At Queen Anne Upholstery & Refinishing, we’re dedicated to helping each and every client achieve the space of their dreams. This starts with helping them understand their different interior decor style options.
One of the most highly sought after decor options is the sleek and retro midcentury modern style. Here’s our guide on how to incorporate midcentury modern decor in your home.
The most essential element of midcentury modern decor is the use of clean, sleek lines in furniture and decorations. Whereas the straight edges are sharp, the curves are organic and gentle while still being well-defined. Ornamentation and accents are kept to a minimum.
The result is an unfussy, uncluttered, and understated look.
After World War II, technological advances spurred on the development and production of new materials, textures, effects, colors, and forms. One of these new productions was plastic, which would later become a significant element of midcentury modern design.
While embracing the new materials available, midcentury modern design continued to use more traditional options as well. In fact, the juxtaposition of traditional materials (such as wood) with nontraditional materials (such as plastic, glass, metal, and plywood) is typical of this decor style.
Midcentury modern decor is known for its bursts of color: While neutrals make up the majority of the space, bright and saturated colors are used in moderation for pillows, furniture, accent walls, and the like. The color pallete often includes yellows, oranges, reds, and aquas.
Look closely and you’re likely to find geometric patterns in any midcentury modern space. Rugs that incorporate straight lines, circles, or triangles (like the one above) are common, but you’ll also see accent walls with bold geometric wallpaper as well as other geometric decor elements. Patterns don’t have to be from the ‘50s or ‘60s to work — as long as they have clean colors and designs, they’ll look at home in midcentury modern decor.
Texture is important in midcentury modern decor to add visual interest to the otherwise minimalistic design. The room above incorporates texture with a cowhide rug, textured upholstery, and a brick fireplace surround. Shag rugs and rough stone fireplaces are also common.
Midcentury modern spaces don’t skimp on lighting, using floor lamps, table lamps, and ceiling lamps — often all in the same room. Midcentury modern lamps tend to be made of finished metals and play with lines and geometric shapes. The most iconic lamps made in this style have simple curved contours or straight rods with exposed bulbs.
Plenty of natural light is also essential to midcentury modern design, which tries to integrate itself with nature as much as possible.
Is midcentury modern decor calling you?Queen Anne Upholstery & Refinishing can help you create this look in your home with a number of different services: Reupholster or refinish worn vintage furniture, work with us to custom-design the perfect pieces, or shop our premade furniture ready for purchase at our showrooms. Whatever route you take, one of our in-house custom interior decorators will be happy to make recommendations and even visit your home to help you cultivate a midcentury modern look.
Not sure if midcentury modern decor is right for you? Check out these other interior decor styles:
At Queen Anne Upholstery & Refinishing, we partner with a number of talented local interior designers and decorators to help each other create beautiful spaces for our clients. One of these designers is Judith Wright from Judith Wright Design.
Judith Wright Design
Judith Wright Sentz received her master’s degree in interior design at Western Michigan University. For the past 20 years, she has been practicing in residential, yacht, corporate, and hospitality interior design in the Pacific Northwest.
Although Judith enjoys designing all areas of the home, she is a professional member of the National Kitchen and Bath Association and focuses on the aesthetic and functional detailing of these two rooms.
Judith’s design philosophy favors pleasing architectural shape, texture, color, and scale. She avoids creating spaces that are overly matching, instead preferring the eclecticism that comes with blending old and new pieces, and is experienced in designing both contemporary and traditional interiors.
However, Judith’s aim is always to interpret her client’s vision and create a space that is their ideal for both personal expression and comfort.
Judith Wright Design takes on projects of all sizes and offers a complimentary telephone conversation at the beginning of each project to determine if it’s a good fit.
Visit Judith Wright Design’s website or Instagram for more examples of Judith’s past work and inspiration for your own home projects!
Learn More About Our Designer Referral Program
Our partnership with Judith Wright Design and other local designers is a result of our designer referral program. This program maximizes designers’ potential by equipping them with first-rate decor items and services to offer their clients. At the same time, clients benefit from our combined expertise and skills, enjoying convenient processes and receiving superiorly designed spaces and products.
Homeowners: If you’re looking for a designer to help you redecorate or remodel your home, contact us to learn how to get started with one of our in-house interior decorators or trusted design partners.
At Queen Anne Upholstery & Refinishing, we make it our mission to help our clients achieve the space of their dreams, and this starts with understanding the different interior decor style options. Just one of these options is the minimalistic, no-nonsense industrial style. Keep reading to learn how to implement industrial decor in your home.
