Home

Mid-Century Modern Home Decor Tips from 1959

In the 1950s, magazines like Woman's Day guided young adults on budget-friendly mid-century modern home decor and furnishings.

Unknown's avatar
by Janet
Comment 1

Interior designers in the 1950’s knew the value of clean lines and functionality when it came to home decor. We salute this design aesthetic in today’s world with the loving term mid-century modern. If you were a young adult living in the 1950’s, you would have turned to magazines for advice on how to furnish your first home. These magazines provided ideas, inspiration, and DIY instruction. The May 1959 issue of Woman’s Day featured an article titled “How to Decorate a 3 Room Budget Apartment”.

Home Decor Mid-Century Modern article – Woman’s Day May 1959

The article showed furnishings for a study area, bedroom, dining area, and living room.

Mid-Century Modern Living Room – Woman’s Day May 1959

Woman’s Day provided DIY instructions for building your own desktop. They also showed how to construct a headboard and a lamp table. Building these items yourself was part of their advice to achieve great furnishings on a budget.

Use color imaginatively, shop carefully for a few important pieces, make others yourself, and you will discover that you can do wonders with a limited amount of money.

Woman’s Day Magazine – May 1959
Study Area with Mid-century Modern furnishings – May 1959

The functional study area with the adorable early generation television set used neutral colors with burnt orange and green as the accent colors. A DIY desktop was added to the dresser for increased functionality.

Bedroom with Mid-Century furnishings – Woman’s Day May 1959

The color scheme carried into the bedroom. Here we see another adorable artifact from the mid-century: a yellow rotary phone. The author said to splurge on a good quality mattress and a large area rug. A DIY headboard, and self-painted dressers were suggested to help save money.

Dining Area Photo – How to Furnish a 3 room budget apartment – 1959

Burnt orange carried into the dining area where an easy-to-apply mural was purchased to make the room look bigger. The table had a walnut top and metal base.

Mid-Century Modern Living Room with Sectional Couch and Rattan Coffee Table – Woman’s Day May 1959

The sectional sofa was another recommended splurge. The rattan coffee table was self-painted. The room used varying shades of apricot to complete the look.

Woman’s Day also gave buyers specifics on the furnishings by providing costs and brands. The cost to furnish a 3 room apartment on a budget in 1959 was $1149.

1959 Furnishing Costs and brands – Woman’s Day May 1959

More Mid-Century Modern Inspiration on MidCenturyPage.com

1959 – Make a Mid-Century Modern Coffee Table
1959 – Mid-Century Modern DIY Rug
1948 Post War Home Decor
1950 – Yellow Spatter Linoleum
1950 Mid-Century Modern BBQ
1948 Mid-century Modern

1 comment on “Mid-Century Modern Home Decor Tips from 1959”

  1. Pingback: Mid-Century Modern Living: Transforming Spaces – Mid-Century Page

Leave a comment