There is no attempt to break up straight lines
Here is another image of an MCM style living room in more modern style home. Again, as you can see, there is no attempt to break up straight lines. It also shows the use of large amounts of wood and soft material. This image is another ideal example of showing you how the use of color almost has no requirement for standardization.
In what other styles of décor could you use yellow, blue, green, and brown in one room?
Mid Century Modern Paint Colors Living Room
Here we have yet another image of a modern house with an MCM style. Geometric shapes, seemingly random colors and patterns, and the use of different building materials give this a look that you may be looking for.
Just like the rest of the décor, the wall paint seems to be entirely out of place. However, it looks great! If you take a look at the color palette on the image above, then you will see that any of those colors would look just as effective on the walls here. However, the green walls make sure that the room still looks bright.
The only thing that seems to be missing on this image is a little bit of wooden cladding on the walls. If I were to advise adding wooden cladding, it would only be on one of the walls. Probably on the wall with the TV.
Mid Century Modern Small Living Room
This image is an excellent example of how you can use the mid-century modern style in a small living room. It even has modern furniture in an MCM style. The use of brick wallpaper looks like the industrial style. However, its use with the womb chairs and shiny metal gives it the MCM look.
Mid-century Modern Living Room Set
In this image, it shows what you can buy as a mid-century modern living room set. It certainly has a more modern feel to the room, though. However, the style and shape of the chairs, with the metal and glass table has got the classic MCM style in them.
Conclusion
As I said, there is no simple way of explaining the Mid Century Modern décor. However, as you can see, there are certain aspects that you can use to keep it within the look that you want. Geometric shapes, different building materials, and the use of different colors and patterns will give you the edge when designing this type of room for yourself.
Do not be afraid to try different furniture that you wouldn’t usually think to go well together. And remember to use random but planned patterns and colors.
I hope this has helped you in your quest, and if you have some of your ideas, please remember to leave a comment below.