If you have scrolled through Pinterest or browsed interior design blogs recently, then you most likely came across the term “mid-century modern interior“ more times than you can count. But what does that mean, and more importantly, how do you bring this timeless yet trendy style into your home?
Now, let’s leap into the fantastic land of mid-century modern design. We are going to cover all the key elements, from mid-century modern furniture up to the beauty of natural hues in colour to the concept of open living spaces, among others. By the end of this guide, you should be well-prepared to confidently turn your home into your comfort zone.
What Is Mid-Century Modern Interior Design?
As would be expected, the first question has to be: What is mid-century modern?
In other words, mid-century modern design is that movement that picked up between the mid-1940s and the late 1960s. These are clean lines, functional furniture, and minimalism in the approach of presenting simplicity as elegance. Concentrate on both the form and function for a timeless appeal with fresh cuts and contemporary trends.
Picture an apartment with minimalist wooden chairs, a low-profile sofa, and subtle sprinkles of colour. Everything in here is light, airy, and, above all, clutter-free. Kind of neat, huh?
But before you call up that friend who’s into interior design to redo your whole home, let’s break down the essential elements that make mid-century modern interior design—well, mid-century modern.
The Essentials of Mid-Century Modern Design
1. Clean, Sleek Lines
Probably more than anything else, clean, sleek lines characterise mid-century modern furniture. Just think about tables with tapered legs, chairs with arched backs, and sideboards with sharp edges—all that stands for geometry and simplicity.
Unlike the heavy, bulky furniture, which was very popular before the emergence of this style, mid-century modern furniture is designed such that it will not occupy too much room, which makes it appropriately sized for today’s homes, where so many of us are making an effort to have an open-and-open feel.
2. Natural Materials
This mid-century modern trend uses a lot of natural materials. Most of all, it is about wood: teak, walnut, oak, rosewood—each of the common materials in that time gives them a warm and full-of-life look.
Add this flair to your home by beginning with furniture that centres around these natural materials. A walnut dining table or a teak coffee table just might set the centrepieces for your living room—or even your kitchen.
3. A Natural Colour Palette
The word ‘natural’ comes to mind, and yes, the interior colour palette for mid-century modern does warm up with earthy tones. In your mind’s eye, think along the lines of warm wood finishes, olive greens, mustard yellows, and soft browns. Such tones will create for you that feeling of quiet, earthly serenity in the home.
Mix all those earth tones with whites and greys to keep fresh and contemporary, sprinkled with vibrant hues in a pop like turquoise or orange. Same, but balance—it’s supposed to be the point of having a room that’s in balance versus overwhelming.
4. Open Concept Living Spaces
The mid-century modernism plan creates flow in the house and is, therefore, very effective with open concept living spaces. This mainly deals with breaking barriers down, quite literally between rooms, to allow light and air to flow through and hence make your space airy, and thus small homes appear big and bright.
If you are that lucky to have an open-space design, make the most of it! It is possible to use mid-century modern furniture pieces in such a way that zones around the space are created but still maintain that general flow of design. For example, a low-profile sofa serves as a non-disturbing kind of divider between the living area and the dining space. There is no visual barrier whatsoever.
5. Form meets function
Third, and by no choice, mid-century modern interiordesign hones the balance between form and function. Each article within a mid-century modern home should serve some function and not be included for ornamentation’s sake. But fear not—your space will not be bare, bleakly unadorned, but purposefully composed, wherein every piece adds to the finished aesthetic or function of the space.
Take the Eames lounge chair, for example. Not only is it beautiful, but it’s fantastically comfortable, too, and really functional—really, it epitomises the mantra “form meets function” that defines mid-century modern design in so many ways.
How to Bring Mid-Century Modern Style into Your Home
So, so good. So, let’s talk about how you can bring that into your home in terms of mid-century modern interior design.
You don’t need to make every room over. Even the tiniest of changes can make a huge impact. Here’s a few simple steps to get you going:
1. Begin with a showstopper.
If you can’t commit totally to mid-century modern, at least start with one statement piece of mid-century modern furniture in your space. That could be an armchair, a screamingly vintage-inspired coffee table, or perhaps a minimalist sideboard.
A great piece will instantly dress up a room and even will have that retro-chic appeal. You can work your way around an excellent chaise lounge, for instance, and just in-fill with other great mid-century modern design pieces.
2. Adopt a Nature-Inspired Colour Scheme
Change of palette—one of the refreshing ways for rooms. As indicated by the above discussion, a foundation for earthy tones generally constitutes the major base of natural colour palettes, starting with olive, mustard, and burnt orange. Paint an accent wall or change your throw pillows and rugs with something in those natural tones.
Alternatively, you could upholstery a chair or sofa in bold and vibrant shades of teal or even mustard yellow if you feel adventurous, and this indeed gives the room that period look.
3. Open Up Your Space
Although one can always tinker with an open concept that may even include knocking in a wall to create an open plan, it is time. Open concept living spaces are almost a staple of mid-century modern houses, where the full notion of flowing from one area to another is realised.
Of course, that can’t occur if your floor plan doesn’t necessitate it, but you can make the illusion in your home if you’re not an open concept. Use light and airy furniture, trying to stick to a uniform colour palette throughout your home. That would lend continuity, and even though your rooms are separate, it would make them appear more connected.
4. Functional, Stylish Accessories
This will be a good medium through which to introduce mid-century modern interiordesign into your home. Use it with geometric prints, brass or copper lighting fixtures, and simple ceramic vases. You want to look for those meaningful yet functional pieces, as this always echoes the aspect of form meeting function.
And what’s a space without a bit of greenery, anyway?! Little green brings a bit of the outside in—a basic principle behind the natural colour palette and material brought indoors in mid-century modern interior design.
Why mid-century modern should you use?
You may wonder, “Why mid-century modern? Why should I choose that over anything else?”
The first one is that it appeals and lasts throughout the year. Indeed, though the artwork emanated from a certain period in time, mid-century modern interior has truly proven adaptable and long-lasting design. It will complement much of the houses that can easily keep your space fresh and current with the simple upgrading of a little contemporary item now and then.
It’s about minimalism and functionality. In the war of stuff that surrounds us, mid-century modern interiors are a cool breath of fresh air. They force us to strip down to the bare essentials, to focus on what is necessary, and to have, thus, such a serene, harmonious, and meaningful living space.
Conclusion: Bringing Mid-Century Modern to Life with Oraanj Interior Design
So, the idea, if you are all in, whether you’re embarking on the whole shebang home renovation or just want to get your toe wet by dipping into the mid-century modern pool, is basically the same. It’s about starting from the basics and going up from there: sleek furniture pieces, lots of natural materials, an open, airy layout—things that really mean it wouldn’t be just pleasing but practical too.
Maybe all you need is to have faith that it will finally happen; well, if it does, then please don’t keep things waiting and get across to the professionals working at Oraanj Interior Design. Passionate about working with you to create the ultimate mid-century modern interior for you, designed precisely to your taste and space, ready to get started? Contact us today for consultation, and we’ll bring your dream home to life!
