There’s so much to love and appreciate when the calendar turns to a new season, especially as the weather cools down and we approach the holiday season. The fall greets us with an array of wonderful spice colors that brings us back to a different time, a time when life was much simpler, less complicated… like the 1950s.
With the invention of the television and Elvis making a hip-shaking splash on the American music and pop culture scene, Hollywood gained real power in the world during this era, influencing the way people dressed, designed their homes and what cars they drove. Thanks to the wildly popular TV series Mad Men and a yearning for simpler times, this style has been making a huge comeback over the last few years.
Mother Nature’s autumnal color palette was infused into the world of fashion and design during the 1940s through 1970, referred to as mid-century modern. Mid-century modern designers incorporated the use of spice colors combined with black or white, and the furniture pieces offered clean lines, unique materials and geometric patterns. This modern mindset, expressed in mid-century furniture, fits well in contemporary society.
If you are looking to give your space a Mad Men makeover, some mid-century modern design elements to consider include:
• A horizontal feel to spaces • Steel • Woods with grains to soften spaces • Clean lines • Minimalistic
• Less is more approach – inclusion of statement pieces over clutter
• Lighter wood finishes with a lot of movement (grain)
• Nature influences
• Spice tones coupled with gray or white
• Abstract art or Pop art
Ann Sennewald is a merchandising expert with over 30 years of experience. As the vice president of merchandising at CORT, Ann is primarily in charge of overseeing the merchandise strategy, product selection and showroom design. Since joining CORT right after college, Ann is the resident expert when it comes to CORT’s products and services. She started with the company as a rental consultant and then moved to outside sales before joining the merchandising team. Ann spent a number of years managing the product and merchandising for CORT Service Centers before being promoted to director of merchandising and now her current role as vice president.
Ann earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Textiles from The University of North Carolina in Greensboro. She resides in Alexandria, Virginia, where she spends a great deal of her free time working on her 150-year old townhome. She also enjoys her small garden and clothing design.
