Midcentury modern and other home design trends having a moment in Tallahassee

At the end of this article, or maybe in the middle, you may find yourself looking up and gazing at your surroundings. And if a little sigh of dissatisfaction or even a strong urge to throw out a sofa or a chair sweeps over you, don’t feel alone.

Spring is the time when nests are rebuilt and things new and shiny are sought. (And sometimes even old things turn new when placed in somebody else’s nest!)

The Tallahassee Democrat wanted to know what home design ideas were trending in Tallahassee and around the country and to welcome to Midtown a unique emporium filled with the creations of storied furniture designers.

Jackie Skelding is the young entrepreneur responsible for Curios and Rare Bird Interiors located for the last three years in the Railroad Square Arts District. While Curios is filled with vintage jewelry, beautiful furs, and geometric rugs, next door, Rare Bird is a repository of midcentury modern furniture that Skelding has curated from “design trips” all over the country.

On March 15, Skelding opened the second Rare Bird in Midtown, next to Ology Brewing. A 2,000-foot showroom with antique brick wall, high ceilings, and glass front, the store will feature what is hard to find in Tallahassee: authenticated, vintage, and gloriously beautiful furniture from the likes of Adrian Pearsall, Eero Saarinen, Charles and Ray Eames, and Overman-Sweden.

While some may only picture sets from "Mad Men," Skelding points to the “wave” contours of a chaise, the up-turned corners of a brilliantly upholstered “pod” sofa, the warmth of a teak chest to underscore that even a single designer piece in a room changes everything.

“Midcentury modern includes Danish, Italian, as well as American pieces. The difference is in the quality. These pieces are not from a big box store … though they do try to copy them,” Skelding said.

While the Railroad Square store stocks mostly designs meant as “starters,” the Midtown store will bring in “privately sourced” higher-end sofas, chairs, chests and tables all displayed as you might in your home. Skelding also consults on integrating the pieces into the home, and says she collaborates with other designers “about 10 percent of the time.”

Jackie Skelding, as well as Tallahassee interior designers Tracy Williams, Laura Bryant, Anna Osborne and Ashley Farrell, all keep their eyes on trends.

And since the furniture at Rare Bird is bursting with color, we decided to see how each of the designers is adjusting to “what’s new” and how color, wallpaper, and wood are playing out this season.

One thing they all have seen is that, “Home” has become the center of both personal and often work life too. Home schooling, remote working, Zoom meetings, and simply more time spent in one locale have kept these designers busy ever since we first learned the word, “COVID.”

Decorating Den

“For a long time, supply lines for new furniture, fabric, and designer goods have been problematic,” says Tracy Williams of Decorating Den. “Scarcity and production delays all added to higher prices for many pieces.”

Williams, like other designers, for both reasons of good design and acquisition has been using vintage pieces when it made sense. “An older high-end sofa or chair, even lovely antiques in a contemporary room, can add amazing interest,” Williams said.

Williams also says she has seen the demise of gray. Whether it is from the somber emotions that settled in during the pandemic or many Americans’ traveling to bright and exotic destinations, Williams says that warm color choices predominate this year.

Economical tips: “You can even add color to a plain white kitchen with the display of brilliantly-painted dishes,” she adds as an economical tip. “Or paint your kitchen cabinets. Blue and green are popular now!”

Laura Bryant Design

“Organic lighting in clay, wood, rattan, or even wool,” is touted across the country. “Sustainable materials on furniture.” And especially, “wood.” Tallahassee's Laura Bryant Design is fascinated with a wood technique called, “cerusing.”

Using different colors of paint or stain, laid one over the other, allows the wood’s grain to be highlighted almost as if drawn on by design. Bryant uses this dramatically treated wood in panels in offices, home bars, and cabinets.

“Since many people now need smaller spaces in which to do work at home or that new hobby, the warmth of wood for these more intimate spaces is perfect,” Bryant said.

And she often adds another of the newest trends above ship-lapped wood panels: wallpaper. “Bright patterns, often even a mix of color-related patterns in some of the new wallpapers are exciting and bring in that visual centerpiece that everybody is ready to embrace.”

Her economical tip: “A bright, inexpensive vase in which you’ve stood some large branches from a tree.”

Studio A Interiors

Studio A Interiors’ Anna Osborne and Ashley Farrell have also seen the rise in interest in wallpapers. “Wallpaper murals are an attractive option because they “elevate” a space, bringing in texture and depth.”

Newer products are also advertised as easier to remove without destroying the wall underneath. With the acceptance of more color into homes, the designers note how trends are often affected by outside influences. “For instance, interior design is affected by fashion, and it’s found that fashion trends are affected by the car industry. Don’t ask me why!”

The designers say that while kitchens and bathrooms have gleaned most of the attention for major redesigns, closets, outdoor kitchens, pantries and laundry/mudrooms are getting some love today.

Their economical tips: A rug or a couple of side tables; wallpaper for a small room; a light fixture; or a large-scale piece of art.

Marina Brown can be contacted at mcdb100@comcast.net.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Tallahassee interior designers share latest home improvement trends