By Demetra Aposporos

	Photo courtesy of Atomic Ranch by Michelle Gingeri-Brown

If you've just bought a great mid-century house, your next task will probably be finding period-appropriate furnishings to warm up the décor. The good news is that the home-decor market is flush with both antiques and authentic reproductions from this era. But where do you begin?

For starters, think funky shapes like triangles, boomerangs, and amoebas. These forms, inspired by fascination with a nuclear age, began appearing everywhere in the 1950s. They permeated everything from wallpapers and countertops (think boomerang-patterned Formica), lights and dishes. You could even argue that some of the era's most memorable furniture designs, like Eero Saarinen's executive chair and Arne Jacobson's egg chair, play off of amoebic forms.

Many original items from this era can be found at vintage stores, of course, but some of the most famous designs are in production once again. Yep, even the Formica's back—and so are George Nelson's bubble lamps, as well as those funky fiberglass bullet planters supported by a trinity of black iron legs. Today, streamlined stacking chairs with triangulated backs are so commonplace, you many not realize how cutting-edge they were in the 1950s.

But even the more mainstream items from the era can also make a big statement in mid-century houses—think an angular, rectangular sofa like the one seen every week in the living room on The Dick Van Dyke Show. Any of these period items, planted on a shaggy rug, will help your ranch channel a 1950s groove.

Ready to start shopping? Check out our photo gallery of out-of-this-world atomic age decor.

Atomic Doodle reproduction wallpaper, $71 per roll

Bradbury and Bradbury
(707) 746-1900, www.bradbury.com

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Aqua Boomerang laminate countertop

Formica
(800) 367-6422, www.formica.com

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Eero Saarinen executive chair in leather with metal legs, $1,917 to $2,046

Design Within Reach
(800) 944-2233, www.dwr.com

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Arne Jacobsen egg chair, $4,892 to $5,407

Design Within Reach
(800) 944-2233, www.dwr.com

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George Nelson bubble lamps, $195 to $1,2000

Modernica
www.modernica.net

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Retro Bullet planter, $150 to $160

Hip Haven
www.hiphaven.com

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Stackable bentwood chairs, $99 to $349

West Elm
(888) 922-4119, www.westelm.com

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Petrie sofa, $1,459 to $1,499

Crate and Barrel
(800) 967-6696, www.crateandbarrel.com

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Flokati rug, $29.99 to $79.99

Ikea
(800) 434-4532, www.ikea.com