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Industrial decor was likely born during the early 20th century when globalization took factories abroad, leaving empty warehouses and industrial buildings that would later be transformed into residential buildings. Rather than change the style of these buildings, architects worked with it, highlighting architectural elements such as exposed ducts, pipes, and beams; bare or brick walls; and other mechanisms.
Incorporate vintage and recycled furniture and accessories that are both provincial and contemporary, such as the suitcase coffee table, leather couch, retro lighting fixtures, and wood pallet bedframe in the above photos. Industrial spaces are generally made up of blocky pieces with clean lines for a utilitarian feel. Remember to keep these items to a minimum so that your space looks open and clutter-free.
Raw materials such as wood and metal (think aluminum, steel, iron, copper, and tin) are staples for any industrial space. While wood may work best for flooring, walls, and larger furniture pieces, metal can be incorporated with chairs, lighting fixtures, side tables, and other accessories. Don’t be afraid to mix old and new pieces and different types of wood and metal.
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Start off with a neutral color scheme of gray, beige, white, and black to create a harmonious look. The wood pieces you incorporate will warm up the space, and you can add in bold tones with small accents, such as the plant in the photo above.
The last key element of industrial decor: simple flooring. While wood flooring is an obvious choice, polished concrete flooring is an excellent alternative and lends a modern look to any space. Rugs aren’t typical of industrial style, but if you want to use them, avoid plush or colorful options that stand out.
At Queen Anne Upholstery & Refinishing, we partner with a number of talented local interior designers and decorators to help each other create beautiful spaces for our clients. One of these designers is Emily Lauderback from the design and color consultation firm Color in Space.
Color in Space
Emily Lauderback founded Color in Space in 2005 after working as a math coach, interior designer, and color consultant. Her combined passion for education and interior design inspired the mission behind the company.
This mission is two-fold. First, confronted with limitless paint color options, homeowners often struggle to choose the right colors for their space. Color in Space aims to make this process easier by helping them build a palette that supports their home’s architecture.
But it’s not just about choosing colors that look good: The colors chosen should be energetically balanced to promote a specific feeling of the homeowner’s choice.
To both of these ends, Emily has designed two series of customized color palettes, the Dwelling Palettes and the Chakra Palettes. Each palette includes swatches of 12 distinct, coordinated colors that homeowners can use as a roadmap for their interior decor. The colors needn’t be used for paint alone — one color could work for an area rug, another for the couch, and so on. The end result is a harmonious blend of colors that makes you feel your best.
While these palettes can be purchased online, Emily also offers both in-person and phone consultations to help clients choose the right color palette for their home and apply their color palette to their space.
Visit Color in Space’s website or Facebook for more examples of Emily’s past work and inspiration for your own home projects!
Learn More About Our Designer Referral Program
Our partnership with Color in Space and other local designers is a result of our designer referral program. This program maximizes designers’ potential by equipping them with first-rate decor items and services to offer their clients. At the same time, clients benefit from our combined expertise and skills, enjoying convenient processes and receiving superiorly designed spaces and products.
Homeowners: If you’re looking for a designer to help you redecorate or remodel your home, contact us to learn how to get started with one of our in-house interior decorators or trusted design partners.
If you bought furniture in the last 20 years, especially if it was from IKEA, chances are it’s not worth refinishing. But the old table you were thinking of getting rid of might actually have old-world charm that can brighten up the room if properly refinished.
So how do you tell? Here’s our guide.
How to Tell if Your Furniture Is Worth Refinishing
All furniture is not created equally, and many pieces are not suitable for refinishing. Luckily, deciding whether refinishing is viable isn’t too difficult.
Antiques
Furniture that is 100 years old or older is considered an antique and requires special consideration before refinishing. While antique furniture is often a good candidate for refinishing, extra care may be necessary during the process, and trying to refinish antiques at home can damage them and lessen their value. Contact a professional to assess the strength of the furniture and ensure a damage-free refinishing process.
The best candidates for refinishing are pieces of furniture that were made between 1850 and 1960.
During this time, manufacturers used solid wood rather than plywood, and tongue-and-groove and dovetail joints rather than glue to attach the wood pieces to each other. This made for sturdier, longer-lasting furniture than what we see today.
