The Famous Mid-Century Modern

Mid-century-modern steals the spotlight.

This statement isn’t a secret, but the big question is, what makes it so desirable?

This unique design became so popular that people started overusing the name whenever they got the chance.

If you’ve dined in a contemporary restaurant or visited a modern bar, you’ve probably experienced the comfort of these 1950s pieces.

There are many reasons why this style works so well, and we want to explore it.

Let’s start from the beginning and lay out the topics:

What Is Mid-Century Modern?

This term is complicated to define. In a nutshell, it describes the furniture, graphic design, and architecture between 1933 and 1965.

With its roots in the Industrial Revolution, this design was created amid a modernist movement.

The name mid-century modern was first introduced by the famous author Cara Greenberg. As the title for her 1984 book, “Mid Century Modern: Furniture of the 1950s” it became a popular hit after being reviewed by the famous New York Times.

This movement’s popularity is owed precisely to Greenberg’s book.

Before the design peaked in popularity, it declined slightly in the late 60s when it went out of fashion for some time.

This period was short as it began to rise in fame within a decade due to vintage mid-century designs steadily increasing in popularity.

As this started to happen, some niche marketing collectors had already begun to increase the prices to the original mid-century designs that we see today.

Many people don’t know that the German Bauhaus influenced this famous design. Famous for its clean lines, futuristic look, and functionality, this architecture school heavily influenced the early mid-century modern.

Mid-Century Moderns Main Traits

If we go from the start, we need to mention the primary material used for mid-century modern pieces, and it is teak. As one of the famous designers Rozit Arditi explains, teak gained popularity due to its richness, colour, and durability.

Also, rosewood and oak are often used primarily in the case of pieces like tables, storage cabinets, and desks.

However, contrary to some other styles where wood is the primary material, mid-century modern utilizes many different materials for its furniture. Wood is often combined with vinyl, glass, and metal to create a standout piece.

A couple of pieces stood out from the rest and brought more recognition to this style.

The famous Eames Lounge chair stands at the top, followed by more iconic pieces like the Wassily Chair by Marcel Breuer, the Arco Floor Lamp, and many others.

Trademarks of this famous style are curved and round sofas, odd-shaped coffee tables, and clean geometric shapes.

The 4 Pillars of Mid-Century Modern

The midcentury design stands as one of the most practical and aesthetically pleasing styles for a reason. There are a couple of unique characteristics that make it special, and we want to explore them and help you understand them better.

Mixing both indoor and outdoor

Interior plants are often a key component in these interiors to reinforce and encourage that healthy, natural feeling in your space. While window treatments boost the sense of continuity between indoors and outdoors, plants serve as a beautiful decor piece and a biological oxygen distributor.

Simplicity and Minimalism

Furniture that exhibits all the traits of mid-century modern is focused mainly on decluttered spaces and functional pieces. Most famous chairs and table pieces have clean and sleek lines usually made of wood with metal pin legs.

Style-Materials Fusion

This one hammers how this type of architecture styles its furniture. By mixing handcrafted materials like plastic, fibreglass, vinyl and natural ones like metal, marble, wood, and glass, this style achieves a unique look, made to last.
The midcentury design also loves to combine vintage and modern to create a balanced beauty in its original pieces.

Bright Accent Colors

Mid-century modern decor doubles down on bright accent colours instead of neutral tones. Those shades include white, black, and wood tones, usually light and dark brown. Due to its love for nature, mid-century colours are reminiscent of its elements.

Decorate Your Interior The Right Way

Whether you decorate your living room, bedroom, or dining room space doesn’t matter. Mid-Century Modern perfectly fits all of these spaces, giving you much room for creativity. And the best thing is that you can put different dining chairs like Packard chair and Wolfgang chair not just in your dining area but also in the living room area.

Here are some valuable tips that you can use to elevate your style to the next level.

Determine Your Focal Points

It is essential to settle for a good centrepiece, no matter which room you decorate. Make sure that you choose an excellent focal point. Usually, the best choices are either an Eames lounge chair or a clean line-shaped dining table. If you are going for the table option, an excellent way to make a statement is to place an interior plant centrepiece in the middle.

Get Your Color Game On

Playfully using colors is one of the signature traits of mid-century modern. Depending on where you’d want to highlight color in your furniture, you can further experiment and see what fits you the best.

You can never go wrong with retro colors like butter yellow, sage green, and Robin’s egg blue.
Pieces that you should usually feature the most are dining room chairs, wall art, and exciting rugs.

Keep It Natural

Essentially you want to make your interior design as grounded in nature as possible. Plants, vines, colors that mirror the outdoor landscape, you name it. Incorporate as many natural themes in your space as possible.

Famous Designers

Many people contributed to the design, but only a few truly stood out. Meet some of the most influential designers that left their mark of brilliance in mid-century modern history.

Arne Jacobsen

Copenhagen-born designer Arne Jacobsen left a long-lasting mark on the culture. His awe-inspiring works like Swan and Egg chairs found a place in modern homes and offices, entirely changing the culture.

The Egg Chair itself was inspired by the classical Eames furniture design, while many call the Swan chair eggs younger sister.The reason for that is due to its smaller and less imposing structure.

Ero Saarinen

Immigrating to the US as a teenager, Ero Saarinen had big dreams for the future. This Finnish-American architect grew to be one of the most influential mid-century modern designers. His iconic works, the classic tulip chair and tulip table are now among the most popular furniture pieces worldwide.

Richard Neutra

Many homes that Nautra designed are now considered historical landmarks. As Ero, Richard also immigrated to the US; however, he came from Austria in the 1920s.
His life’s work definitely defines the look of Los Angeles by designing homes with large windows, bold shapes, and a pattern of repetition.

Best Way To Use Mid-Century Modern

There are many ways to incorporate mid-century modern into your home. Some of them were discussed in this article, but we want to dive a bit deeper.

One of the best ways to structure your rooms is to start with the pieces that space might be lacking. Let’s say that you need a cocktail table, throw in a mid-century piece that works with the space.

There are a couple of staples among mid-century pieces that can make or break your space. They are usually a credenza, armchair, or a good lamp. You can use them as centrepieces and build around them, however, you can also use them as strong accent pieces.

Also, don’t be afraid to mix this style of decor with styles from other periods. This will only add to the uniqueness of your interior.

What Colors Work Best?

In the 1950s the traditional mid-century palette ranged from bright hues to earthy colors that were dominant in the 1060s.

In a nutshell, this style works with lots of different shades. Pastels and muted colors work as well as neutrals and pale pink.

We encourage you to be creative with the colors that you chose for your interior and adjust them based on your preferences.

Complete Your Mid-Century Space

For final touches, it is all about accessorising your rooms. Since Mid-Century modern is heavily inspired by minimalism, you should only leave out what you need.

In other words, mostly items that you use on a day-to-day basis.

Some of the best examples are plants, floor pillows, candlestick holders, and rocks.

Still, your priority is ensuring your space is as clutter-free as possible.

There are a couple of smart ways to make sure your space doesn’t look too uniform. The easiest solution is to incorporate furniture of different heights. In other words, you shouldn’t have everything either too low or too high.

Try to combine both instead. Put a low coffee table next to a sofa or a high lamp next to a lounge chair. This will perfectly create a sense of harmony in your home, making your rooms more proportional and spacious. If you structure your rooms properly, you will not only achieve beautiful symmetry but a unique look that will leave a good impression.