A Mid-Century Makeover: Bringing Warmth and Texture to the Space

I love to bring in a brass accent, especially in a mid-century room. Brass is a very important color - the warm colors, the warm tones of wood, the warm tan, the warm brass. It's all about creating a cozy and inviting atmosphere that feels like it was plucked straight from the 1950s and 60s. I've also got some other things there to enhance the mid-century feel, including geometric lines and small patterns. These tiny patterns may seem insignificant, but they add up to create a cohesive look that's quintessentially mid-century.

The room has undergone a significant transformation, from its original state to the beautiful space it is today. Gone are the days of bright colors and bold patterns - instead, we've opted for a more subtle approach that showcases the beauty of natural materials like wood and tweed. The tweed fabric on the pillows adds a touch of sophistication, while the chairs themselves have a warm, earthy feel to them. Nothing is over-embellished here; we're going for a clean, mid-century aesthetic that's both elegant and understated.

One of the most striking features of this space is its dark walls. Yes, you heard me right - dark walls! It was a bold choice, but one that pays off in spades. The dark color unifies the space, making it feel more cohesive and polished. And let's not forget about the kitchen island - a game-changer in our design process. We knew we wanted to create a space that felt both modern and vintage at the same time, and this island was the key to achieving that balance.

The Joey move is always a highlight of our transformation process. I love how it brings out the best in everyone's space - it's like a magic trick that makes everything look new and exciting all over again. And speaking of new, let's talk about the beautiful coffee table at the center of this room. It's a stunning piece that adds a touch of drama to the space, while also providing a functional surface for displaying decorative objects.

As we move through the space, it becomes clear that every element has been carefully curated to create a cohesive look that's both mid-century and uniquely personal. The gallery wall behind the sofa is a particular favorite - the way the blues and greens dance across the canvas creates a sense of movement and energy that's infectious. And let's not forget about the throw blankets, which add a pop of color and texture to the space.

But what really sets this room apart is its unique layout. Gone are the traditional long hallways and narrow corridors - instead, we've opted for a more diagonal approach that creates a sense of flow and movement throughout the space. It's a bold move, but one that pays off in spades when it comes to creating a sense of drama and excitement.

The before-and-after transformation is truly breathtaking - from white walls to dark, rich colors, everything has been updated to create a cohesive look that's both mid-century and uniquely personal. And at the heart of it all is the beautiful furniture, which adds warmth, texture, and personality to every corner of the space. Whether you're a fan of bold patterns or more subtle designs, there's something for everyone in this stunning mid-century makeover.

And speaking of transformations, we want to hear from you! What's your aesthetic - modern, vintage, bohemian, or something entirely different? Take our what's my aesthetic quiz and find out on MrKate.com. And don't forget to subscribe to our channel for more design inspiration, tips, and tricks. We're always happy to have new members join our creative weirdo fam, so come on in!

