When a Chaise Is Not Just a Chaise
<p>A photo gallery describing and contextualizing the 1963 redecoration of the Drapers' living room in Mad Men.</p>
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Mad Men, Old Living Room
Genteel and conventional, the Drapers' old living room presented a fitting backdrop for an upwardly mobile postwar family. The color scheme—deep red valance and curtains, dark blue grass-cloth walls, white sofa and trim—is an appropriately patriotic choice for a Colonial Revival home. Click here to return to the main article. Photograph courtesy of AMC.
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Mad Men, New Living Room
Betty’s new décor is a definite step up. Covered in a black-and-white cane print, a pair of clean-lined, high-backed chairs creates a sophisticated contrast to a Japanese-inspired Dunbar sofa, the coral hue of which, combined with apricot valance trim and a silk backing in the inset shelves, was very of the moment. Indeed, it still is; what was then brand-new is now of-a-piece with a retro-inspired aesthetic currently in vogue.
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Mad Men, Tea Party
Brass accents—a delicate English-style, glass-topped coffee table, fireplace tongs, and preexisting sconce and table lamp—allow Betty a bit of flash without being gauche. A pair of brass flamingoes on the mantel (mostly concealed by Ms. Junior League’s updo) is a whimsical touch that doesn’t draw too much attention too itself.
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1963 Karastan Ad with Neo-Classical Style
This Karastan ad is more formal than Betty’s living room, but many of its elements—a brass coffee table, trimmed valance, ivory carpet, Chinoisserie breakfront, even the neo-classical statues (Betty has Greco-Roman busts on her inset glass shelves)—could have been a direct inspiration for her own. Image courtesy of Mid Century Home Style.
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1963: The Year of Orange
Without a doubt, 1963 was the Year of Orange. This ad showcasing Kentile’s new faux wood flooring panels was way too modern for Betty, though she might have liked those classic x-benches. A bowl of persimmons in the foreground are a nice touch. Image courtesy of Mid Century Home Style.
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1963 Design Summed Up
This ad for oak floors found in House Beautiful pretty much sums up where design was in 1963: A neo-Provincial bench, neo-Regency display obelisk, shag carpeting, painted brick, ornate pendant lamp, and sophisticated use of color, pattern, and texture create a fantasy mod-trad mashup. Image courtesy of Mid Century Home Style.
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7 of 7 1963 Drexel Ad: MCM High Back Armchair
The American furniture industry was still relatively new at mid-century, and magazines pushed it hard, convincing returning GIs and their young wives that we no longer needed to look to Europe for style inspiration. Drexel was the Crate & Barrel of its day, but conferred more status than its contemporary counterpart; it would have been common, for instance, for people to save up for this chair, a heirloom-in-the-making for the next generation. To see more Mad Men-era interiors, visit the trove at Mid Century Home Style.
