Are you one of those people who has so much stuff but nowhere to put it? Well the obvious solution would be to invest in some form of storage and we have to recommend a chest of drawers. But not just any drawers, but mid century style! We’re saying this because mid century furniture is all the craze of 2021 interior design right now, which you can read more about in our latest article also connecting to the Carnaby era. So now you have an idea of how you can store away the things around your home, how can you style them? Keep reading this article to find out more about the trend, and more importantly, how to style your mid century chest of drawers.
What are Mid Century Chest of Drawers?
Like we said, mid century furniture is definitely on trend right now with trend forecasters, so come and hop on the bandwagon!
The mid century modern furniture trend originated in America and then travelled to Europe in the 1950s. The style has amazing functionality (which you would definitely hope for with mid century drawers!) and it has that timeless appearance that we love so much. An example of a prominent figure of the midcentury modern style was Kent Coffey who popularised it among the middle classes with his furniture company because the price was lower, he named a collection ‘manhattan comfort rockefeller’ (a bit of a mouthful!)
Mid century drawer chests usually have a distinctive design look. Because of them being inspired in the 1950s and 1960s, they have an industrial utilitarian edge to them with clean lines, often with metal and mirrors incorporated into them. We can definitely help you out there with our Carnaby mirrored mid century drawers! A key feature they also often have are tapered legs or hairpin angled legs. Despite these generalisations, there were many different spins on chests of drawers and dresser chests. Some have five drawers with ball bearing metal glides and two-tone finishing, often described as the newer prepac milo mid century modern style. Some bedroom dressers had modern wood white finishes with up to six drawer storage, splayed legs with engineered wood to give that manhattan comfort. Others were used as a walnut finished TV stand with walnut brown cutout handles.
The surrounding modern furniture often fits this description as well, however, many upholstered furniture within this trend often has a more organic aesthetic.
Your mid century chest of drawers will look very fashionable with their streamlined minimalist design and clean lines, but provide you with more storage space and make your rooms look larger than before, especially if you have mirrored drawers. Keep in mind, your drawers could also be used as midcentury modern dressers. It has a top surface, a deep drawer with ample storage space. This modern furniture use allows you to utilise your space better.
What Can I Put on my Mid Century Chest of Drawers?
Now you know more about mid century drawers and the trend they are based on, perhaps you are wondering how to use them in your modern styling interior design. If you have decided where you want it in your home, now you need to ensure you curate the perfect collection on the top of your mid century drawers so they do not look too plain and they integrate in with the rest of your room so the dresser is the perfect furniture piece. Whether you plan to use the furniture as a drawers dresser (some have even used it as a bar cabinet!) Here are some ideas for what you can put on top of the mid century chest of drawers to accentuate the dresser features.
Plants and Florals
The first idea of styling your mid century chest of drawers is to include plants or flowers in your tabletop curation. Be sure to get a planter with a pop of colour, which fits in perfectly with the mid century furniture trend. There are some great ceramic planters out there that are perfect for living plants without getting water on the surface of the furniture.
If you have decided to position your drawers in a corner, the trick is to add height to it for added visual interest. You can do this with a tall vase for a breed of slender flowers, and whether they are living or dried, they are sure to look stunning sitting on your mid century chest of drawers.
Books and Bookends
Another idea is to display some books on them. This will decorate them nicely and it stores the books somewhere, especially if they’ve been sitting in a messy pile on the floor collecting dust!
Again, depending on the types of books you read, the book covers could provide that colourful element to your interior design and it shows off your taste in literature, basically using your mid century modern drawers as a display stand. It would be nice for you to invest in bookends if you decide this is the way you’re going to style the drawers dresser. This is due to the fact that the books could topple over at any point and knock other things off, but also because you could potentially find the perfect bookends to match well with your mid century modern drawers. You can accomplish this by choosing book ends with a bright colour, or you can keep to the clean lines and sharp industrial aesthetic of the mid century chest of drawers with material metal.
Storage Accessories
Adding another storage chest element on top of your mid century drawers could help further with keeping your trinkets organised. The storage accessories that you could consider would be things such as ceramic bowls or a small tray.
Like the idea of using a ceramic vase for plants, a ceramic bowl for your trinkets gives you the opportunity to provide a pop of colour to stand out against the reflective metal mid century drawers. Having a round organic bowl would be the perfect pairing for such a sleek clean-lined furniture piece.
A different storage accessory would be a small tray which could carry your perfumes, makeup, or other skin care products. This displays the pretty bottles and gives them a specific assigned space in your room for optimal organisation.
Candles
Candles are an obvious choice for many people when it comes to styling a surface area with something. They provide ambient lighting at night and smell divine but everybody needs somewhere to put them! Your mid century drawers could provide that space. You can get candle holders that pair well with the drawers which will definitely up your interior design game.
Can I Style My Mid Century Chest of Drawers in Any Other Way?
Maybe you have already put things on top of your mid century drawers, yet it still isn’t looking right. This could be because the items framing your chest of drawers isn’t right for the furniture. They are pieces of furniture that can be put close to your drawers in order to make it more cohesive in your room. Here are some examples:
Lighting
Lighting is very important in any room of your home! When it comes to your mid century drawers, it might be a good idea to make it nicely lit. An arching metal floor lamp could be the perfect fit to shine over and reflect the light off of the mirrored surface of the storage dresser.
Another example could be a standing lamp, whether that is on top of your drawers or on a table next to it. This still helps light up the drawers nicely and it could be a pop of colour nearby.
Lastly, hanging lights could be a useful lighting strategy in your interior design. Maybe you don’t have enough floor space for a floor lamp, or no table or space on your mid century drawers to place a lamp. Hanging lights can be placed over the chest of drawers or pinned on the wall above them. It is a win-win situation for you if you’re looking for lighting but have no room.
Mirrors
Circular mirrors could help your mid century drawers appear more visually balanced. If your drawers are wide, the mirror would be best placed just off to the side, but if the drawers are taller, the mirror should be at the center. Alternatively, you can place a piece of art or family photos above the mid century drawers if you think more colour is needed in that area of your home.
We hope we have helped you learn more about the mid century trend and how to style your mid century drawers (which come with minimal adult assembly required). You can check out our brand new collection of Carnaby mid century furniture to look at the beautiful mid century chest of drawers we have on offer.
