Guest Post: Four Ways to Integrate Mid Century Furniture into Your Modern Apartment

05 Sunday Aug 2012

Tags

design, diy design, furniture, home, interior design, mid century, modern design, window treatments

This guest post is brought to you by Aubrey Boone, design enthusiast. Enjoy!

Home decorating means updating a living space and refreshing dated décor. Whether those updates focus on carpet or window treatments, adding new design elements to your home or apartment can increase value while creating a space of tranquility.

Novel interior design projects now aim to integrate mid-century vintage furniture into your modern apartment. The majority of these vintage DIY projects can be completed in a short amount of time for little to no money. The main thing needed is an imagination of how things were way back when. Here are four ways to do just that.

Collectibles
Finding nick-knacks and collectibles adds the rich history of the past into a modern theme. Consider showcasing a series of decorative porcelain vases made in the characteristic style of the 1960s, or other works from esteemed artist Yevgeny Vuchetich.

Add a small mahogany and bronze table found in apartments dating back to the 60s. The clean lines and small stature will fit easily into your modern apartment.

Lighting
Mid-century styles focused on minimalism, so creating a lighting solution is not only simple, but cost effective. Create a swing bar lamp with a few pieces of steel tubing, a flat bar, scrap wood, cloth covered wire and electrical fittings. With a few bends and welds, the lamp will perfectly adorn any corner or reading nook.

An easy solution to lighting is simply to design a lamp shade, or to add a new set of blinds. Don’t underestimate the effect a great set of window treatments can have on a room. For the lamp shade, consider a large cylindrical shade with solid colors such as off-white or light pastels.

Seating Solutions
According to R. Wesley Hurd of the McKenzie Study Center, an institute of Gutenberg College, the color pallet used during the mid-centuries focused on primary colors. Locate a distressed chair at a flea market or a local antique store and dash primary colors, while adding sharp lines and contrasting colors to create a mid-century look. With a few sprays of paint, outdoor seating is turned from modern to vintage as well. In addition, nothing says mid-century quite like the hard plastic/metallic chairs from an old lunch room.

The Outdoors
The outside serves as the window into the soul of a home. For under $100 worth of materials, individuals can construct an outdoor bench inspired by the great George Nelson, a modern design aficionado. The project does require a bit of woodworking, but the end result is a piece similar to Nelson’s vintage futuristic designs.

Mid-century furniture focused on clean lines, vibrant and primary colors, with a minimalistic approach. Recreating a vintage space requires attention to the details of the past, without losing the continuity of the present. With a bit of time and money, your apartment can be the mid-century modern living space you’ve dreamed about.

Home Sweet Home: Dining Room Redesign

30 Monday Jul 2012

Posted by melissaoconnor in Everyday Design, The Home

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

cabinet, country, crates, design, dining room, entertaining, furniture, home, interior design, makeover, modern, rustic, table, wood

I’ve been waiting to post another room in our home and since the dining room is finally done, I had to share. At first, this space was just a room you needed to walk through to get to other rooms in the house. Although it had tons of character, there was nothing really special about it yet. But now that it is all put together I have to say it is one of my favorite rooms in the house!

So here is what the dining room looked like before. The worst part was the rug. Not only was it ugly but it was everywhere in the house. I give credit my husband Dan for pulling up every single one himself. It was tough job for sure. Other than that, we knew the chandelier had to go too. The risers in the corner had to stay so I just figured we would cover them somehow.

The elements of the space we loved were its character and style. The decorative ceiling and rosette around the chandelier were definitely a plus. We both actually love the toile wallpaper so that was a keeper. I knew once I did my magic, this room would look spectacular. Although we didn’t have a big budget, I did my best to find items I loved at great prices and in some cases waited till they were on sale or found them somewhere else for less. Smart shopping is always key.

After the rugs came up there was an astounding difference. Then all I had to do was paint the woodwork and scrub the wallpaper. Not so bad. Then go searching for the perfect items to fill it up. So after about 4 months or so, it finally came together and we couldn’t be happier. I was going for country modern with a rustic touch. I wanted it to be perfect for formal entertaining but comfortable enough so it wasn’t stuffy. With a combination of dark brown, cream and blue, the dining room was transformed into an updated space that has vintage appeal.

The cabinet piece I purchased at Ikea for a great price. You can’t go wrong at $135 for a cabinet. It’s a new item they just started selling and I am very happy with it. I am also happy I waited instead of dishing out more money for something that would be double the price!

The table, oh how I love my dining room table. With buttercream and dark brown cherry wood, it brings that country modern feel I was going for to a new level. I had bookmarked it before we even moved in the house and waited till we had the funds to buy it. It’s a good thing I did because I got it $100 cheaper than the sale price. At $815 with shipping, this was one of the best buys we made. For a 7 piece dining room set, that is really good. Thanks Overstock.com!

The Home Sweet Home picture was a quick thing I made to fill in a vintage frame we had. I think it fits nicely for now. Not bad for 5 minutes of my time. The vase I already had, it used to be my mother’s, and the dried cotton was something we had used in our wedding so I figured I would continue to use it somewhere in the house. It found a perfect home in my mother’s blue vase.

