The Best Places to Shop for Mid-Century Modern Furniture, According to Interior Designers

If you’re into the mid-century modern design style, you’re lucky. Since its inception MCM has only become more popular, and nowadays nearly every furniture retailer carries at least a few pieces that fall under its umbrella. Regardless of whether you’re ready to drop a big sum on a one-of-a-kind vintage dresser or you’re looking to save with a budget-friendly accent chair inspired by mid-century design, there’s so much out there to browse through.

I wondered which specific stores and sources interior designers recommend for mid-century modern furniture, so I asked them. I spoke to Elin Walters, the founder and principal designer of Exactly Designs, an interior design firm specializing in mid-century modern interiors. I also talked with Cassiana Jensen, the founder of Cassiana Jensen Interior Design. Both designers shared their go-to places for shopping. Their recommendations will help you achieve a mid-century modern aesthetic that still feels special to your unique taste. You’ll definitely want to write these down!

Both Walters and Jensen like to use a mix of new and vintage pieces in their projects. “I feel like if I don’t do a mix of vintage and new, it kind of feels hollow or lifeless, like there’s no soul to the design,” Walters says. She added that Chairish is a great place for authentic mid-century finds, but not if you’re on a budget. (At under $700, this small-space-friendly Danish desk from the 1960s is a steal, though.) 

Jensen occasionally uses Chairish when shopping online, although she also has a source who brings her pieces from Europe. Indeed, one of the upsides of working with an interior designer is that they’re often able to source unique vintage gems you can’t get online.

If you’re trying to stick to a budget while shopping vintage, Walters recommends Facebook Marketplace and garage sales. Although estate sales are also worth hitting up, they’re more competitive than garage sales, she says, because people usually learn about them ahead of time.

“I think garage sales are a great place because there are things that have been sitting in homes for so long that older people think are just kind of crappy, but younger people are really attracted to them,” Walters says.

For new pieces, both designers named Article as one of their favorite retailers. “[The furniture] is beautiful, and the quality is good,” Jensen says. Walters specifically loves Article’s Kayra sofa, which has an amorphous shape and tapered legs — two design details that are characteristic of mid-century design. 

“Even the fabric — that bouclé gives it texture,” Walters says. “A lot of the oversized chairs and sofas of the mid-century era were made from this sort of nubby fabric that’s hard to find, but bouclé mimics that pretty well.”

She also mentioned Joybird as a viable MCM-inspired retailer. It has countless highly customizable sofa options, most of which are outlined in Apartment Therapy’s Joybird shopping guide.

No surprises here, but Walters and Jensen agree that West Elm is another great source for mid-century-inspired pieces. The retailer has an entire collection dedicated to the style, which includes this timeless dining table; at under $1,000, it’s a great price for a West Elm piece and for a solid wood furnishing. (Jensen noted that she loves to use natural materials, like wood, in her projects, which is very mid-century.) What’s more, the table is extendable and available in three sizes — the smallest of which is ideal for small spaces.

“Again, it has those tapered legs and the wood grain, that sort of acorn,” Walters says. “Acorn and walnut were two popular woods of that era. The fact that the legs taper out from the table from the top, that angle is very mid-century, as well as that extra little angled piece. There’s just a lot of style in this piece. It’s not just a regular table with four legs.”

IKEA furniture and decor are about as affordable as it gets, and because the brand was founded in 1943, many of its products embody the MCM aesthetic. You can find some of Jensen’s favorite IKEA products in this post, but Walters shared some of hers with me — starting with this sculptural lighting fixture.

“This particular pendant was originally introduced in 1964,” she says. “It’s made out of a wood veneer. There was a lot of bent wood in the 1950s … and, it’s the shape — it’s that sort of symmetrical geometric shape that makes it mid-century.”

Jensen and Walters both love mid-century furniture for its practicality and ergonomic features. Walters also notes that MCM furniture is rarely oversized, so you can usually make it work in small spaces. 

“I love the scale of this chair,” she says. “It’s nice and low and compact, so it’s great for an apartment, but it’s also great for a little off-to-the-side sitting area.”

