How To Find Mid-Century Furniture Pieces For Your Home

Love mid-century furniture but don’t want to be too Mad Men? Today’s take on mid-century style takes a cue from the clean lines, vivid colors, and unique materials of mid-20th century graphic and industrial design, but with a modern flair. Of course, if you want to go authentic, there are plenty of places to get the real deal, too, but you’ll have to pay a bit more.

Getting Started

Not sure where to start? Well, Mad Men is actually a good place to start. If you like what you see on the hit AMC series, you can mimic elements of the show’s set designs in your own home. GQ recently published a rundown of the design elements used  the show, and Eero Saarinen’s famous, futuristic Tulip collection is represented (think Roger Sterling’s office) as is Florence Knoll Bassett’s ionic Lounge Collection. Need more ideas? Carla Greenburg’s classic book Mid-Century Modern: Furniture of the 1950s is an all-around primer, while mid-century modern dealer Andrew Weaving and design commentator Neil Bingham’s Modern Retro takes you through all of the important design trends from the 1920s to the 1970s.

Where To Buy Authentic Pieces

Authentic mid-century modern pieces come at a price, but local flea markets, antique stores and even eBay are a great place to search for items by famed designers of the era like Saarinen, Charles and Ray Eames, Herman Miller, and more. (Popular searches include  Saarinen’s iconic Womb chair.) You can also check flea and antique stores for retro lighting and accent pieces.

Where To Buy Modern Reproductions

Lucite and chrome pieces – ala glam great Milo Baughman – can be found via the Design Classics collection of Thayer Coggin, while r  Crate & Barrel has been selling pricey pieces like Milo Classic Leather Brass Lounge Chair since 2010. (It comes at a cost of nearly $3000, but oh, the color choices!) And modern day retailers like CB2 and West Elm, and even Overstock.com, offer mid-century inspired pieces such as armless chairs, curved accent pieces and metal coffee tables. In addition, Florence Knoll Bassett’s minimalistic Lounge Collection is still being reproduced today (in fact, Knoll is still in operation) while Herman MIller offers classic Eames pieces.