Movies and TV have always influenced how we decorate, but creating a form of Mad Men Style at home is all the rage and can go in many directions. Now, I’m not suggesting you take three martini lunches or start smoking, but what I am asking you to do is open your mind to the idea of marrying mid-century office interiors with your home interior.  

It would be pretty easy to show images of the traditional Draper home and offer up copy cat ideas on how to replicate the interiors, but that’s not what interests me. The show is so intoxicating because of the way work and home intersect and what makes me noontime gimlet giddy.

Don Draper kicks back in this minimal, linear, mid-century chair that is intended to be for office use, but similar, roomy and low-slung chairs look amazing in contemporary spaces. In fact, the entire set-up would make for a crisp living space. My only word or caution comes with using those 1960s pillows that resemble a Cheez-It cracker and would be as comfortable as a napping on a block of wood.

This brown velvet club chair is a great example of how to interpret the office chair into residential use.

Another great office shot includes Asian design touches. I can remember my grandparents peppering their house with Asian elements from trips to the far east during the 1960s. It was always fun to look at the carved jade and run my fingers across the similar screen in their living room. Whether it is a grand, black and gold lacquer screen or the seagrass wallcoving that simulate screens, these design touches can look amazing in the right room. If you choose to incorporate a bold screen it’s always a good idea to use a monochromatic piece of furniture in front of it so the elements don’t fight one another. 

This creamy, quilted chair is a good example of a hybrid marrying residential and office design.

Do you love this room as much as I do? Of course the house and room are pure mid-century so the design works, but what really stands out is the residential/office decoration. It reads pure dining room, but borrows elements from an office. The chairs are more industrial and the credenza could work just as beautifully behind a desk as well as it does offering storage and a much needed surface for entertaining. 

Hello gorgeous!  

That crazy mod metal wall art is also a typical of mid-century design and can generally be used over a sofa or in a dining room. It’s back and can be seen in the most chic shops coast to coast, at flea markets and online. The great thing about these pieces is that they take up a lot of wall space which saves money.

Classic fashion of that era is also influencing color choices. Gray decorative elements, for example, are hot, hot, hot. Try to infuse some in your home whether it be in furniture, bedding or subtle gray lighting for a trip down memory lane where the men are hard living and the women are stunning.

Photos courtesy of examiner.com, grizzlybearmodern.com, vanessareilly.com, blog.modernica.com, ladypeachblog.blogspot.com, modenus.com.