She also highlighted the chair’s star-shaped metal base (chrome was big in the mid-century era, and it’s also having a moment now) and armless silhouette. Also, pops of color were a favorite during the time, which makes this chair one of most authentic MCM finds you can get without actually shopping vintage.

Another retro-futuristic chrome piece, this side table is perfect for that awkward spot between the wall and your sofa. Walters enjoys how simple yet striking the table looks. 

“It’s just, in essence, these two boards on top of a frame, but it has so much style,” she says. “And again, the pop of color is classic mid-century… This was released in 1971, which is kind of on the end of the mid-century era, which ended at about 1975. So this is a little more contemporary but still feels very classic.”

When Walters sent me the link to this rattan armchair, my first thought was that it would be ideal for an outdoor space, like a tiny balcony. That said, you can put it pretty much anywhere you want for some comfy side seating. 

“It looks like an outdoor chair, but it definitely has been placed inside as well,” she says. “And I chose this because of the rattan. It’s just another natural element that was classic for that time. And of course, it has this cute geometric shape, and it’s super sculptural.”

Walters also shared some products she likes from Etsy, which she says is the most accessible online platform for finding cute, unexpected mid-century pieces. Just check out this mini tabletop fireplace, which comes in fun colors like Avocado, Burnt Orange, and Ink Blue. Best of all, it’s under $30, and it definitely stands out more than your basic tabletop firepit.

Although Walters tries to switch up the products she uses across projects, she says she’s used this wall-mounted coat rack before and still loves it for its “clean shape, warm wood, and classic design.” The rack is made of solid walnut wood, and thanks to its subtly flared hooks it practically doubles as wall art.

This last Etsy pick might not be furniture, but it will pair nicely with your MCM furnishings and make them pop. Walters likes the print’s simple shapes and snappy colors, which will instantly add some whimsy to any reading corner.

There’s so much to explore within mid-century furniture, but Walters likes to include iconic pieces in her projects, and she says clients will even ask for them sometimes. Her go-to? A George Nelson pendant, which you can shop in a few different shapes and sizes at Design Within Reach.

“It’s just the perfect light because it gives a really nice warm glow to a room, but it still offers a decent amount of light,” she says. “It’s very simple and sculptural … nine times out of 10, it’s in a mid-century modern home, whether it was built in 1950 or it was developed in 2025. It’s the pendant. It never gets old. It always looks good in every context.”

Why not end on what’s arguably the most quintessential piece of mid-century furniture? The Eames lounge chair is still incredibly popular, despite having been launched in 1956. And when you pair it with the matching ottoman, its comfort is unrivaled.

“People know that chair the most,” Walters says. “I’ll often start a design, and they’re like, ‘We really would love to have an Eames lounge chair.’ And they’re expensive, you know, they’re like $6,000 and up, so it’s definitely an investment piece. But it’s very iconic, so people love that chair in particular.”

Even if mid-century modern is not your favorite interior design style, there’s no denying that it’s one of the most accessible and versatile styles — especially when it comes to furniture. Not only are there so many great MCM or mid-century-inspired pieces out there at reasonable prices, but a lot of them also work for a variety of home sizes and look timeless, to boot.

Jensen says her interior design business prioritizes her clients’ well-being, and the general functionality of MCM furniture aligns with her mission. She also enjoys being able to mix and match different aesthetics, as well as pieces both new and old. 

“I work a lot with unique pieces, so my clients go toward them,” Jensen says. “We mix modern and vintage to create a beautiful composition and also to have a home that is created for the people living there. It’s more than just a beautiful aesthetic to post on Instagram, you know.”

Walters similarly notes that most of her clients like to mix aesthetics, and that there’s no need to be “purist” when it comes to sticking to MCM pieces. After all, the original designs were optimized for life 80 years ago, so it’s about finding the right ones for the current moment.  

“There was a practicality but also an artistic aesthetic,” Walters says of the original mid-century designers. “They mixed both so beautifully that almost everything you sit on that was produced in that era was actually comfortable, even though looking at it you might not think it is.”