Mid-Century Modern Favorites

Coming from a family full of designers gave me an early introduction to the many faceted world of design. Both my Mom and Dad have a natural knack for interior design and appreciate the many different styles and shapes of furniture.

Although I appreciate the traditional, decorative style of the home that my Mom designed for us growing up, it's not my preferred personal style as an adult. My Dad on the other hand is a Mid-Century Modern devotee; a type of design that I have learned to love. Eames, Le Corbusier, and Bertoia are a few Mid-Century designers that I have heard about for as long as I can remember.

After admiring my Dad's Le Corbusier Chaise Lounge for years, I finally got a Mid-Century piece of my own; an Eames molded armchair with dowel legs. I can easily say that it is currently my favorite piece of furniture. I am slowly browsing around for more Mid-Century favorites and look forward to incorporating them into my home one by one. I appreciate the clean lines and memorable shapes of this period of design, and love the recognizable character that they now have.

Photo: Bertoia Side Chair

Photo: Marcel Breuer Wassily® Chair in Belting Leather

Photo: Eames® Molded Plastic Dowel-Leg Armchair (DAW)

Photo: Eames® Lounge and Ottoman

Photo: Le Corbusier LC4 Chaise Lounge

Photo: Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Barcelona® Chair

Small Seating Area

Decorating our apartment has been a real work in progress. Being that our living room is a long rectangle, it seemed logical it separate it into a few different areas. One of the areas that we created was this little seating place. We had to make room for my favorite home item, our black plastic Eames chair. It's accompanied by a small aluminum side table ($4 in the clearance section at Bed, Bath & Beyond!), a Home Goods area rug ($12.99), and of course a Carly Ahlman Design throw pillow and clock. 

We coordinated this area with the rest of our space by adding the same red side table next to our sectional which is on the opposite wall. The area rug helped to denote the space. It acts as a reading spot, an extra seat for guests, or a place to just sit back and relax.

Metallic Fabric Clutch

I'm a huge fabric-lover, and always looking for ways to use fabrics to create accessories for the home and self. My latest creation is a small metallic clutch. It's made with a thick woven fabric, so it keeps it's shape well. It's large enough to hold the necessary "night out" items (a cell phone, credit cards / metro cards, cash, lip gloss). Check out Carly Ahlman Design (www.carlyahlmandesign.com/store) to purchase this style - it'll be up for sale soon! There are more to come in various patterns and colors, so keep checking back for more! All styles will be one-of-a-kind.

Layered Area Rugs

For a while now (about a year and a half to be exact), we've been shopping around for an affordable area rug for the living space in our apartment. Of course there is plenty out there to choose from, but nothing is quite as affordable as I would like. I didn't want to spend a few hundred dollars committing to an area rug that was going to be used to decorate our "temporary" apartment. Being that we're renting, I've tried to decorate our place with as little money as possible. Certain pieces can go with us wherever we go, but others might not translate so well.

Nevertheless, we finally came up with an inexpensive solution for our area-rug-less-space. During a recent trip to Home Goods, we found multiple woven cotton area rugs in a variety of colors and patterns. They were small, mostly 3'x5' or 4'x6', but filled with fun colors. For $12.99-$14.99 a piece, we were able to get a few. Now they are scattered around our apartment to form various little vignettes here and there. Another plus is that they wear very well!

So instead of opting for one large area rug in a space, try incorporating multiple smaller rugs for a fun eclectic look.

Photo: Arthur and Martha

Photo: Babble

Photo: Casa Sugar

Photo: Creative Home

Photo: Flickr

Photo: Fox on the Run

Photo: House Beautiful

Photo: Street Scene