The craze for all things “Mad Men” has moved from fashion to furnishings, and there is now popular zeal to match the cool midcentury decor of the TV series’ living room sets in one’s own home.
It is the distinctive profile of midcentury furniture that catches the eye. “A very tailored look with tapered wooden legs that tend to be a little higher off the floor, and thinner arms,” says Louine Wailes, design associate in Room & Board, describing the design’s allure. “The pieces aren’t overstuffed, the fabric and shape is tight and firm, just like when ‘Mad Men’ was in its heyday in the 1950s and ’60s.”
A boom in housing after World War II led to an explosion in furniture demand, which in turn resulted in a new kind of production as manufacturers sought to get furniture to the masses quickly at reasonable prices.
It is ironic that today midcentury furniture is antithetical to its original intent. “It is prohibitively expensive and exclusive to the few who can afford it,” says Daniel Donnelly, who owns an eponymous furniture shop.
Back then “it was all about affordability and using materials that were somewhat bizarre by 1940s standards such as plywood,” says Robert Chapman, owner of Archer. “Some of the most iconic midcentury pieces collected today are made of plywood.” Even so they can be exorbitantly expensive because they are vanity pieces instead of just functional items.
Many furniture makers are offering styles emulating classic midcentury designs and you can readily buy a new piece reflective of the era’s clean, simple lines.
Room & Board carries the Boden Chair, a tribute to Hans Wegner’s 1960s Wing Chair.
Daniel Donnelly carries the Basic Cabinet Series, which re-creates the George Nelson line of cabinetry from the 1950s as well as sofas that emulate the proportion and scale of Edward Wormley designs made by Dunbar in the 1940s and ’50s.
Archer’s Steel Line Lounge Chair takes inspiration from midcentury designer Milo Baughman, who developed the use of an open metal frame support as a lounge chair.
But you don’t have to purchase new pieces — it is easy to update ones you already own.
“You can dress up a midcentury item in a new fabric appropriate for today,” says Chapman, as long as you understand how to make it fit in. “If you put nubby orange or avocado green wool on a midcentury sofa, it wouldn’t look right, but if you reupholster with linen, it will.”
Mixing styles is also easy to do with midcentury furniture. “You can come in and buy a contemporary sectional sofa and then pick up some vintage midcentury pull-up chairs from the 1950s or ’60s that already have a nice patina and really relate,” he adds.
Antique and modern can live well together, agrees Donnelly, as long as you get the scaling right in terms of room size, accessories, existing furniture and overall house proportions.
And mixing design styles is always a good idea, he says, because it is a positive reflection on you if there is diversity of style in your home. “You don’t want to be seen as having a dining room or bed room from page 8 of a catalog.”
Says Donnelly, “I think there’s too much emphasis on matching things. I try to complement furnishings and space. And, it’s easy to do with midcentury furniture.”
