The Best Furniture Style For Small Spaces!

Some furniture styles work better with small spaces than others. Finding the right designs, scale and style is key to making your small space feel like home. In this article, I want to highlight Mid-century modern furniture and why it’s perfect for small spaces. This furniture style was designed for small spaces and still remains popular today. Here’s why these pieces work so well.

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Best Furniture For Small Spaces: Mid-Century Modern Furniture!

The Name

The term ‘Midcentury Modern‘ “broadly describes the architecture, furniture, and graphic design from the middle of the 20th century and has roots in the Industrial Revolution at the end of the 19th century and also in the post-World War I period.” – Curbed.

But It was writer and art historian Cara Greenberg who first coined the term “Mid-Century Modern” in the title of her 1984 book “Mid-Century Modern: Furniture of the 1950’s“. According to Greenberg, Mid-Century modern furniture remains popular today for its simple, straightforward style. The style is rooted in notions of functionality, elegance, and simplicity.

Designed For Small Spaces

The Mid-century modern furniture style was born out if pure necessity. At the end of World War II soldiers returned home to their growing families. A need for new housing was widespread, but due to a lack of both time and funds, construction had to be limited to the bare essentials.

This meant “smaller, simpler homes, a more fast-paced lifestyle, and a furniture style that could keep up”. – Madeleine Morley– ” A Brief History of Mid-Century Modern Furniture Design” – Another Mag.

This required new ways of thinking in terms of design. Mid-century modern furniture was designed to be multi-purposed and it was essential that these pieces could be used in any room in the home.

Clean Lines

Mid-century Modern Furniture style is both functional and fun. Its clean lines and floating effect create a light and airy feel throughout the space making the room look and feel larger. It’s thin, raised legs and compact body occupies little visual real estate in the room. Visual clutter is just not possible with this style of furniture!

The best sofas for small living rooms have all these features. This makes mid-century modern furniture the best option for smaller spaces.

How To Spot Mid-Century Modern Furniture?

Mid-Century Modern furniture is characterized by its smooth lines, sleek tappered legs, unique shape and minimal design. Chairs in this style are often shaped to comfortably cradle the human body, giving us elegant, usable art in the form of seating.

Look out for the use of hardwoods such as walnut, teak, and rosewood, spidery legs, open sides, tightly sewn, neatly tucked fabric, and classic shapes. If you’d like a good primer on what distinguishes the different furniture styles, you might try this article.