What’s the first thing you think of when you hear the words mid-century modern?
Retro? The fifties? James Bond films? Or even the television show Mad Men?
Mid-century modern is a broad term used to describe architecture, graphic design, and furniture from the middle of the 20th century (roughly from the 40’s-70’s). While Mad Men is an obvious example of the style, you’ve probably seen it around a lot more than you even realized. It’s frequently used in advertisements, television, film, and talk shows.
A style with roots from the post-World War I era where trends shifted into a fresh, new aesthetic to help boost America into a more modern era. Furniture was designed to be simple and clean, allowing it to be built quickly and distributed to consumers. Overall style and frames featured clean lines with sometimes multi-functional benefits and bold geometric designs, strong patterns, and graphics; a nice blend between comfort and chic style.
Here at Red Knot we carry a lot of transitional pieces, many of which have mid-century modern features like – tufted detailing, tapered wooden legs, and clean lines. Although the retro style won’t be for everyone, it does conjure up images of casual living for the minimalist at heart that is truly timeless.
Here are some important features of a mid-century modern room:
-Lots of wood
- Look at any mid-century modern living room and one thing you’ll notice in all of them is the wood pieces. Whether it be the coffee table, sideboard, or TV stand the use of clean, beautifully crafted wood was predominantly used (a lot of teak, oak, walnut, etc).
-Tapered Legs
- A lot of mid-century modern pieces have wooden legs that taper slightly out which gives any piece of furniture a more vintage look.
-Graphic/bold patterns
- Bold, graphic patterns were very popular back in the good ol’ days, mostly with a more geometric design element. If having your sofa or accent chair in a patterned fabric is a bit much, then using art work is an easy way to add this fun element to your mid-century modern room.
-White paint
- People of this era and style were very proud of the craftsmanship and attention to detail that went into their furniture. The best way to showcase that and keep the attention on their furniture was to keep walls light and simple with a coat of fresh white paint.
-Special touch: bar area
- Having a tiny bar area goes perfectly with the era of this design trend…so why not? While not all of us can have a built in bar for our home, adding a small bar cart to set the mood can add the perfect finishing touch to your living or dining room.
Here are some of the pieces we carry at Red Knot!
- Indiana Sectional | $1399
- Triangle Coffee Table | $349
- Maguire Chair* | $699
- Walton Sofa* | $599
- Amersly Bench* | $349
- Palisades Coffee Table* | $249
- Natalia Sofa* | $1149
- Bloom Sofa | $899
*Collection available in other options. Pricing may vary. Please inquire online or see a team member in store for more information.
A nod to the man who developed the first commercially successful lightbulb, these Thomas Edison lights are our most recognized designs. Perfect for those who want a part of history in their home, or to add a trace of antiquity in a nominal way. Also great to have around for anyone looking for inspiration or ideas. Don’t you just love those lightbulb aha! moments?
Literally, a burst of floral polypropylene cutouts. The multi-layer cutouts create a burst of white floral fringe. Extraordinarily detailed and unique, we have never seen anything like it. Putting it together was well quite… perplexing…however the end result is breathtaking.
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