Verner Panton Tower

Your living room — how your antique and vintage living room furniture is arranged, what style of furniture you’ve chosen, what kind of decor best suits your needs — should be an opportunity to express yourself as well as to unabashedly show off your design taste and preferences.

Common wisdom used to declare the kitchen the hub of the house. These days, the living room seems to have assumed the role of domestic focal point. Unlike the Victorian parlor, stiffly furnished and reserved for guests, today’s living room is a central place for reading and displaying your books, conversation and, well, living, with furnishings that lend themselves to both casual lounging and elegant entertaining.

A living room that doesn’t double as a family or TV room is a luxury. But even if the electronics are elsewhere, this is a hard-working, well-used space.

In an era that sees an increasing number of professionals working from home, sometimes your living room is multifunctional in ways you never thought possible. A corner of this room might be a designated home office, outfitted with a desk, your laptop and notebooks and, of course, the best possible lighting for those unscheduled Zoom calls. Perhaps you’ve sectioned off an area with side tables and armchairs for entertaining small groups while another corner of the room is home to a cozy reading nook.

The appetite for antique and vintage furniture — sculptural mid-century modern case pieces crafted in teak and other dark woods, the sexy, sensuous seating of the 1970s — has only broadened in recent years, with design lovers treasure hunting online and on Instagram.

A Scandinavian modern living room set, featuring lounge chairs and sofas by the likes of Hans Wegner or Kaare Klint, will help you introduce quality craftsmanship characterized by gentle, organic contours into your space, while a Camaleonda sofa by legendary Italian designer Mario Bellini will dazzle with its chunky form and convenient modular setup.

On 1stDibs, find an extraordinary collection of antique and vintage living room furniture inclusive of Space Age living room sets, other clever and provocative furnishings of the 1950s and ’60s, postmodern pieces and much more.