Finally, a huge thank you to Keurig for sponsoring today's video. Their K cafe coffee house has been my trusty sidekick all day long - it's the perfect way to power through even the most design-intensive projects. And if you're as obsessed with their coffee as I am, be sure to check out Keurig.com to learn more about their amazing products.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enIn today's episode of What's My Aesthetic we are making over the home of two creative weirdos Anna Grace and TaylorHi, I'm Taylor and I'm Anna Grace and we're married. We're marriedThese newlyweds have tried their darndest to make their converted garage guesthouse their homeWill of course get to know their aesthetic they agreeWe have a couple who have the same taste and roll up our sleeves to make it a realitySo grab a warm cup of coffee and get cozy because today's episode is sponsored by Keurig to introduce the new K cafe coffee houseBrewer and let's get dramatic playful and creativeHey guys I'm Mr. Kate and I live my life as a creative weirdoI think people's weirdness is their own brand of uniquenessAnd it's my passion in life to help people define their creativity so that they can express their truest selves to the worldMaybe 60% bohemian 30% minimalist and 10% glam, but whatever you areYou're 100 percent you so let's go on a journey together and ask the questionWhat's My Aesthetic?Hi nice to meet you. Anna Grace, yes. AlabamaAre you in the poorhouse? Technically, yeahIt's connected by the garage to the main. Oh it's so nice in hereIt's like a one-bedroom back there and that's the closet and left which is an odd place to have the closetBut it's so big that we're like cool so we each have a side. Oh, ohBut you could so like a cool like Island situationWhat do you do for work? I'm an actress too. Actress gotcha and your husband is a stage actor. Yes. Ao your husband's styleIs very much like leather and woodThat is the main house back here. So like the backyardSo they have to come around this - yeah, yeah, but they don't really go in it very muchSo that's why these curtains are still here from when we moved in because it's sort of like privacyMy husband and I are we try to agree onWhat our aesthetic is right and what we decided to do was take the quiz together last nightWe found a picture of your living room on Pinterest and we were like this is like the perfect marriage of both of ourOh greatThis section is...Basically storage, when we moved in we started unpacking boxes. They already had this up here? YeahI thought maybe about putting the desk over there, making it sort of like a desk area. No, I know. I love that ideaAny final thoughts?Help on threeOne..Two...Three....Help!Okay, so we are diagnosing Anna Grace and Taylor nowWe have a unique situation on our hands here people because guess what they agreeWe have a couple who have the same taste and that is anOverarching love for mid-century modern and they said we loveYour living room our meaning mine and Joey's living room the thing about our living roomWe have, you know a barrel ceiling fireplace an arched windowWe have some architectural interest going on in there that they don't have in their living roomsWe'll get to that later in the plan. But they like a dark colored wall. They like streamline furnitureSo think tapered leg a mix of tan colorsMaybe some tweed like fabric and also some raw wood will ease off all of that the fact that they agree I amDiagnosing them as a couple as 80% mid-century modern and 20% farmhouse. OhMy gosh. 80% mid-century modern 20% farmhouse80 cents? You got 80 cents for me?Yeah. What do you think of the diagnosis?I love it. Tell me the plan. Let's go over the planSo guys, you know that we treat everybody to these makeovers like we basically bring them all this furnitureThey get it all for free, which is awesome based on the fact that they love our living room so much.I want to give them our couchWhat?We're giving them our couch. Yeah, I guess I've been wanting to change it out with one. That's just a little bit longerCan we get a new couch? Yes. I I already have one picked outIt's a little bit longer than the one we have now. It's the same style though. You sound crazyCrazy creative weirdo. Um, okay, so they love our living room now, obviously the difference between our living room and their living roomIt's absolutely different architectural style. Thank you. Exactly. So we have a barrel ceiling. We have an arched windowThey do have the cool like beams thoughI mean it's a low ceiling but the beams are coolBut I don't want to paint out those beams a different color because that'll just make the ceiling too low cuz it already is prettylowBut I do love that they like the dark color because I think doing a dark color in there is going to really help soLike an accent wallNo, I want to go all the way dark around that whole living room and then keep the kitchen light. The entire room dark?Yeah, it's actually gonna make it more cozyIt'll make it look more designed because the thing that we have going against us in this space is just the layoutIt's a weird shaped roomThere's windows on every single wallWhich we can tell that's already been an issue for them because they have their TV in front of one of the windows, right?So I'm going to be doing something in this room that I haven't done in awhile. And that isPutting in some real plansSo predictableOh, yeahyou guys know that I usually use just the square shape of the room and ILet that dictate like the line of the couch lines up with one of the wallsWe're not going to do that in here as you can see and these things come inWe are going to place the rug at a diagonal, the sofa out of diagonal bringing in maybe some stools opposite to itSo it's really like a full 360 conversation area nowthe reason for this is becauseOf just the amount of windows in thereReally trying to make sure that we don't have to put the TV in front of the windowBut also have it be viewable from like their kitchen and have the living room be like a good flowSo this diagonal is going to make it