How to Get Midcentury Modern Style Today
Use the building blocks of midcentury modern design to create a new version for your own life and style
Midcentury modern style has only continued to gain fans in recent years, and the trend shows no signs of slowing anytime soon. If you are drawn to midcentury style and would love to know more about it, this ideabook can help. Here we’ll cover a brief history of the style, touch on key designers and finish with some tips on shopping for vintage or reproduction pieces.
Materials: Some breakthroughs in design happened during this era — Charles and Ray Eames produced the first molded plywood chairs and the first molded fiberglass chairs, which allowed ergonomic shapes like never before. Engineered, high-tech materials like fiberglass, Bakelite, Plexiglas and Lucite were used alongside warm, natural woods, like teak, walnut and rosewood.
Color palette: Colors tend to be bright and optimistic: pure red, yellow, blue, green or pink. Although color provides the pop, the palette is usually tempered by plenty of natural wood and white.
Clock: George Nelson; dining chairs: Eames Molded Plywood Lounge Chair; chair in foreground: Risom Lounge Chair; bench: Nelson Platform Bench
Modern Icons: George Nelson Clocks
Color palette: Colors tend to be bright and optimistic: pure red, yellow, blue, green or pink. Although color provides the pop, the palette is usually tempered by plenty of natural wood and white.
Clock: George Nelson; dining chairs: Eames Molded Plywood Lounge Chair; chair in foreground: Risom Lounge Chair; bench: Nelson Platform Bench
Modern Icons: George Nelson Clocks
Key midcentury modern designers to know:
- Ray and Charles Eames (shown): American. Key pieces include the molded plywood chair, Shell Chair, lounge chair and elliptical table. The Eames name has become almost synonymous with midcentury design.
- Isamu Noguchi: Japanese American. Key pieces: the iconic glass and wood Noguchi coffee table and handmade Japanese paper lamps.
- Jens Risom: Danish born, Risom immigrated to the U.S. in 1939 to study design. Key piece: the Risom Lounge Chair, which was originally had surplus parachute straps used as webbing.
- George Nelson: American. Key pieces: Platform Bench, Ball Clock, Eye Clock, Coconut Chair, pendant lamps.
- Eero Saarinen: Born in Finland, Saarinen immigrated to the U.S. in 1923 with his architect father and textile designer mother. Key pieces include the Tulip Chair, Tulip Table, and Womb Chair.
- Hans Wegner: Danish. Key pieces: the Wishbone Chair and the Wing Chair.
- Arne Jacobsen: Danish. Key pieces: the Ant Chair, Swan Chair, Swan Sofa, AJ Lamp and Egg Chair.
Buying Midcentury Modern Furniture Now
You basically have three options when it comes to buying midcentury-modern-style furniture: buy original vintage pieces, buy new designer pieces or buy current pieces inspired by the midcentury aesthetic. Let’s explore the options.
1. Hunt down vintage (original) pieces. This can be a surprisingly affordable way to build up a nice collection of midcentury furniture. Since many iconic pieces have remained in production continuously since the day they were designed (see No. 2, next), the period originals do not cost as much as you might expect. There are exceptions, of course, but if you want the real deal, vintage is a great way to get a designer piece often at a lower price.
You basically have three options when it comes to buying midcentury-modern-style furniture: buy original vintage pieces, buy new designer pieces or buy current pieces inspired by the midcentury aesthetic. Let’s explore the options.
1. Hunt down vintage (original) pieces. This can be a surprisingly affordable way to build up a nice collection of midcentury furniture. Since many iconic pieces have remained in production continuously since the day they were designed (see No. 2, next), the period originals do not cost as much as you might expect. There are exceptions, of course, but if you want the real deal, vintage is a great way to get a designer piece often at a lower price.
Embracing midcentury modern style today. Instead of trying to re-create a midcentury home exactly, today’s take on midcentury modern style is open to interpretation. Don’t be afraid to mix in a few iconic midcentury pieces with those in other styles you love, or to revive vintage midcentury finds with new textiles.
When the now-iconic midcentury pieces were first created, they were designed in response to the way people lived — it makes sense to allow yourself to use them in a way that works for your life now.
Tell us: Are you a fan of midcentury modern style? Share your favorite designer or iconic piece in the Comments!
More:
Roots of Style: Midcentury Modern Design
Why We Love Midcentury Modern Design
So Your Style Is: Midcentury Modern
Tell us: Are you a fan of midcentury modern style? Share your favorite designer or iconic piece in the Comments!
More:
Roots of Style: Midcentury Modern Design
Why We Love Midcentury Modern Design
So Your Style Is: Midcentury Modern
The look: The furniture is clean-lined, with smooth curves and crisp geometric forms. This era was the age of jet travel and the race to the moon, and designers were experimenting with new materials and technologies. Ample natural wood balanced out the new and high-tech innovations, and spaces were designed for indoor-outdoor living, in line with modern lifestyles.
Take photo tours of midcentury homes on Houzz