Tag Archives: mid-century modern

Design Notebook: A Roundup of Quirky Mid-Century Modern

19 Jul

It occurred to me recently that some of my posts on quirky and eccentric interiors may make some of you interested in what I think is quirky.  Now, mid-century modern decor can often run the gamut from retro to ultra-cool (think Mad Men), but I prefer a more interesting look.

It’s often a mix of MCM pieces with some contempo/neo-trad thrown in for good measure,  tastefully mixed prints and patterns, and the home owner usually just has an eye for collecting vintage pieces with a bias towards MCM.

So, here’s a round-up of Quirky Mid-Century Modern homes:

Let’s start with this living room.  With its Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman, it has loads of color, yellow Foo Dogs, a glass coffee table and a zebra print rug.  You can never go through with zebra or cowhide.

via estate eclectic

I clearly never tire of Eames.  Here’s a yellow Eames RAR Rocker in a colorful living room, with mostly yellow accents.  It’s an adorable mix of mid-century modern and vintage pieces that make this space great.

modernica, via desire to inspire

This space leans a bit towards retro, what with that orange refrigerator, but I love the color and playfulness of a copper Poul Henningsen Artichoke Lamp and William Platner Table and Chairs (orange!).

via porterhouse designs

This is quirkiness subdued.  Yellow Panton S Chair + white secretary desk + cute floral accents?  Very understated.

via hosue of anais

Finally, there’s Kyle DeWoody’s apartment that was recently featured in Vogue. That was the inspiration for this post.  It’s certainly not everyone’s taste, but her eclectic NYC home has pieces I’m sure everyone would love.

via vogue

So what do you folks think about quirky mid-century modern decor?  Yay or nay?

Design Notebook: Red, White and Blue + Mid-Century and Mod

3 Jul

…see what I did there?  I’m so clever sometimes!

Anyhoo, it’s almost the 4th of July non-weekend, so to honor that, here is a bevy of beautiful homes featuring red, white and blue color palettes and accents.  This classic American color combination happens to work well, when done in an understated manner.  For example, an all-white loft with blue and red pieces — used sparingly — is patriotically chic.

via homedit

By the way, this beautiful apartment was built in Athens for a French politician.

Here are a handful of other apartments with the red, white and blue color palette.  This red kilim rug and blue Eames DAW Armchair add personality to this all-white bedroom.

via design tripper

All-white Scandinavian apartments can sometimes look too modern and sterile, with their monochromatic rooms and teak MCM pieces, but this red rug and various blue accent pillows really brighten up the place.

auction decorating via skona hem

This space is a veritable gallery of mid-century modern and contemporary pieces.  The white loft features mostly white pieces, like the Barcelona Daybed and Chairs, with pops of blue, seen in the painting, and red, seen in the Arne Jacobsen Egg Chair.

via arch deco

Can’t get more classic American than this:

hgtv via fresh quince

Have a great 4th of July!!

What I Love…

27 Jun

… the Berman Residence, recently completed by Robert Berman, founding partner of Johnson Berman.  This 40-year-old apartment is located in Mies van der Rohe’s Highfield House Condominums in Baltimore.  The entire apartment is amazing, but this vignette is a great example of Berman’s aesthetic choices: mid-century modern, stylish, understated and a little playful.

I love the color palette here, too. This dark celadon green Arne Jacobsen Egg Chair, the Eames Walnut stool, the black + white Alexander Girard print with little pops of red, it’s all working for me.

via houzz

There’s also a fair amount of kitsch here that I think works really well.  Gotta love doubling up of side tables here:  a tiny Tulip table and gnome side table ( I want one)!

bedroom, via houzz

You can check out the rest of the Berman Residence at Houzz.com.

House Tour: An Understated, Retro Flat

22 May

Today we’re touring a gorgeous flat with a decidedly retro feel to it.  This space is retro in its throwback color palette of yellow and brown (so 70s), which of course could backfire in a horrid mess.  But the openness and interior architecture of the space itself, along with a few vintage and modern pieces save it from that ubiquitous fate.

