Tips for Mid-Century Modern Furniture Placement

A set of sofa can be said to be the biggest piece of furniture in the living room, occupying an important position. The placement of the sofa will directly affect the beauty of the living room and the convenience of life. According to the house type and living habits, there are often different ways to place the sofa.

Obviously the living room is the largest space in the house, but after being placed with the sofa, tea table , it feels a little crowded. Especially in some small house, the living room space is not big enough. Therefore, the right placement of the sofa can make the living room more beautiful, and make full use of the space, making the living room more activity area. 

1. The Selection of MCM Sofa

In this age of infinite choice, as with everything else, there seems to be an infinite number of options when it comes to choosing a sofa. You may think you know exactly what you want, but once you walk into a store or browse images online, the choices of styles, shapes, and customizations can be overwhelming. Use these tips to get a clear idea of what you want and what you need before you start selecting, which can save your time and money. Mid-Century Modern sofas are simple, functional, and elegant, and some original pieces retain an impeccable value over time. A good-looking piece of Mid-Century Modern furniture can make a big impact in a living room. Marked by clean lines, sparse ornamentation, and natural finishes, Mid-Century Modern is the go-to furniture style for both minimalists and maximalists alike.

1.1 Size

The most important consideration when buying a sectional for a living room is the size of your space. While a sectional is a great way to maximize seating, it shouldn’t disrupt traffic flow or overwhelm the rest of your furniture and decor. In general, the MCM sofa should be about a quarter to a third of the size of the entire living room. Not too large or too small, otherwise it will break the space balance. If you have a larger living room, you’ll need to determine how much of the living room you want the MCM sofa to occupy. Do you want to include other sofas or chairs? Would you like a coffee table? If so, a slight L-shaped MCM sofa may be the most appropriate. If you are looking for a MCM sofa that will be the focal point of your living room, look for round sofa shapes that take up more space and offer more seating.

If you have a small living room, you may need a smaller MCM sofa. Since the space is small, any sofa or couch will be in the spotlight. Therefore, it’s important to choose something practical, but also with a strong design that can carry and complement the rest of the space.

1.2 Upholstery Materials

Sofa is divided into fabric sofa, wooden sofa, leather sofa and so on. Fabric sofa is more suitable for pastoral style, which is fresh and natural. The wooden sofa is more suitable for the Nordic style, which appears to be spacious and leisurely. Leather sofa is suitable for Mid-Century Modern style or American style decoration. Aesthetics are important, but functionality is key when it comes to choosing materials for a MCM sofa. Many of us like the touching of white suede plush sofas, because they’re soft and beautiful, but also dangerous. Suede can be a poor choice if you have pets or small children who will cause some serious damage. Leather, especially dark colors(e.g. Ebony black,Columbia brown, Cuban brown, Whiskey brown), is a vintage style. It usually wears well with age, and is fairly easy to care.

1.3 Color

For our Mid-Century Modern color palette, we love blacks, ochres, browns, soft whites, and a signature spike of red.

Warm browns are always welcome in a Mid-Century Modern living room as seen here with a low-slung stainless steel coffee table and classic leather sofa, which showcases the power of rich brown colors in Mid-Century Modern design.

1.4 Orientation

Left- and Right-Facing: When looking at L-shaped sectionals, you’ll see the left-facing and right-facing, which refer to the arm placement when looking at it head on. Once you know where you want to place your sectional, narrow down your search to the orientation that works best with the layout of your living room.

Reversible: The shorter arm of these often L-shaped sectionals can be moved from one end to the other to convert the sectional from left-facing to right-facing (or vice versa) with ease.

Symmetrical: If you’re interested in purchasing a sectional, you can choose a symmetrical orientation that has protruding arms of equal length. Symmetrical orientations are great at unifying a room’s design and tend to provide more seating than asymmetrical options.

Modular: While some sectionals come in a preassembled shape, you can often customize your ideal layout using the components. Modular sectionals allow you to mix and match components to create the layout and orientation you want.

2. The Layout of MCM Sofa

2.1 L-shaped Sofa

These sectionals are made up of one large, two- to three-seat sofa and an ottoman that come together at a corner to form an L shape. L-shaped sectionals are some of the smallest and most popular of the sectional orientations. These sectionals can fit snugly in the corner of a room to face a TV or coffee table and are excellent for smaller spaces.