The blue plaid curtains were a great find as well. I knew I wanted plaid because it goes so well with toile so the challenge was to find a pair that worked in the space and were selling for a good price. I found this pair on Overstock.com as well for only $28!

The chandelier brings so much style to the room. I first saw on it on a popular website but after some searching I found it on a random lighting website for a lower price. I wound up paying like $80 or so for it which is awesome. You would never know! I plan to buy small shades for the lights too. I found a nice wicker pair at Pottery Barn I just might have to get. I think they would look so cute.

The framed photograph is one I took while Dan and I visited Maine two years ago. We already had this piece and I pretty much knew it was going in the dining room. The pitcher and bowl were great finds at a local antique shop I couldn’t resist buying. Especially, since the set was only $15.

The cabinet was the second piece of furniture we bought for the room. I found it at Country Door.com for $250 and simply adore it. What a great piece. I switched out the knobs for vintage glass ones the previous owners left behind. They added so much charm and character, as if they were meant to be. I am glad they were left behind and it makes me happy to have a little piece of history remaining in the space.

Love this chair. We found it a few years ago at a garage sale for a few bucks. This is the second in our collection.

I decided to stack the crates we had in front of the risers to hide them, which worked out really well. Not only can we showcase our collections but now this corner adds that rustic element I wanted in the space. The vintage birdcage is what we used for our wedding to hold all the card from guests. It’s nice to have it showcased in our home.

The cotton braided rug is a mixture of gray, blue and brown that go well with the color of the hardwood floors. I think it helps the buttercream stand out as well. I found it on Overstock.com for $112 with a special code. I love it.

All in all, this space proves you can have a beautiful room and not spend thousands to put it together. With a little creativity, some DIY knowledge and research, you can find items you love without going broke. For under $1500, I was able to design a dining room I absolutely love and it makes me even more happy to say I did it all on a budget.

Make it Modern

16 Saturday Jun 2012

Posted by melissaoconnor in Everyday Design

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

chairs, decor, design, furniture, lighting, mod, modern, regency shop, sputnik style light, wicker, wooden double bench

I came across this cool chair from this store, Regency Shop, so I looked around and found a few more modern items I thought were pretty rad. If you like this style than you will love these pieces of furniture.

I saw these chairs and just wanted to snuggle up in my backyard and camp out for the night. How nice would it be to stare at the stars in these? I am a huge fan of wicker so that already sold me but the fact they are so big was a plus as well.

This bench is simple and sleek with tons of texture and style. It would be great set at a table or even in a foyer.

You can’t get any more mod than this light fixture. Besides a dining room, you can give your living room or bedroom a 70s feel and incorporate this sputnik inspired piece for some fun.

Redesign Tips for Every Room in Your Home

02 Monday Apr 2012

Posted by melissaoconnor in Art & Design, The Home

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

decorating, furniture, home, interior design, redesign, space

Everyone wants a nice looking home, but not everyone has the money to do it. However, you can have a stylish home and not pay tons of money. Sometimes just changing up the scene is enough to update any room in your house. With a little work, creativity and guidance, you can have a fresh space in no time.

{Living room before the redesign}

The best and most affordable way to update a room is to figure out a new floor plan. You don’t want to know how many times I’ve done this. I might be a little crazy but seriously, by just moving furniture around, your space will feel new and exciting. Here are a few tips to guide you along the way:

Take photos of the room from every angle as well as measurements of the furniture.
Ask yourself what you want from the space. Do you need more room or want to have a more organized area? Figure out how you can benefit from the space.
Move all the smaller pieces of furniture out of the room as well as any artwork, lamps and other designer items.
{Optional} Draw a diagram of the room and tiny replicas of your furniture. Cut the drawings out and place them on the diagram in all different ways. Experiment and get creative.
Start to move the bigger pieces around and see what works best. This is why having measurements are helpful! Then slowly bring the smaller pieces in the space. If something doesn’t work, just move it somewhere else.
Don’t feel you have to keep everything in the room. Look around your home to see if you have something you can pull from another room. If it looks good, keep it. It’s decisions like these that will help the space feel like new.

I’m not going to lie, this takes some time. But if you’re determined and ready to focus, in a couple of hours you can sit back and enjoy your newly-redesigned space. I suggest you ask someone to help, especially if you have heavy furniture. Plus, it’s always nice to have other opinions.

After you’ve finished, add some finishing touches with new accessories. Find some cool items throughout your home or purchase some inexpensive ones. You don’t need to buy a whole bunch — pillows, curtains, artwork or a couple knick knacks will do the trick. Here is what I did for a past redesign in my old apartment.

Step One: I moved the pink chair to the other side of the room and created a quiet space for reading and resting.

Step Two: I moved the chair back to the other side but placed it on an angle.

Step Three: I moved the bookshelves to the opposite corner behind the smaller couch. This helps to make the transition from the living room to the dining room stylish.

Step Four: I moved the couches and table so they faced the corner of the room making it a little more interesting. This allowed much more space in the room giving it a more open feel.

Step Five: I placed the TV on another piece of furniture so I can have a new coffee table. Who needs to shop when you have all you need right here!

Step Five: I rearranged accessories and gave the room a new fresh feel. Olive seems to like it too!

Good luck and have fun. This is your chance to be a designer and really make it happen. When you’re done, invite some friends over so everyone can enjoy your genius!