Let’s talk about these amazing windows: everyone should have floor-to-ceiling windows like these.   They provide the best kind of lighting — ambient, sunny and sunny — and they class up any interior style.  The windows soften the retro feel, here, complete with heavy mustard curtains, a well-worn greige settee and an Arne Jacobsen Floor Lamp in white.

living room

Love a photo ledge!  And of course no living room is complete without a cowhide rug…

living room

I’ll admit, I’m not crazy about any fabric screen, let alone this yellow floral one, but it does provide a nice accent to what was probably an empty corner.  Perhaps something in a complementary color would have worked better?  The lamp is by Poul Henningsen.

dining area

I do love the use of vintage cabinets in this dining area, but…storing shoes where you eat is just weird, right?  It’s weird.

dining area

1950s-ish chrome kitchen storage… love the *obviously* vintage teak bowls!

kitchen

For more pictures, click here.

This home appeared in Living Etc.

All images by Richard Birsch.

P.S.

If you want to get your hands on  a great replica from RexKelly.com, enter my “Instragram + MCM Rex” Contest.  The winner will receive a $100 gift certificate!

What I Love…

17 May

…this modern apartment in Paris.  It’s the perfect mix of vintage and  mid-century modern pieces, plus the gray and white color palette with pops of purple, green and brown is really fresh!

image via zaintaira, via Vincent Parreira

The apartment belongs to French designer/architect, Vincent Parreira and is housed in a renovated 18th century house.  Love this Eileen Gray Side Table + the purple Jacobsen Egg Chair.

image via zaintaira, via Vincent Parreira

For more images, visit Zainteriora.

P.S.

If you want to get your hands on  a great replica from RexKelly.com, enter my “Instragram + MCM Rex” Contest.  The winner will receive a $100 gift certificate!

Contest: Instagram + Mid-Century Rex

10 May

It’s the moment you have all been waiting for.  And quite frankly, it’s the moment I’ve been waiting for.  I’ve always loved when customers order pieces from my shop and then send me pictures of what their place looks like once they have all their well-designed ducks in a row.  From Brandi at mid-century MODERN LOVE to other people on the Twitter and the Facebook, I love getting little peeks at how you all make mid-century modern design work in your own home.

On that note, here’s the new contest!!

The Contest:

Download the app to your iPhone or Android.  Take a shot of your favorite MCM piece.  And share it.  That’s it.  If you like, you can post it on Twitter or Facebook, too.    Send the tweet to @MidCentury Rex or post it on my Facebook Page at Mid Century Rex.  Make sure to tag your photos with #MCMRex!

The Details: Pick your favorite piece of furniture or better yet, if you’ve ordered anything from RexKelly.com, and Instagram it!

Here’s a great example from @LizWas on Twitter!

Instagram + Eames Hang It All

The Prize: $100 Gift Certificate + IF I really like it, I’ll make it my cover photo on Facebook!  So make it look really pretty…

Deadline: 31 May 2012

The Rules:  Open ONLY to US citizens (Sorry Canada).  Must be 18 years or older.

Good luck everyone!!

Ask Rex Launches!

3 May

As one of the many resident ‘experts’ in mid-century modern design and decor, I like to think I have an eye for designing around mid-century modern pieces.

I’m totally kidding, guys!

This new topic actually came about because a reader had a question on decorating with a few pieces centered around a contemporary sofa from Room & Board.  Someone actually values my opinion.  Hard to believe, I know!

Anyhoo, I thought I’d share my suggestions for with the rest of my dear readers because I’m sure many of you have the same sort of questions about decorating with and around MCM pieces.  So… here it goes!

A reader asks:

“I have the following sectional, and I was looking for two accent chairs to go along with the sectional [sic].  I was thinking something along the lines of the a womb chair and a shell chair in black. Do you have any suggestions for 2 chairs to compliment this look?”

The sectional in question, is the Chelsea Sectional from Room & Board, and he has an accompanying ottoman (not shown here).

Chelsea Sectional

Sounds like he wants an accent chair and an accompanying lounge chair.  Cool.

We’re out of black Eames shell chairs at the moment, sad face.  But it you were to go with the white shell chair and a Saarinen Womb Chair in Ivory or Oatmeal, I think that would be too much white/neutral going on, unless you’re into that.  I also don’t think the Saarinen Womb Chair looks right with this sectional.