The dovetail joints typical of furniture manufactured prior to 1960 made for sturdier and longer-lasting pieces. | Image via Pixabay
If you know that your furniture was made sometime between 1850 and 1960, refinishing is likely a good option for you. If you aren’t sure when your furniture was made, check the hardware. You can also check the wood by sanding an area that’s not usually visible, such as on the back of the furniture or underneath it. Real wood will have the same grain throughout the entire piece, so ensure that the surface area and the sanded area match.
MDF is synthetically produced wood covered with a wood laminate, which is essentially a picture of wood. While MDF endures fluctuations in humidity and heat better than natural wood, its main benefit to manufacturers lies in its cost effectiveness.
Most furniture for sale at mass retailers today is made from MDF, and MDF is not a good candidate for refinishing. To determine whether a piece of furniture is made from MDF, perform another sanding test. This time, if the sanded area is not the same grain as the surface area, you’ll know that it is artificial wood.
A few more simple tests can help you determine if your furniture is worth refinishing:
Is the furniture sturdy? Shake the furniture, rock it back and forth, test the drawers — even sit on it. If the piece sways or shifts under the weight of your hands, it likely needs reglued. This could either mean that the furniture isn’t of sufficient quality to warrant refinishing, or that it will need reglued before being refinished, which is difficult to do at home and expensive to have a professional do.
Is the furniture painted? Paint is usually there for a reason: often to cover stains, water damage, filled holes, burns, and the like. Furniture with a varnish is a safer bet because varnish can’t hide this kind of damage, allowing you to assess the piece without stripping or sanding.
Is the furniture made of different kinds of wood? Different kinds of wood — and even different ages of wood — will look different after being refinished, so if your furniture comprises more than one wood type, the results may not be what you were expecting.
Benefits of Refinishing Your Furniture
Revitalize Worn Furniture
Most people turn to refinishing because their furniture is showing signs of age. After being refinished and polished, old, worn furniture can look brand new. Refinishing will also protect the wood and prevent it from becoming dull and stained in the future.
Fight Throwaway Culture
Another benefit of refinishing is that it’s much more sustainable than purchasing new furniture.
When you buy a new piece of furniture, you contribute to deforestation and greenhouse gas emissions associated with manufacturing and transporting the product. Making things worse, your old furniture will end up in a landfill, where it will decompose and emit harmful gases that further contribute to global warming.
These are the negative consequences of throwaway culture: society’s tendency to purchase cheap products with short lifespans, and then throw them away and purchase new items when they wear out. The poorly made furniture typical of today’s manufacturing contributes significantly to this cycle.
Refinishing, on the other hand, can extend the life of existing furniture by up to 30 years or longer, keeping it out of landfills and eliminating the need to purchase new furniture.
If your current furniture is not a good candidate for refinishing, you can still fight throwaway culture by investing in new furniture that is high-quality and built to last. Estate sales and auctions are also excellent places to purchase quality antiques that can be refinished.
Whether you’re having family movie night on the sofa in the living room or family dinner in the dining room, furniture brings your loved ones together. During these simple, everyday activities, your family creates memories that the furniture itself will remind you of for years to come.
When furniture holds so much value for your family, disposing of it isn’t an option. Refinishing is the only way to preserve those memories while also ensuring that your family has quality furniture for your home.
Even furniture that isn’t showing signs of age can benefit from refinishing.
Many of our customers choose to refinish their furniture in order to match it with the rest of their home decor. Imagine a living room where all of the wood furniture is the same color except for one piece. Refinishing is a convenient option to bring cohesion to this room.
Refinishing also allows you to keep up with changing trends without purchasing new furniture.
At the end of the day, the surest way to decide whether you should refinish your furniture is to consult a professional. At Queen Anne Upholstery, we’re happy to assess your furniture and help you make the right decision. We can also review your finish, polish, and color options to give you an idea of what the finished product will look like.
We began our mission to help our clients visualize their interior decor options last month with a feature on French country decor. This month, we’re switching gears to present you contemporary decor in all its simplicity and sophistication. Read on to learn about the elements of contemporary decor.
The most distinctive aspect of contemporary decor is the use of strong lines. Whereas French country focuses on flowing lines, and modern design prioritizes boxy shapes, contemporary design incorporates both straight and curved edges. What’s important is that these lines stand out.
In this contemporary bathroom, strong lines are evident in the freestanding bathtub, metal showerhead, diamond mirror, countertop, and tiled back wall. Unsurprisingly, geometric shapes figure prominently in contemporary decor, which you can see in the hexagon tiles on the floor.
Contemporary decor relies heavily on texture to soften up its trademark strong lines. This room combines various textures with curtains, carpet, an area rug, an upholstered velvet chaise lounge, a knitted throw blanket, and a throw pillow.