The layout method of L-shaped sofa has strong practicality, and is the most common and suitable for ordinary families of three or four people living in a small family. Generally, the living room of small family is not big, if just put a L-shaped sofa, which not only can save space, but also can properly meet the daily needs of the family. The long side of the L-shaped sofa can sit also can lie. If you are tired to sit, lying will be the most comfortable way to relax, discovering the most comfortable and relaxed posture to read or play mobile phone.

There is the other one placing method of L-shaped sofa. On the basis of the L-shaped sofa , it need to add one or two antique chairs next to the L-shaped sofa. When the seating is not enough for visitors to sit, you can use this placing method. This method is flexible and changeable. When the position is enough, the added seat can be moved away or placed when needed, so that the living room has more space to live. The short side of the L-shaped sofa is usually arranged in the position behind the doors and windows, with the role of a barrier or partition, to give the family more safety and comfort.

2.2 U-shaped Sofa

A big family with a large living room has many choices of sofa placement. The classic way is placing a three seat sofa with a two seat sofa, and adding a few chairs next to them, constituting a U-shape. U-shaped sectionals tend to feel a bit bulkier than L-shaped sectionals, so they’re much better suited for larger spaces or open layouts. U-shaped layouts encourage conversation and pair excellently with a coffee table, as their seating surrounds a central space. This arrangement will not make the big living room look empty, but also can accommodate more people.

2.3 Straight Sofa

The most common is the straight sofa, which gives people a warm feeling and is suitable for creating an intimate atmosphere. A coffee table and TV are simply placed in front of the MCM straight sofa, which can save more space, and is more suitable for couples, or a long living room.

2.4 Parallel Layout

Skillfully use symmetry to create orderly space. Visual balance, this kind of decoration method is particularly suitable for the reception of guests. Parallel layout is conducive to family and friends to maintain face-to-face communication, giving people a more formal feeling. Simple and exquisite home design is the best choice for people.

2.5 Enclosed Layout

Enclosed layout has a good sense of privacy, free combination of  MCM sofa, armchair, lounge chair, to create a good living environment and a conversation atmosphere.

3. The Placement of MCM Sofa

The placing orientation of the sofa in the living room is usually to consider the relationship between the door and the living room, the bedroom and the living room, the balcony and the living room and the outdoor scenery and the living room. In the balance of the basis of various influencing factors, choosing a suitable placing orientation to place the MCM sofa, will have a more obvious impact on our daily living experience. If the sofa is facing the right way, you’ll feel better sitting in the living room.

3.1 Avoid Facing the Messy Balcony

In most apartment types, living room is generally next to balcony between a sliding door. When you sit in the living room on the MCM sofa, you can see most of the space of the balcony. And the living room as a space for us to receive guests. If they sit on the sofa in the living room, they will see a messy picture in the balcony, then the beautiful living room decoration has been destroyed!

Therefore, when arranging the MCM sofa orientation, the first thing is to avoid the laundry and drying area of the balcony. Or when arranging the balcony, the laundry area and drying area are located on the same side of the sofa, so that you can avoid sitting on the sofa directly against the messy balcony.

3.2 The relationship between bedroom and living room

The relationship between the living room and the bedroom is mainly about static and dynamic separation. If this separation between the living room and the bedroom is not very good, then the activities of the living room will easily affect the bedroom. Especially if the family rest habits are not uniform, special attention should be paid to the design of the separation of static and dynamic.

There are two sources of noise in the living room. One is the sound of people chatting and playing games on the MCM sofa; the other is the sound of TV series. The first thing is to determine your usual activities in the living room – like sitting on the MCM sofa to play games and chat, it is suggested that the MCM sofa is not close to the bedroom; If you like to sit on the couch to watch TV, don’t let the TV close to the bedroom.

3.3 The relationship between the door and the living room

The relationship between the door and the MCM sofa is mainly considered from the privacy of indoor and outdoor. In this respect, different people have different ideas. Some people like their sofa facing the door, because they think that sitting on the sofa can monitor the door and they will feel a sense of security. Some people like their sofa facing away from the front door, so that when they open the security door with the ventilation effect, they can sit on the sofa without worrying about their neighbors peeping in their lazy posture.

Reasonable sofa placing orientation can make the living room more exquisite, and you will be more comfortable sitting on the MCM sofa.