happenWhich will be able to clear out the little storage area and make that into like a desk area thereWe'll do a collage wall over here with some of their wedding photosAnd maybe some DIY artwork and then I think in the kitchen an island in there. Yeah. It's a big kitchenSo like it's kind of empty. So I think that you could build a kitchen islandYeah, and maybe use some of these like I just laid out the supplies here. So like the hairpin legsOh, yeah, rightso it kind of would look like a table like aCounter height table slash like extra surface area for them while they're cooking love itI think it's gonna be really really impactful when you walk in the front door and see like just a proper living world. YeahIt's always a risk to design on the bias, which you know is just kind of defining a diagonal in a roomBut I think this is the room for itExciting. Okay, so I got to paint this whole room. Mm-hmmWe're changing out the fixturesYeah, so we'll change out the fan to a light in the living room because their AC work really well in therethey don't need the ceiling fan and we're gonna change out that ugly fixture in their kitchen andRemoving the curtain removing the curtains because they have blinds on the windows and then that one very awkward shaped windowThat doesn't we can't put blinds on because it's just the wrong linkWe're going to frost that glass with this front window FrostLove it. Great. I'm nervousWhy because I'm not gonna have a couch anymoreAnd because we're gonna create their entire interior a dark colorIt's gonna be great. It's gonna look like a really beautifully designed spaceIt's what the space needs. I trust you because is actually really ugly. We're trying to make it cute. OkayOkay, so I'm gonna go get started on that. You're gonna go meet them and do stuffYeah. All right. I have DIYs to plan andThings to shop greatWe want to quickly tell you that today's sponsor Keurig and their K-cafe a single serve coffee, latte and cappuccinoMaker. You know I use to work at a coffee shop a long time ago, right?I know you're a retired baristaBut the good thing is you don't have to be a barista to enjoy your favorite coffee or creamy latte and frothyCappuccinos at home and you're gonna give Anna Grace and Taylor their very own K-cafe coffeehouse brewerTo enjoy in their new home. That's right guysEvery house can be a coffee house with the K cafe coffee house brewerYou can froth the choice of fresh milk including skim soy and almond to create a creamy latte or frothy cappuccinoJust pour your milk into the dishwasher safe frother and select either latte or cappuccinoand watch your milk magically frothThere's even a cold setting if you're having an iced beverage. The brewer works with any of your favorite K cup podsSo the options are endlessYou just put your K cup pod in and brew 6 8 10 or 12 ounces of your favorite coffee to your cocoaSimply pour your freshly froth milk and your coffee and enjoyIt is really good. You guys go to Keurig.com to learn more and I think Anna Grace and Taylor are gonna love this thingBut let's get back to decorating shall we let's do itTaylor I didn't get to meet you in person so nice to finally meetI know you usually work at Disneyland as prince of HanOn the Frozen show on the Frozen show you which you were busy being an evil villainI went and met your lovely wife here. So are you ready to hear what you are based off of my yes the doctorsI have diagnosed you guys as80%Mid-century modern. Okay, so our highest-scoringso farAnd then 20% farmhouse cool, okayI love thatA little unfinished wood kind of you know a little bit of the whitemmhmm, right like the worn wood thing that you like so that'sawesomeSo tell me what you learned aboutThe wedding all wedding photos by watching our newlywed videos. Yeswe got married and I loved all the photos that our photographer took and I likeframed them and then we watched the episode the newlyweds episode where they had something really similar and you came in and you were likeThis is greatThis is a lot and so you took one of them and you made it like kind of the centerpiece look like some different photosAround right some more like landscape photosrightwhich I was like I need to do and my reasoning for that is just because I think if you have too many ofThe same type of photos it detracts from all of them like yeahThey're basically having too many faces coming at you out of a gallery walland you can don't really know where to look as opposed to creating the gallery as like a guide as a story and reallyHighlighting those photos so that said thank you for this. I took inspiration from that and I hadthisThis is just a hint at like how much we're gonna celebrate this like this is giganticSo what we're gonna do right now is an art piece together because we're gonna create a gallery wall set upBut we want to have a piece of arttogetherSo we're gonna do abstract artIt's gonna be really easy and it's gonna be fun and we're gonna mix in some colors that are very mid-century and sort of vibe rightI mean that is beautiful. Look at thatVanilla pudding popReally it's making me hungry right now, we're gonna play with some horizontal lines as well as some vertical linesSo we're gonna use some of the darker colors here and it's all just using these spatula no more brushesSo it's it's a really fun kind of peaceful technique. So we'll just deposit a little bit of colorI couldn't recreate it if I wanted to there'sno way, but it's like very peaceful in the way that like the colors mixed in togetherI mean this is like mid-century modern to a tee. Alright, so we're gonna let this dryYou guys are gonna go I'm gonna see you tomorrow. You're awesomeThank youArtists. All right. Well, let's go cuz I have another projects due elsewhere, but I'll take you guys out on the way. Come onJoeyJoey!It's going okayThere's a lot of paintingYeah, I was gonna say I see a white wall behindAnd you got the butcher block countertopI have sketches to do and stuff to put in frames and then I'll bring over stop bye. Thank youSo obviously we have that amazing artwork that Anna