For the couch I would suggest some sort of brown to reflect the dining table and kitchen cabinets. This would also ground the light chairs and setee that you are keeping. You might then consider adding color in the rug--maybe something to mirror the rug in the kitchen.

The little sofa with the matching chair needs to go back to the basement. The set pulls down the whole look. I think you need to do something bold that elevates the style and takes advantage of the green view.

What if for the upholstery we went with a burnt orange/yellow (tweed yellow with speckled dark spots to keep it from being too bright), then a jute type rug (to bring in the brown).

Keep in mind I plan to use plants by the couch on the wall (and other places)… this was one reason I was considering green foe the upholstery.

I’m normally not a fan, but i’d also consider one of the MCM-ish reddish oriental rugs too, but it would have to fit in a way I cannot currently conceive.

Like the idea of centering around the view, I agree with that sentiment - I also want to maximize use of the space and the current layout doesnt have a focus point (not centered on the FP). Will post dimensions/shape - it’s a long space.

Wrong.. too many pieces will be themy.but amazing pieces. Spread throughout.kitchen cabinets and backsplash yeah! Though not mcm I'd do a sofa in a boucle/ sherpa. A chair in twill tweedy thin.nothing themed. The furniture has the lines. Will last forever as timeless. Can use the colors from 60s like burnt orange or deep blue and then pottery can be bold.

That Kitchen is amazing! Wish you had a paneled fridge or white.lol. funny how I can spend your money and I haven't remodeled mine as nicely.that window to die for. Furniture will be great.

if you’re not opposed to chenille fabric, Covington Moonstruck is gorgeous and has several color ways available

I would avoid chenille on am mcm sofa. I’d go with something a bit more handsome and a nod to the fabric of the era.

Here are a few samples I have on hand. Colors might not be what you are looking for, but these come in many different colors and are made with MCM furniture in mind.

I would avoid chenille on am mcm sofa. I’d go with something a bit more handsome and a nod to the fabric of the era.

Here are a few samples I have on hand. Colors might not be what you are looking for, but these come in many different colors and are made with MCM furniture in mind.

lol, my grandmother had furniture upholstered in both burnt orange boucle and chenille. Wish i had the pieces today!

this ad was for slipcovers, but about same print

I assume the flowered sofa is the one getting recovered. I would not do a print that willinstantly drive every other choice . I think a MCM rug even drapes can be a print but the sofa IMO a solid color so I wouldchoose a rug you lobe then choose the fabric for the sofa.I think if I uderstand you ar ekeeping the more Scandanavian pieces too? I sure would not do slipcovers and for sure not those posted.I think boucle fabric is okay for MCM .Maybe turquoise for the sofa These are some rugs that can drive the whole color sc

heme

uh, i think it should be fairly obvious that the slipcover pic is an ad from the 50s.. lmao. just showing that this type of pattern and fabric were indeed used in the time period. 🙄

Sorry all I saw was those horrible slip covers .

@Patricia Colwell Consulting that geometric blue and gold rug is exactly the sort of look I need for my MCM living room. Do you have a link? (Apologies to Zach for threadjacking.)

I like the rug too, so thanks for asking!

Midcentury modern can veer toward minimalistic and balanced but individual pieces are usually pretty strong statement pieces with cool lines and profiles. MCM can also be colorful and quirky. Would suggest you scour the internet until you find pieces or even ensembles that you like and would like to replicate. Good luck!

I noticed something while looking at your photos that I think is important to note.

Do you see how pink the flooring looks next to the gold stress mat? You don't have any yellows or yellow beige currently other than these floor mats. There in a small corridor, so you don't focus on the pink. You will have a lot more flooring that shows in the main area, so I would be cautious using colors that bring out the pink.

I think the blue green trim on the red house and the lighter blue green house next to it in your art over the fireplace is the best color family with your flooring.

https://www.luxedecor.com/product/surya-forum-rectangular-area-rug-syfm7204rec

I was just at the Round Top antiques show, and based on what I saw, shearling and boucle is really hot right now. I think it's a cool combination with MCM and organic. With MCM furniture, I would steer away from an MCM fabric so it looks fresh.

These pictures are from this shop.

You might also get inspiration from Amelia Tarbet. She collects the coolest things and updates them.

@stiley we were thinking of possibly going with boucle, because it’s a nice texture, but I think it may unintentionally take away from the cool lines of the couch… and not that this is a reason to not do something, but I do think it’s super trendy and will fade in the next few years.

@Jen Hogan - love your attention to detail, the floors do have a little pinkish (not much, but a little)… this is also why I was thinking an mcm green for the couch might be best (with green plants throughout and outside) and the walnut/teak woods, maybe find a rug with yellow/grey/green to pull it together… but unsure.

Just to clarify, what color scheme were yoy suggesting?

We were also considering 2 natural fiber solid rugs, this way we can actually combine 2 of them, to cover the long space (appearing as one long rug). We found examples online of someone else doing that and you couldn’t tell it was two rugs.

Good start for MCM! You have nice pieces. I would love to see that sofa reupholstered in olive green mohair with the cushions in dacron with a down wrap. I remember the 50s and 60s (I'm an old broad!) and the textiles were tweeds and scratchy. My family went for black Naugahyde vinyl, natural woods and vintage Persian rugs. Friends had simple upholstery and art style rugs. It was all about the art and lamps and pendants. I agree with your comment about the cotton boucle - overdone and when it gets dirty blah!

I have done MCM design projects and do very well on craigslist for rugs. The real deal and cost effective. Tip - have it professionally cleaned before you bring it home. People sell because it was their grandparents and not their style.

Vintage

Vintage

A green tweed would look fantastic with natural fiber rugs and the Scandinavian sofa and chair.