Fabric window treatments and linen wallpaper are also great options to add texture to a space. Just remember to avoid intricate patterns when choosing fabrics, as they’ll upset the clean look of contemporary decor.
If you haven’t noticed already, neutrals are the cornerstone of contemporary homes. While white and cream are generally used for wall color, brown, tan, gray, and even black can be seen throughout most contemporary spaces.
Of course, that doesn’t mean you can’t use any bright or bold colors — just use them sparingly, for accent items such as armchairs, pillows, lighting fixtures, or artwork.
Wood surfaces are typical of contemporary decor, and particularly those with very light and very dark colors, such as the wall panels and side table seen above. Remember that strong lines are important, so you’ll want to stick with simpler wood pieces rather than ornate woodwork.
Do you have the perfect wood piece, but in the wrong color? We can refinish it for you in the custom color of your choice! Contact us to learn more about our refinishing services.
Metals accent spaces with contemporary style, adding to the sleek and clean look. Metal lighting fixtures taken from midcentury modern design are particularly popular.
Furniture with metal legs and metal lamps, shelves, and frames are additional opportunities to add this staple accent.
Lighting is key to illuminating any space, but with contemporary decor, it takes on even more importance. Contemporary spaces layer natural light with ambient (general), accent, and task lighting. Windowed walls like the ones seen above are common, as are pendant lights.
Notice the other contemporary decor elements in this living room: furniture with strong lines, a textured area rug, upholstered furniture, neutral colors, wood coffee tables, and metal light fixtures. Everything combines to create a clean and contemporary space.
Is contemporary decor calling you?Queen Anne Upholstery and Refinishing can help you create this look in your home with a number of different services: Reupholster or refinish your existing furniture to give it a contemporary look, work with us to custom-design the perfect pieces, or shop our premade furniture ready for purchase at our showrooms. Whatever route you take, one of our in-house custom interior decorators will be happy to make recommendations and even visit your home to help you cultivate a contemporary look.
Not sure if contemporary decor is right for you? Check out these other interior decor styles:
At Queen Anne Upholstery and Refinishing, we partner with a number of talented local interior designers and decorators to help each other create beautiful spaces for our clients. One of these designers is Christina Collins-Pezzner from the Seattle-based design company Spatial Matters Inc.
Spatial Matters Inc.
A lifelong creator with experience in graphic design, apparel, and set and home design, Christina Collins-Pezzer founded Spatial Matters Inc. in 2016 to bring great design to every home and business. She now works as Spatial Matters’ CEO and senior designer, and is passionate about creating spaces that improve her clients’ quality of life.
As Christina explains on her website, “We spend so much time inside and it’s proven that the feel and functionality of your space sets the pace for your mood and drive throughout the day. We want to help provide environments that help you feel like your best sense of self.”
To this end, Spatial Matters offers a number of different services. Christina partners with a network of contractors to provide not only redecorating, but also renovation and remodeling for both commercial and residential spaces. She also specializes in interior design for vacation rentals, improving guest experiences and increasing ratings and return bookings.
Clients who are looking for something specific can work with Spatial Matters to custom-design furniture pieces tailored to their needs and personal style.
Lastly, Spatial Matters offers several express consultation services for clients who have limited time (or budgets). For example, clients can book an express consultation to get advice on how to best design a room’s layout, or on choosing the right colors for their space.
Follow Spatial Matters on Instagram for more examples of their past work and inspiration for your own home projects!
Our partnership with Spatial Matters and other local designers is a result of our designer referral program. This program maximizes designers’ potential by equipping them with first-rate decor items and services to offer their clients. At the same time, clients benefit from our combined expertise and skills, enjoying convenient processes and receiving superiorly designed spaces and products.
Homeowners: If you’re looking for a designer to help you redecorate or remodel your home, contact us to learn how to get started with one of our in-house interior decorators or trusted design partners.
At Queen Anne Upholstery and Refinishing , we partner with a number of talented local interior designers and decorators to help each other create beautiful spaces for our clients. One of these designers is Shelagh Conway from the Seattle- and Austin-based design company Triple Heart Design.
Triple Heart Design
Triple Heart Design offers comprehensive interior design and remodelling services to the greater Seattle and Austin areas, with the goal of helping clients love their homes and stay within their budgets.
These services include what they call “The Quiet Space,” which involves listening to a client’s specific needs, evaluating their home to find the right room, and creating the perfect sanctuary for them to unwind and rejuvenate in.