Grace and Taylor just painted it's dryingSo while it's drying I'm going to prep some other stuff that's gonna be in our gallery wall set upI only showed them that one blown-up photo of the one of them standing from their weddingBut I also have this one which is so cuteWhich will be really coolI think also as part of the gallery setup and the reason why I think this one is okay mixed in with the other oneis because it's so close up I also haveone of our art printsThat you can get as well on shop Mr.kate.com I love the sort of like a minimalist lookIt's a very mid-century and not it's kind of like abstract againSo we're sort of offsetting the wedding photos with these more abstract piecesSo I want to also include a sketch because you guys know that I loveTo integrate also hand drawn stuff. So when you're creating a gallery while you're telling a story it is a galleryIt's like you're having your own exhibit so you can mix in photography with paintings with sketchesSo I want to do something again abstractI want to just do like a line drawing, you know, one of those where like the line never separatesOkay, I think what I just created is like one of those drama masksWhich they're both actors, doesn't that kind of look like one of those like the Shakespearean masks?so I'm gonna cut that out put in a frame andThen I'm gonna go join Joey because I think he needs some help over thereFramesThis looks so much better in here. Like it's like an actual room nowIt is like completely opposite of what it was before. How many coats did you have to do on this Ten Shut upTwelveOkay, like three. Drama queenLook at this though, like this looks so coolNow this is such a patchwork room, you know, the fact that it's like a garage extensionIt was like different sized windows and whatever. How good is this light look over here?This is also an amazing hack like this was such a good idea. I know I love thisThis is bringing in like a little bit of the farmhouse vibe and you did such a good jobThey'll be able to like use this as a cutting board extra kitchen surface, and we took away their miniature dining table over thereWhich they didn't even use and this is so much better. Now, we have these amazing mid-century stoolsOh, these are cool, but they can sit out here, you know, and they store under here nicely as wellSo like move around it easily this turned out really cool, tooWallpaperI mean how did it feel that you didn't have to mount a TV for once it was great. And take down the curtainThat's how life should be no mounting TVs. No hangings hurts. Okay, look how good this looks with this mid-centurySideboard this is establishing our diagonalLayout right? We're starting from the cornerBoom this justifies it that's that's establishing it. You know, what's driving at home?What look at this giant rug I have hereWanna help me roll it out set on the diagonal. We're designing on the bias. I'm a little biased myselfoh my god about howbeautiful you areWhy are you talking like that like a creeper?Can you go down there? No, I likeThisAnd the frosting looks really good too. The frosting looks good. The desk is like this is game changerThis is game changer because like this little area was so weirdlytucked away behind that curtain before like making it feel like and trying to have their desk out here in the way like justDidn't make any sense now, it feels like it's like a dedicated spot. Yeah, and we're still using the vertical space for the storageI have some storage baskets and stuff. But let's talk more rolling. One two. OhThat's such a cool little fixtureIt's like I know that's so mid-century cute and so much better than the ceiling fanWhich they don't need because their AC works really wellwait, can you ohNice your bicepsbecause it's so bigBut yes hugeSofa tables is the perfect size. Yes, so narrow, right so nice. So this creates now like a hallway, right?Because we have the front door hereThey walk in this justifies the back of the couch on a diagonal you can walk into the kitchen set their keys hereThere's so much great seating now. I knowShe said she likes ever friends overs is perfect. Yeah, this is like a360 degree conversation area plus storage in these Ottomans. Okay. So let's talk about the big stuff in hereobviously the biggestLiberty that we took was doing a diagonal floor plan and we're just gonna work. Yeah. I think it works tooI meanobviouslyWe're justifying that with everything with the rug side of the diagonal with everything set a diagonal but creating the traditionalConversation area that we love to do two chairs coffee table sofaBut this is now like a full living room set up. We have the tapered legsYou'll see that as a very identifying feature on mid-century you seelegs legs legs legs with tapered legs really simpleyou'll see that the lines of all the furnitures really clean and that is definitely veryCharacteristic with the mid-century because remember we're trying to do 80%Mid-century in here which is a lot, but then we're also mixing wood tones, which is very farmhouse are 20% farmhouseWe've got like a darker wood coffee table the more medium tone of the wood hereWe'll do some mixed framesYou know with all the artwork set up and then I think it's so much better in here withoutThe curtains because they have a very awkward setup with the amount of windows and the fact that all the windows are different sizesThey have French doors. That's their entry door. So by not doing curtains were sort of like letting the windows just be theRectangles in the room, right and this is a great because like you basically were looking right into another house beforeYeahthis isA nice just muted light coming in right there landlords live on the other side of that window and now it's frostedThey don't have to have the curtains drawn all the time. So like we're getting more light in here too, which is greatWell there you got the blinds on the windows. So all right. Well, I'm gonna get the artwork andPhotographs and stuff on that wall. Yep, and then you'll judge and then we'll be done. Yeah, and the artworks are so