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Remodel & decorate in Mid Century Style

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Home / Other Rooms / living room

19 affordable mid century modern sofas

pam kueber - March 11, 2011, Updated: August 18, 2021

Retro Renovation stopped publishing in 2021; these stories remain for historical information, as potential continued resources, and for archival purposes.

gracie sofa by perch

I just about blew my eyeballs out researching this story. I hunted and pecked all over the world wide web looking for affordable, new sofas in the mid century modern style. “Affordable”? The sofas shown here are $700-$1,999. “Mid century modern style”? Some of these are more “modern,” I’d say, than they are “mid century modern”, but I gave some latitude.

Also, I am not an expert on all the modernist furniture designers from back in the day so, again, I erred on the side of including more options rather than getting all twisted about how “authentic” each design might be.

To start, above in the orange: Gracie sofa by Perch Furniture. Based in Portland (there is a bird in their logo tee hee), workshop in LA. These guys get double extra bonus points for rockin’ the orange. (God help me, all the greiged-out neutrals on these furniture websites had me on a rip-roaring rant revival.)  Gracie sofa by Perch Furniture.

younger sofaOrange was too hard to resist for my lead photo, but this Lily sofa (above in gray) from Younger Furniture is my #1 favorite mid century modern reproduction sofa on the market today. As Gavin pointed when I originally posted about Younger, this is very similar to original Dunbar designs. There are additional modern designs from Younger Furniture, which also are well executed — like the sofas and chairs that Dave and Kristin used in their house.  Mid century modern sofas from Younger Furniture

castellano modern sofa

When I was at Rejuvenation Lighting two years ago, I saw this line of furniture for sale in their large showroom. It’s Castellano Custom Furniture — made right in Portland, and it sure appeared to be the real deal. I’m not sure it really hits under $2,000, but I’m putting it in anyway, it’s probably in the range. Modern sofa from Castellano Custom Furniture.

jane sofa from gus modern

Gus Modern has a lot of styles — they seem to be going after this market pretty aggressively. Mid century modern sofas from Gus Modern

I love the look of this Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams Cara sofa. Not sure if it’s really less than $2,000, but I’m guessing it’s close. There are some other possibilities in this line, as this is a company that tracks trends. Cara sofa by Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams.

modern sofa from west elm

You got your numerous choices from West Elm.

dean mid century style sofa by room and board

I was surprised that Room & Board did not have a wider array of mid-century modern style sofas. The only one I really thought fit my *I’ll know it when I see it* criteria, and which was less that $2,000, was the Dean. Mid century and modern sofas by Room and Board.

avec sofa from cb2The lines of CB2’s Avec are too forced for me, but it seems to have its fans. Avec sofa from CB2.

petrie sofa by crate and barrel

Crate & Barrel gets in, with their Petrie Sofa. How do they get away with using that name without licensing it from The Dick Van Dyke Show? Petrie sofa from Crate and Barrel.

arlington-sofa-from-pottery-barn

Arlington sofa from Pottery Barn.

sterling sofa by michael weiss for vanguard

There are some *possibilities* in this collection by Michael Weiss for Vanguard. One thing to consider and check for, on all the sofas that I show, is their size and scale. Back in the day, sofas were not 40″ deep — oversized — the way they often are today. Some of these sofas are more less-deep and less-high than others — more “authentically” proportioned for smaller mid century rooms with lower ceilings. Mid century = long, low, horizontal lines.  On the other hand, deep sofas can be very comfortable if you are tall or large and also if you like to hunker down to watch TV. So — thinking about the proportion of the sofa to your space, vetted with how you will realistically use it, is the task. Note, I also could not get a retail price on this Weiss sofa without giving my coordinates to an online quoting place, which I refuse to do. (This exercise also made me an expert on website design and marketing for furniture makers, I swear. If any manufacturers want to hire me for a 25-point checkup, send me an email.) I’m going to guess that this, and others in this Vanguard line come in under $2,000 if you don’t go too crazy with the upholstery.  Michael Weiss mid century style sofas for Vanguard.

Don’t forget to check Ethan Allen.

Here’s the True Modern Luna  sofa, with its Danish Modern legs. Check out this company’s Sample Sale area, too. Luna Sofa from True Modern Furniture.

Blu Dot has a few options, and sounds like an interesting company. Paramount sofa by Blu Dot.

 

Bloom sofa from Dania. $699 – made in China. Don’t yell about only this one, though, I think most of the Gus Moderns are from China, too. I did not check country of  origin as I did this research. Dania’s other sofas also are modern designs, at relatively low prices. Bloom sofa from Dania.

blake sofa

Okay, I’m sticking this one in — the Blake Sofa at Circle Furniture actually has a 1940s 1950s vintage Heywood Wakefield look, to me, especially with that contrast welting. There is another sofa in their line, the Collingwood, that has a modern feel. It is apartment sized, 75″. Blake Sofa from Circle Furniture.

Hey, do not be forgetting, you can STILL get Heywood-Wakefield sofas — NEW. Yes, they are still being manufactured, by a company that bought the rights. That’s the Margaret, above. I’m not counting this in my “mid century modern” count, though.  Heywood-Wakefield sofas still made today.

lee industries apartment sofa

The sofas at Lee Industries tend much more toward traditional and even wonderful mid-century modest. Boy oh boy, the Lee page  is fun to look at — so many shapes and sizes — it’s a sofa primer: Sofas by Lee Industries.

Gosh. I am a perfectionist, so I just kept looking and looking til I couldn’t look no more. Did I miss any companies making mid mod sofas? If so, let me know in Comments, and I’ll add it to this list — which I would love to be #1 most conclusive in the interior design blog world. Thank you!

 

 
 

 

CATEGORIES:
living room

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133 comments

Comments

  1. Dani says

    October 13, 2015 at 8:15 am

    With Danish wood legs, True Modern Luna sofa lends more contemporary feeling than the rest of offered. On the other hand, it’s still classic. But is it so comfortable and quality as it looks? Did anyone buy this sofa or anything from them? I usually don’t buy furniture online, but I found it in Ivory and I want it: https://www.thefurnituretoday.com/product/luna-sofa-in-calvin-ivory-cotton-blend-fabric/ And the price is far from “affordable”.

  2. carmen says

    August 27, 2015 at 8:06 pm

    You did not evaluate Joybird, any reason?

    • pam kueber says

      August 27, 2015 at 10:23 pm

      They launched after this story. Search Joybird on our site, we have done stories. Note: They are an advertiser on this site now

  3. Kurtis says

    August 22, 2014 at 10:43 am

    Oldschool Chesterfield Sofa Bed would be one that is olso open up to sleeper bed
    http://www.thestoragebeds.com/name/nobot/-innovation-usa-oldschool-chesterfield-vintage-brown-with-dark-wood-legs/

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