The design firm also provides project management to coordinate with contractors, landscape artists, and architects during the remodeling process, ensuring that all parties stay on the same page, within budget, and on schedule. Whether remodelling or just redecorating, Triple Heart Design’s goal is to make creating the home people have always dreamed of easy and enjoyable. To make this happen, Shelagh works side by side with clients throughout the entire process, guiding them through their different options.
Shelagh tries to bring passion to every space she creates, both her own and the homeowner’s. “It isn’t about what I think is the latest and greatest design at the time,” she says. “[I]t is about the space, and the visions of the client.”
She loves creating spaces that are both comfortable and unique, and it shows.
Follow Triple Heart Design on Instagram for pictures of Shelagh’s past work and inspiration for your own space!
Learn More About Our Designer Referral Program
Our partnership with Triple Heart Design and other local designers is a result of our designer referral program. This program maximizes designers’ potential by equipping them with first-rate decor items and services to offer their clients. At the same time, clients benefit from our combined expertise and skills, enjoying convenient processes and receiving superiorly designed spaces and products.
Homeowners: If you’re looking for a designer to help you redecorate or remodel your home, contact us to learn how to get started with one of our in-house interior decorators or trusted design partners.
At Queen Anne Upholstery and Refinishing, we’re experts in interior decoration, and we’re prepared to highlight a new interior decor style every month to help our clients understand their options and visualize the space of their dreams. Our first style: rustic yet elegant French country.
The rustic side of French country style favors natural materials, such as the wood plank flooring (seen underneath the side table) and the natural linen used for the bedspread, pillow shams, bed skirt, and canopy.
But don’t assume that this style’s love of the natural means that it likes to keep things simple: Embellishment is typical of French country decor, which is why all the pillows on the bed feature ruffles. Tying everything together are neutral, warm tones, a staple of this decor.
A lot is going on in this living room, and that’s typical of French country. The curtains, flowers, mirror, clock, topiary, angel statue, ornate books, and chandelier prove that less is definitely not more with this type of decor.
Patterns are also important, and especially gingham, which you’ll see in the gray and white curtains. Schnauzers may be German, but we think this one makes a nice addition to the room’s French country theme.
Vintage items and antiques are at home in French country spaces, and particularly so in this romantic French country bathroom. The clawfoot tub, gold gilded mirror, antique dresser, and vessel sink turned old-fashioned wash basin immediately immerse you in the French provinces.
French country decor often includes botanical themes as well, incorporated here with the floral mural on the dresser and the various plants.
Clean lines have nothing to do with French country — with this style, it’s all curved edges to create a softer, flowing feel. The rounded chandelier, wreath, mirrors, lamp bases, bed headboard, sofa, and coffee table in this room are perfect examples.
The great thing about French country is that it’s not rigid: It allows you to mix rustic elements like this exposed brick wall with elegant antiques, like these matching side tables. A simple metal bed frame sits right underneath an ornate beaded chandelier, and yet the combination works effortlessly. This gives you more freedom when decorating your home, so you can have more fun when choosing pieces.
Is French country the decor for you?Queen Anne Upholstery and Refinishing can help you create this look in your home with a number of different services: Reupholster or refinish your existing furniture to give it a French country look, work with us to custom-design the perfect pieces, or shop our premade furniture ready for purchase at our showrooms. Whatever route you take, one of our in-house custom interior decorators will be happy to make recommendations and even visit your home to help bring your dreams of the French countryside to life.
Not sure if French country decor is right for you? Check out these other interior decor styles:
We’ll have two in-house interior decorators on-site at our University Village location, prepared to help you discuss your project and make recommendations. All of our projects include a free one-hour interior decor consultation, during which time our decorators can even visit your home to ensure that your new or refurbished furniture will look great in your space.
Our Grand Opening Party
Everyone is invited to help us celebrate our new location at our grand opening party on May 1!
Stop by anytime between 3 and 7 p.m. to enjoy refreshments, door prizes, and a raffle.
This is a great opportunity to meet the Queen Anne Upholstery and Refinishing owners and representatives, and chat with our in-house interior decorators as well as local designers.
Get ideas for your upcoming projects by checking out our fabrics, custom designs, and products, including furniture, rugs, lamps, and candles. (If that sounds like the perfect farmhouse ambience to you, that’s because it is!)
We look forward to seeing you there!
Showroom address: 2724 NE 45th St. Seattle, WA 98105