coolOkay, I'm gonna dostyle greatAll right, guys, we have this amazing wall desk here. Like what a perfectlookThis is for a desk area before it was just this cluttered closetConcealed by a curtain like this is so much betterAnd this wall desk is amazing because we're using the vertical space and this is very mid-century and styleobviously still keeping with the clean lines that kind of medium tone of wood this actually bamboo, but you knowWe're taking some liberties. So some of the farmhouse elements obviouslybaskets and things with moreNatural elements like this rope and glass. This is obviously very much like the farmhouse beachy vibeWhen you guys take our testWhatever you score the majority on that's kind of your major aesthetic where you should focus on your furniture piecesAnd then there's those other styles where you get less of a percentage. Those are the things you can focus on for accessoriesSo you're still bringing in that style, but not in the big pieces. So let's get this up on the shelfThank you Anna Grace for being a creative weirdo and already having these amazing faux plants on hand for me to styleWe also have the hanging plant that she already had upSo yay, but let's talk about the small stuff that's going in obviously plants create a really design decoratedLook, you guys know I'm a broken record about bringing plants and just bringing in that natural element softens an odd corner, etcSo definitely gonna use these probably over thereI've also got this new side tableWhich is very mid-century clean lines unembellished legs except for a little peak of natural wood at the bottomI'll put that over there by that chair. I have their side table here and I love thatShe just kind of DIYthis is alazy susan they got for their wedding one of their wedding gifts and it's marble and she just put it on top of this likeInexpensive table and it is a cool tiered look loving it keeping it Yass Anna Grace for the table topsYou guys know I love to bring in a brass accent, especially in a mid-century roomBrass is a very important color the warm colors the warm tones of wood the warm tan the warm brass very mid-centuryI've also got some other things thereGeometric lines, you know nothing really small patterns. You'll also see that here with the pillowsWe've got kind of a tweed which is very mid-centuryYou'll also see that happening here on the fabric of the chairs. Nothing over embellished andWe are in mid-century landLooks good looks good. This is cute like you she had that is that youThat's how I look in the morningI think it looks great. It looks really goodIt has such a different feeling in here now with the dark wallslike I know we took a major risk doing that but like it just unifies the space so much more and it feels soThis is also a game changer game changer like a kitchen island. SoI know. All right. Should we get up? Yeah, show them ready. Let's do the Joey moveOkay, I've got my hands on your hip like thisThink about what your space looked like beforeYou look really cute. Yeah. All right picture what your room looked like beforeOkay....One....Two......Three!Look at the frame....oh my gosh we did thatThis is like your guy's couch is this not like exactly like it it'sIt's our couch!It's so comfyI actually wanted to get one that was just slightly longer for our living roomSo this was a perfect opportunityLike and look at how nice that looksActually took away the curtains in here. Yeah, there's the fact that all the windows didn't matchI think this is a better way to just make it feel more mid-centuryThe way you're dining was set up beforeI love it so much oh my gosh, there's croissants up like a styling that's your New Keurig K cafe coffee houseI'll use it every day, oh my gosh. I love this so much. And Joey built this islandYou can use and it's like a cutting board and everything. Oh, I haven't looked up yetAnd there's an area rug, I'm just like I'm taking in things I didn't notice that first ohMy gosh that thing behind it. So this makes it so that this becomes now your hallway, right?You walk in the front door you have this entryway because thisDiagonal floorplan isn't something like I normally do as you guys knowI wasn't expecting it, but it works all your throw blankets from your wedding are in those storage OttomansHow great is that coffee table? it's fabulousHello gallery wall of dreams right there, right? That's a paintingI love it so muchIt brings in the beautiful blues and greens and then the mid-century like mustardWhich is like the same kind of tone of this leatherAnd then that drama maskThat is so cool!Thank you guys this is really beyond beyond. We're gonna go we had a long day we're gonna go notEnjoy it. Enjoy itThank you so much!Yeah, look at the way I didn't see the lamp I knowEnjoy guysThank you so much!I want to sit in this chairThey loved it guys, what did you think?I think that they loved it most importantly but of course we wanna hear what you think so let us know in the commentsI think I think they were great candidates for an intense makeover like that was not a light makeoverWe went from white to dark. It was a bold choiceWe were bold in there, but we kept you know, the mid-century lines are all clean and everything like thatSo I think we can go bold with the walls. I think we nailed their aesthetic. Yeah, guys. Do you know what your aesthetic is?Did you know you can take our what's my aesthetic quiz and find out onMrKate.com come and let us know in the comments whatYou are you'll be a unique split of a bunch of different stylesMaybe or maybe you'll be all one who knows. If you're not already hit that subscribe button join the creative weirdo familyWe'll be happy to have you we need to grow our wonderful creative weirdo fam because it's just the place to beAnd lastly huge thanks to Keurig for sponsoring today's video guys. Check out Keurig.com to learn more about that K cafe coffee houseIt powered me through the day thank you. So guys, that's it. We'll see you on the next. What's my aestheticStay creative stay weird stay you. We love you so much. ByeJoey follow\n"