4. Start Small

You’ve heard that old chestnut: Accessories make the man. The same can be said for your office. If anything, it’s the obsessive period detail that made the show such a hit (and OK, the psychodrama and character development, or whatever).

Didul gets effusive about the small stuff when it comes to recreating the Mad Men era: staplers and tape dispensers with sexy vintage curves in turquoise and olive green; fountain pens, pencil sharpeners, and tin pencil holders; boxes with enamel art on them (both Peggy and Stan Rizzo have some, his emblazoned with a pinup girl). If you're shopping in antique shops, sellers call vintage ashtrays “nut bowls”—they are glamorous, and you can repurpose them for just about anything, such as collecting paperclips or wrapped candies. (If you choose the later, try going full throwback with mints and butterscotch.)

In Don’s office, larger items, like that vintage IBM Selectric typewriter, would be, well, just props in the modern day. So Didul suggests keeping your workspace functional with something like a desk pad (“Even that can make everything feel older"). If you want a rotary phone, it's possible to find one at OldPhoneWorks that plugs into a modern jack ($100-$200). His RCA stereo actually works—and you can get one for $250. 

And even though you likely don't drink on the job (no judgment), it can be a glamorous touch to have a bar cart. Fill it with top-shelf liquor and glassware by Dorothy Thorpe. (Don prefers her silver-rimmed rocks glasses). AMC just gave Don’s Italian-made, glass-topped one—designer unknown, price withheld—to the Smithsonian's Museum of American History in a ceremony on March 27. 

Didul’s favorite spot for sourcing all this stuff? Vintage Etsy. “Just put ‘midcentury’ or Mad Men into the search box,” she advises. 

5. Keep It Functional

In this day of open-plan settings, you're lucky even to have an office, let alone a spacious one—so don't junk it up. Much as Didul had to work from plans laid out by showrunner Matt Weiner and the episode directors, who needed furniture in specific spots to shoot, so do you likely have to work with a floor plan handed down from someone else. Incorporating larger statement items, such as Don's 7-foot desk or that sculptural brutalist sideboard, might require a tradeoff in other areas, like using smaller chairs for guests (Don's are orange dinette chairs from Amsterdam Modern in L.A.).

If you don’t have wiggle room from "essential" corporate- issue furniture, something as simple as that brass standing ashtray ($35, bought for Don on a whim) or a coat tree can add vintage flair. As Didul points out, “You don’t see those anymore.”

For quality antiques, Didul recommends trolling Craigslist (for serious), bookmarking 1stdibs.com, and keeping a lookout for auctions at corporations and universities, where you can often get incredible deals (Didul once got a Noguchi table for $10 and a Knoll setee for $35) if you can fight off the professional pickers. In L.A., the Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA) are a must for true quality. And dingy couches can be made usable with some new batting and new vintage-style upholstery (think gold orange or pretty Knoll blue; expect to pay $3,000+).