Craft Mid-Century Modern Sofa Tables

Left, two versions of mid-century modern sofa tables. One for Julie or Melody American Girl Dolls and
the other for Barbie. Right, the 18" table comes with a template below. The version for Barbie is made
from a upcycled brass candle holder that I purchased for a dollar at Goodwill.

       I made two Mid-Century Modern sofa tables this week for our family's dolls. I've included a free template for the larger version.
       Now those of you who collect period furnishings or craft these for your Julie Albright and/or Melody Ellison dolls can make one of your own! If you don't wish to paint the wood grain, like I did, you can always purchase faux woodgrain shelf paper from the dollar store to attach to your table top instead.
       Crafters will need the following supplies to make the 18" doll version of the kidney bean sofa table: three brown colors and one white of acrylic paints, tacky craft glue, Mod Podge, masking tape, medium wt. cardboard, a soft black pencil, decorative scrapbook paper, and free template below.
       Cut out two layers of cardboard for the table top and glue these together using tacky craft glue. Let the table top dry using a stack of books on top to keep the bean shaped table top from warping.
       You will need to cut eight pieces of the leg shape and tape them together to create strong, durable table top supports. There is a picture below showing what these legs look like when you attach them in a cross pattern.
       After attaching the legs to the bottom of the table top, let the whole construction dry, then cover the underside with masking tape.
       Leave the top of the sofa table bare. Paint the top with a faux wooden surface. I used three or four browns mixed with a little white for this process. Brush on long abstract stripes down the table 's surface alternating these with different values and tiny black lines.
       Use the decorative scrapbooking paper to cover the legs alternately with Mod Podge.
       Brush all the surfaces with a clear acrylic sealer or Mod Podge. You won't need to use the sealer on top of the faux wooden shelf paper if you use this instead of paint.

Left, you can see how I taped the legs together. Center, See how I positioned the legs beneath the table top.
 Right, I used a thick, pasty glue to attach the table legs.

Left, my painted kidney bean table top from above. Center, the underside of the paper mache doll's table.
 Right, a cup of coffee and a few good books on top of Julie Albright's sofa table.

Left, see the size difference between the 11-12inch doll size sofa table and the 18inch size.
Right, the groovy 70s sofa table is perfect for low tea.

This repurposed candle stand made from unpolished brass will provide a nice contrast against the wood table top.

Different angles of my Barbie mid-century modern sofa table after I added a faux wood veneer to the top.
The veneer is shelf paper purchased from the dollar store.

      Furniture of the 1970s refers to the style of furniture popular in the 1970s. Often, the furniture would be laid with bold fabric patterns and colors. Bold designs and prints were also used profusely in other decor. Other design elements found in 1970s furniture and interior decorating included the use of the colors brown, purple, orange, and yellow (sometimes all in the same piece of fabric), shag-pile carpet, textured walls, lacquered furniture, gaudy lampshades, lava lamps, and molded plastic furniture.
       Another major aspect of 1970s furniture is the use of teak wood. The use of teak in fashionable furniture and panelling regained popularity in the 1960s and items became chunkier as it progressed into the 1970s. Because of the popularity of wood in homes, dark color palettes also became more widely used as the 1970s progressed. In the mid-to-late 1970s, pine wood began to replace teak wood, and color palettes became even darker.

Noguchi table example.

       The Noguchi table is a piece of modernist furniture first produced in the mid-20th century. Introduced by Herman Miller in 1947, it was designed in the United States by Japanese American artist and industrial designer Isamu Noguchi. The Noguchi table comprises a wooden base composed of two identical curved wood pieces, and a heavy plate glass top. Read more . . . 

View more mid-century modern furniture:

• The obsession with mid-century furniture design, explained...
• Documenting the Appeal of Mid-Century Modern
• Understanding Mid-Century Modern and How to Use It

Kidney Bean Template for the 18" doll table version by kathy grimm. Remember to pull
this into a Word Doc in order to enlarge it as much as possible on one sheet of white typing
paper or you can print it as is and make a smaller version for Barbie. (Groovy doll sized
sofa table)