The fabrics Kendrah posted are perfect. Besides mohair, also consider looking at a frieze. Frieze was very popular in tone on tone patterns. The solids these days come in an array of colors.

@kendrah thanks for your ideas! If we instead try to go with one cohesive space and have the MCM sofa once reupholstered centered in the middle (not on the FP, in fact same location of the grey couch in photos), almost making the MCM sofa one of the centerpieces, what do you think of two natural fiber rugs (combined to make one) anf a green or blue upholstery?

Q: How many people hang out in your living room seating space, ages, activities? Do you read there and need some reading lamps? Do you have lots of people over at once?

A: We will like to have a mix, young and old, during holidays especially, I have a large family. We do plan to buy more end tables, lamps, decore + plants.

Q: You have kids, do you care about the washability and wearability of the fabric? Does anyone in your family have allergies to wool or other texture preferences? Do you have a good upholsterer and have they specified yet how many yards you need and how much it will cost? If not, be prepared for sticker shock!

A: Have kids, okay with the risk of non-washable, but will get durable fabric. No allergies and have interviewed many in our area + received multiple estimates, incl. priced some upholstery fabrics.

Love the idea of buying 1 yard and seeing how it works too!

OMG, Denise Marchand, I remember those frieze fabrics (didn't know what they were called). My grandmother had a sofa upholstered in an emerald green frieze! It actually was a very scratchy fabric, not at all soft or inviting.

When I read your request re MCM and liking natural fabrics etc, my first thoughts were that much of MCM fabric was polyester (as shown by some of the above posted examples). It looks like you have children; if you also have pets, I’d stay away from tweeds and bouclés…..they do not mix well! (Sadly, I know from experience.) If you plan to add a lot of plants I probably wouldn’t do a lot of green fabrics.

The frieze mentioned above was a very popular fabric for mcm. Nylon was very desirable. Rayon type was not. It wore like iron, and lasted for years. Nylon type is not scratchy, like mentioned in the post above. I have had both a regular couch and a sectional in the same fabric, years and years ago.

Here are two examples of mcm couches. Note the wide arm rests. Most of the couches from that era had them.

@zach

I love taupe (that pink undertone found in neutrals that are somewhere between pink beige and violet gray.).

It works with most colors that are between green/blue green and violet reds.

It does not work as well with yellow greens, yellows or orange.

There are always exceptions and ways to work a color into a palette, but for the most part, I would steer clear of the beige neutrals including pink beige, orange beige, yellow beige and green beige.

I have a very color accurate monitor, so sometimes I don't know what others are seeing compared to what I am seeing, but here is taupe against a color wheel. (picked SW Alpaca as the color).

It looks really good with the red purples, purple and blue purple, still looks good with red, red orange, blue, blue green. It starts not looking good as you move toward yellow (green, yellow green, yellow orange and orange.

The classic 1960s harvest gold, avocado and burnt orange are not good with taupe.

(Taupe on left, yellow beige on the right)

With the opposite side of the color wheel the yellow beige gets too yellow. More green beige / greige colors would look like mud.

I am not a total fan of Maria Killam, but she has a neutral color wheel that I used for these demonstrations;

Taupe larger circle: Note how it looks with the beige neutrals.

Then with the two art pieces I used for color choices above

This is why I suggested using some of the blue greens from your art rather than anything more yellow greens as you choose your colors for the room.

You also have some pinks in the other art. Again, those look great with your flooring.

My examples show very saturated colors, but you can subdue the colors, but saturated color is easier to see why one thing works vs another.

Hope this helps

@Jen Hogan it helps so much! So if we lean towards the blue green spectrum for upholstery, it will balance well. In terms of rug, if we were to go with a 2 Jute rugs (tied together to make one longer rug, hiding the seam), would that work well too?

Hold up! The set that Paul H wants to go in the basement...is it the real deal, a Mid Century Modern R. Huber Lounge set, teak wood?

I suggest a stripe fabric in your choice of colors:

you have a nice space. I'd go for more of a mcm boho design.

first thing you need are some vintage walnut case pieces

You can find these on craigslist, marketplace, flea markets, garage sales, etc.

Then decide the main color you want that sofa. I don't know that I'd do a full on print.

Unless you want this type of look

better to use the print in the rug, maybe a side chair, pillows, etc.

what about a nice green?

A good velvet is a nice choice. do you want a bold color?

Teal/gold

chartreuse/peacock

Peacock sofa w/orange/avocado complimets.

Rust w/natural elements

Navy w/leather

Neutral. love the leather sofa w/all of these textures.

for this spot, consider doing a bench (lift up seat) along this wall to hide toys, or get a nice credenza w/storage. Also, that art is hung too high. 56" from floor to MIDDLE of print is correct.

Some nice pendant lighting would look nice.

This look would be perfect

I think you mentioned kids. I'd look at a performance velvet. That is very Milo Baughman, Mr. MidCentury. In fact, your sofa looks like one of his designs but his didn't have the middle leg. Is there a maker's label under cushion on the decking? If so, make sure the upholsterer removes it and puts it back. Always so nice to have the provenance of a piece.

When you redo it, check the height of the seat. You mentioned people of all ages. Those midcentury pieces were low. If it is low, you can build it up with slightly higher legs or other tricks the upholsterer will know without ruining the lines of the sofa.

@elcieg yes it’s original teak wood… all pieces are original minus the grey couch and west elm lounge chair with ottoman.

I'm not big on MCM, but Beth's ideas are something even I could live with!

Boucle? Kids? No. Flashback to my ‘50s childhood. My parents got a boucle chair. I crawled up on it with my buckled Mary Jane shoes. Soft, cozy! Then I climbed down, snagging a loop with the buckle…. And that was the end of the chair! A huge snag. Boucle? Kids? Pets? No.