Decorate around odd windows in your MCM home| Gre-Stuff

Hello beautiful friend,

As you can expect, during the 60 plus years that have passed since the great architects designed and built the MCM homes that you are enjoying now, there have been lots of additions, remodeling, redecorating, etc. The 80s particularly made a big mark on some of these homes. So, we find ourselves living with certain oddities like short or high windows, weird angles on walls or simply asymmetric rooms. And these odd windows are what we are tackling today.

I am going to try to give you simple solutions for just decorating with the issues. We can definitely tackle the construction ideas at another time.

Example #1. Odd window in a bedroom

So in this example, the odd window on the right side (when facing the bed) is creating a weird shape. By the way they decorated it, it looks like someone told this homeowner to add some mirrors on the other side to balance it out, however, they missed the mark by adding small mirrors, way too low and in the wrong direction. To really create the balance the room needs, they should have either gotten 2 rectangular long mirrors the same height as the window and put them side by side with no separation between them or they should have gotten a large dresser mirror like the one I added in the other picture.  The beauty of this mirror is that it would really give the illusion of having another window. If you wanted to take it to the next level I would do curtains swagged and letting only part of the window and part of the mirror show. Creating a backdrop to the bed.

Sorry about my editing skills, but you get the idea, right?! Here is a beautifully executed example of the curtains in front of the mirror and window to frame the bed, by Robeson Design. It is not a MCM style room but it is sooo elegant and perfect to add to a MCM room as well.

Example #2. Long wall in front of bed with super high windows

For this room I would definitely get a large credenza, if you don’t want to do a super long one, do 2 small ones of the same style, side by side. Look at the impact that a larger piece of furniture does on that wall. It is amazing! And when you have a large credenza you can either add a pair of lamps and a large painting in the middle or do a grouping of paintings above it. Here, I reused the art from the homeowner, by putting it closer together and adding another one under the smaller portrait, it gave me a better focal point than trying to fill the entire wall by spreading them out without any rhythm. If you want to add even more to that wall, I would do either a mirror, a wall sculpture or a tapestry near the plant and a chair there as well. Depending on your budget you can do a floor lamp or a small table and a lamp there as well. 

Example #3. Single window in a living room 

Here the first thing I would ask my clients would be what is your primary focus? To enjoy the view or to enjoy the tv? Based on that I would choose the following options.

1. Enjoy the view; first things first don’t add an Ikea couch to a beautiful room like this one. Do a beautiful Adrian Pearsall designed floating sofa with built-in tables.  I would also do a credenza under the long window, a rug and playing the asymmetric shape of the room I would add floating shelves above the sofa. 
2. If your focus is the tv; I would add curtains on the long windows, side to side and floor to ceiling, put the couch on that wall and add the credenza with art and maybe a lamp with a sculptural shape on the wall of the odd window. The tv, of course, would go in the wall across the couch (the wall that you cannot see on the picture).

Well, I hope this blog helped you figure out how to deal with those odd windows. In the next one, we will find MCM houses with oddly shaped rooms and angles. If you have any questions or comments feel free to share them with us. And if you think your friends would enjoy this blog please share it, it would make me soooo happy to see them join. 

XOXO

Grethel

Photo credits and disclosure: These images were used with the intention of helping to demonstrate to my readers what I would do to decorate a room with these type of windows. It is not meant to be offensive or mean. 

Robesondesign.com

bedroom 2875-Arrowwood-Trl-Riverwoods-IL-60015-8-1170×738

4476-Mount-Vernon-Dr-View-Park-CA-90043-16-1170×738 art – 

red couch 2875-Arrowwood-Trl-Riverwoods-IL-60015-11-1170×738