Before & After: Bye Dated Drapery, Hello Classic Modern Living Room
It can be hard to feel inspired when you walk into your newly purchased home’s living room and the windows (and fireplace mantel and furniture) are dripping in drapery reminiscent of a doily. But Lauren of Circle G Designs managed to design her Pittsburgh home with class and style, blending modern sensibilities while respecting the home’s 1964-era architecture.
From Lauren:
“I have an undergraduate degree in Architecture and love modern style, but also really believe in honoring the style of a home. Our home is mid-century modern (built in 1964) but still has a lot of traditional elements. I wanted the interior to reflect that style, so I really practiced mixing modern and traditional pieces.
Most people don’t realize that the majority of the furnishings and decor items in our home are secondhand. I helped my parents downsize during the recession and ended up with a lot of pieces from their house and both my grandparents’ homes, so it was a challenge finding ways to mix those in and make them feel like ours. We’re also young and on a budget, so we purchased even more secondhand from Craigslist! There are still pieces that I want to rework but I love how it’s coming together so far.
Our living room sofa (1960s Drexel Tuxedo-style) was a $50 Craigslist find, which we had professionally reupholstered. We didn’t realize when we brought it home that it had gotten wet at some point, so it had to be stripped all the way down to the frame and totally redone! We love it, but it was no minor expense! It might just be our sofa for life!”