Decorating
So Your Style Is: Midcentury Modern
The clean lines and natural materials of the midcentury period still look fresh today. Here's how to get the look
What it is: The clue is in the name! This still-fresh-today style was born and developed during the central decades of the 20th century, from the mid-1930s to the late 1960s. Its uncomplicated, clean aesthetic was all about taking the post-war home into a modern era, and the movement rethought everything from architecture to furniture design.
Why it works: Midcentury modern is a style characterised by clean simplicity and natural shapes. At its inception, it borrowed elements of the modernist Bauhaus movement, but developed them into a style that was more gentle and user-friendly. Midcentury modern places emphasis on pared-down forms, contemporary patterns and natural materials to create pieces that look cool but not forbidding; stylish but also comfortable and functional. The look marries the organic with the man-made, keeping one foot in the natural world while exploring shapes, shades and styles that still look surprisingly funky today.
You’ll love it if: You always choose sludgy shades over pure white minimalism, you love all things vintage but don’t care for antiques, and Mad Men is required viewing in your house!
Why it works: Midcentury modern is a style characterised by clean simplicity and natural shapes. At its inception, it borrowed elements of the modernist Bauhaus movement, but developed them into a style that was more gentle and user-friendly. Midcentury modern places emphasis on pared-down forms, contemporary patterns and natural materials to create pieces that look cool but not forbidding; stylish but also comfortable and functional. The look marries the organic with the man-made, keeping one foot in the natural world while exploring shapes, shades and styles that still look surprisingly funky today.
You’ll love it if: You always choose sludgy shades over pure white minimalism, you love all things vintage but don’t care for antiques, and Mad Men is required viewing in your house!
Hang statement lighting
The midcentury period really got creative with lighting, and classic pieces such as the Arco lamp and Sputnik pendant were works of art as well as functional pieces. This PH5 pendant by Danish designer Poul Henningsen brings some midcentury Scandi chic to the dining space, and is hung in a typically Scandinavian way – directly over the table.
Browse creative lighting ideas for your dining room
The midcentury period really got creative with lighting, and classic pieces such as the Arco lamp and Sputnik pendant were works of art as well as functional pieces. This PH5 pendant by Danish designer Poul Henningsen brings some midcentury Scandi chic to the dining space, and is hung in a typically Scandinavian way – directly over the table.
Browse creative lighting ideas for your dining room
Select a sleek kitchen
Midcentury kitchens fully embraced the future and were home to the latest gadgets, designed to revolutionise a housewife’s life. Simplicity was still important, though, so clean lines, sleek materials and a simple palette applied in here, as elsewhere in the house.
Midcentury kitchens fully embraced the future and were home to the latest gadgets, designed to revolutionise a housewife’s life. Simplicity was still important, though, so clean lines, sleek materials and a simple palette applied in here, as elsewhere in the house.
Weave in graphic patterns
While midcentury style was on the whole simple, with pattern not a huge feature of the look, graphic designs were sometimes used as accents. This cushion combines a pattern of squares and circles with a very midcentury colour: yellow!
While midcentury style was on the whole simple, with pattern not a huge feature of the look, graphic designs were sometimes used as accents. This cushion combines a pattern of squares and circles with a very midcentury colour: yellow!
Work in lots of wood
Wooden furniture was a huge component of midcentury design, delivering that blend of natural and organic with simple and modern that this look championed.
Wooden furniture was a huge component of midcentury design, delivering that blend of natural and organic with simple and modern that this look championed.
Expose striking features
Midcentury architecture exposed the fabric of the building, celebrating the strong lines and materials that were at the heart of a house. Roof beams, wood-panelled walls and painted brickwork were to be integrated into the room, not hidden behind plasterboard.
Midcentury architecture exposed the fabric of the building, celebrating the strong lines and materials that were at the heart of a house. Roof beams, wood-panelled walls and painted brickwork were to be integrated into the room, not hidden behind plasterboard.
Add a few accessories
This look is clean and uncluttered, but not minimalist, so sprinkle on some accessories from the period. The small wooden birds here were designed in 1959 by Kristian Vedel and quickly became one of the most successful Danish wooden products of the 1950s.
This look is clean and uncluttered, but not minimalist, so sprinkle on some accessories from the period. The small wooden birds here were designed in 1959 by Kristian Vedel and quickly became one of the most successful Danish wooden products of the 1950s.
Be clever and classic
Midcentury design was innovative and forward-thinking, while still championing timeless materials such as wood. This neat, built-in wash unit is a good example. A lid lifts to reveal a basin, with drawers beneath. When not in use, however, it looks like simple, wall-mounted storage, decorated with classic colours from the midcentury palette.
Midcentury design was innovative and forward-thinking, while still championing timeless materials such as wood. This neat, built-in wash unit is a good example. A lid lifts to reveal a basin, with drawers beneath. When not in use, however, it looks like simple, wall-mounted storage, decorated with classic colours from the midcentury palette.
Take it outside
Ditch the chunky wooden garden furniture and bring the midcentury vibe outside. This simple cane sofa, with elegant lines and a natural feel, looks perfect indoors or out.
Explore a selection of stylish garden furniture
Ditch the chunky wooden garden furniture and bring the midcentury vibe outside. This simple cane sofa, with elegant lines and a natural feel, looks perfect indoors or out.
Explore a selection of stylish garden furniture
Use art as an accent
The midcentury period was a time of artistic experiment, but you don’t need to save up for a Pollock or a Lichtenstein to bring a hint of its colour and style to your home. Just choose a bold abstract print and hang it against a simple white wall.
TELL US...
Are you a fan of midcentury style? How do you incorporate it in your home? Share your tips in the Comments below.
The midcentury period was a time of artistic experiment, but you don’t need to save up for a Pollock or a Lichtenstein to bring a hint of its colour and style to your home. Just choose a bold abstract print and hang it against a simple white wall.
TELL US...
Are you a fan of midcentury style? How do you incorporate it in your home? Share your tips in the Comments below.
The midcentury palette is drawn straight from nature. Think mossy greens and soft sky blues, punctuated with accents of egg-yolk yellow. These shades are beautifully in harmony with the wood that features in any room of a midcentury-inspired home.