How do you arrange a mid-century modern living room?
Arrange a mid-century modern living room around a low, open conversation group floated off the walls, with sightlines kept clear across the room by furniture that sits close to the floor and stands on legs rather than a solid base. Start by anchoring the seating to a real focal point, a fireplace, a window, or a walnut credenza and art wall, never the television, then pull the sofa four to ten inches off the wall so the room breathes. Set the coffee table about sixteen to eighteen inches from the sofa edge, close enough to reach a cup without leaning. Ground the group on a rug large enough for the front legs of every seat to rest on it, which in most rooms means an 8-by-10 at minimum and a 9-by-12 for a full sectional. Vary the heights the low pieces cannot supply on their own: an arc floor lamp or a tall rubber plant lifts the eye above a long teak sideboard and a tapered-leg armchair. Leave thirty to thirty-six inches for walkways. The discipline that makes it read correctly is restraint, one or two iconic pieces such as an Eames lounge or a Noguchi table, not a showroom of them.
Arrangement is where restraint pays off, since the empty floor does as much work as the furniture; think of it as controlled air, not a gap to fill. Build the group from our mid century modern furniture, pair a low seat with the right coffee table, and see the pieces together in a mid-century modern living room.