Option #1

Replica Eero Saarinen Womb Chair and Ottoman in White $849

Replica Eames DAR Armchair in White $109

Yes, I like Eames and I am always and forever talking about Eames.  But in this case, I think the Eames Lounge Chair is a better fit for this modular sectional.

Option #2

Chelsea Modular Sectional

Replica Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman in Black Leather $849

Replica Eames DSR Side Chair in White $99

So, I’d love to hear your questions (and perhaps, suggestions) for the future “Ask Rex” column.

Mini House Tour: Erika Brechtel’s Mod Glam SoCal Home

30 Mar

Today’s mini house tour comes c/o of Erika Brechtel, of Small Shop Studio, whose home was featured in last month’s issue of The Glitter Guide.  I say ‘mini’ house tour because there are so many pictures over at The Glitter Guide.

I know, after seeing so many ugly spaces in the past few weeks in my “Um….No,” series, you need a break.  It’s refreshing to see that some people do in fact have design sense, an eye for color and a sense of style.  She’s got a modern + glamorous + Hollywood Regency aesthetic here that I think is really great.

Take for instance this perfect vignette in her living room.  A white Barcelona Chair and marble Saarinen Tulip Side Table are complimented by a black-and-white cow skin box.  You know how much I like cow skins, something about them lends itself well to mid-century modern design.

the living room

Do you remember how those brass tables were big in the 70s/80s?  Well this one is actually by modern designer Jonathan Adler, but it reminds me of those brass cocktail tables from so long ago.  Brechtel’s got a few other brass pieces around her home, many of which are vintage pieces.

vintage brass table

The entire living room, in fact, is given a modern update with a gray modular sofa.

the living room

Love her little makeshift bar section, too.  She’s got a thing for brass and gold accents, I think.

the bar

dining room + gold tone settings

The home office has some really bright accents — pink and orange — that are toned down with the use of walls painted in gray.  And here we see more brass accents:  another brass mushroom lamp and a brass etagere.

the home office

Want to see more pictures and vignettes of Erika Brechtel’s gorgeous home?  Head on over to The Glitter Guide.

Photography by Jennifer Daigle.

What I Love..

9 Mar

… this dining room.

It’s the perfect mix of mid-century modern dining chairs – - Eames DSR, Panton S Chairs, etc — and a large Saarinen Tulip Table.  Love it!

gaelle le boulicat, via plastolux

via Gaelle Le Boulicat

Design Notebook: Dixon + Mid-Century Modern

1 Feb

I don’t know what it is exactly about Tom Dixon lighting, but his pieces lend themselves extremely well to interior spaces with a mid-century modern aesthetic.  Often, you’ll find these pairings in spaces that are already a mix of styles and aesthetics, but a copper-pendant lamp and a set of Eames’s DSR Side Chairs will stand out in any crowd, won’t they?

Anyway, take a look for yourselves and see what you think about Tom Dixon lighting in mid-century modern spaces.

The Grace Darling House, in Melbourne, has a mix of traditional and contemporary lines, but it’s easy to see in this sitting room how well Tom Dixon and MCM pair.  A quartet of Dixon’s “Beat Lights,”  Flor tiles, a black, marble-topped Saarinen Tulip table and Eames/Saarinen Organic Chairs look modern, and fresh (not staid, as some might expect).

via chic tip, image via iredale pedersen hook architects

The Woodvalley Residence by Gaile Guevara is mostly contemporary, with low, horizontally-set (is that a thing?), modular furniture.  But this dining room is MCM-esque and looks extremely fresh and modern when paired with Dixon’s “Beat Lights.”

via plastolux

Dixon Copper Shade and white Eames DSW Side Chairs? Yes please!

image via mocca me

via flickr (homebug)

image via kitchen clarity

Here are some black Eames DSW chairs with black “Beat Lights.”   Gorgeous!

via the goods design, image via dwell magazine

In this dining room, Dixon’s “Cone Light” adds a chic, modern touch to the rustic qualities of this space.  Looks incredibly well with a wooden dining room table and Hans Wegner Wishbone Chairs, doesn’t it?

via escapade, image via belen imaz

So, what do you think about this inspirational combo?  Let me know in the comments…I’d love to hear your thoughts!

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