Mid-Century Modern Living Rooms We Wish Were Ours

Artful blend

On a wall spanning 12 feet, the gas fireplace in the living room is a strong architectural presence. The chimney breast and the hearth are both clad in marble for a luxe finish.

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Neutral and dynamic

A master class in elegant furniture arrangement, the living room also holds its own when it comes to wear and tear. “The sofa has a classic silhouette with a nod to mid-century style. I love that it can work in any space,” says Karla. 

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Vintage accents

“We like furniture that can take a knocking,” says Rebecca, noting that the living room’s leather sofa gets more and more beautiful with use.

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Bright contrast

The owners’ furniture and accessories in mustard act as a dramatic contrast that warms up the area and plays off the earthiness of the metal, stone and wood. 

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Dramatic fireplace

The arched mirror and basket-weave tiled hearth were added for texture and pizzazz.

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Scandinavian touch

The living room’s existing envelope – the brick fireplace, vaulted ceilings, expansive mirrors and hardwood floors – inspired clean-lined decor that evokes a mix of Scandinavian and Mid-Century Modern style.

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Feminine accents

The long, low sideboard in the living room stores tons of stuff and is a nod to Christine’s husband’s love of mid-century modern style.

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Crisp whites

White artwork is mounted on white walls behind a soft-hued sofa flanked by leggy white side tables, all underscored by plush pale grey carpeting.

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Quirky decor

Out of a cavernous room with white walls and a white-tiled floor, designer Orlando Soria created three intimate and cozy spaces – a family area, living area and dining area – and unified them using low mid-century modern-style furnishings, the exact same sisal rug and complementary teal, beige and ivory accent colours. 

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Soft luxury

A framed Hermès scarf, a vibrant green fiddle-leaf fig tree and verdigris-finished bust of Zeus add hits of colour in the black and cream living room. 

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Victorian era house

“It recalls an old-fashioned gentleman’s study from a bygone era,” says designer Jamie Alexander of the living room. A pair of blue velvet armchairs with gold-leafed geometric frames lends contemporary weight. 

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Sunny cottage

Though several decades separate the modern cabin from the original log cottage, the two are stylistically linked through their ample use of wood, which also blends the new building into its sylvan surroundings. 

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An artist's abode

The designer was able to fulfill the homeowners’ requests for a pared-back Mid-Century Modern feel that incorporates heirloom furniture, a blend of warm woods and their extensive art collection.

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Hits of colour

A plush white rug and shearling-upholstered chairs say ski lodge, while the Eames lounger and Saarinen side table are iconic Mid-Century Modern. 

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Art gallery inspiration

In the living room, a Dar Eiffel chair is paired with a teak daybed. The low table is Montreal artist Guy Monteur's reinterpretation of a design produced by T. H. Robsjohn-Gibbings, a New York decorator famous in the 1940s and 1950s.

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Family heirlooms

Hanging above the credenza, a black and white photo taken in 1903, which Sharie enlarged and mounted on a wood canvas, represents her ancestors’ prairie life.

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Modern family life

The homeowner loves a modern look, but embraced select original features of the home, such as the fireplace. “I added the ceramic tiles [on the hearth], then stripped the wall to expose the brick and painted it and the fireplace mantel white,” says the designer.

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Stunning and unfussy

The built-on storage is both practical and decorative. To complete the look, homeowners Jenna and Steve Holland covered up a window and built a wood-slat wall to mount the TV on.

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