Decorating Guides
Decorating Styles
Your Guide to Midcentury Style
Find out what elements and colors to use to get the midcentury modern look in any room
Whether you’re working with a designer to bring your project to life or decorating on your own, it’s easier to get started when you have a clear sense of your favorite style. If you love clean lines, graphic patterns and iconic furniture by designers like Charles and Ray Eames and Isamu Noguchi, midcentury modern style may be right up your decorating alley. Read on for the need-to-know details about this popular style, including key elements, color palettes, furniture and accessories.
Also in this series: Your Guide to Contemporary Style
Also in this series: Your Guide to Contemporary Style
Midcentury style is:
- Simple. Clean, open and uncluttered, this look is about simplified designs and good flow.
- Graphic. Patterns and shapes are inspired by the graphic arts and typography, incorporating geometric shapes and bold lines.
- Organic. Smooth curves and egg-like shapes are inspired by the natural world.
Midcentury style is not:
- Ornamented. A reaction against heavily ornamented traditional styles, this look embraces simplicity of form.
- Cluttered. Furniture is chosen with care, and accessories are kept to a minimum for a clean, spacious look.
- Trendy. Unlike contemporary style, which taps into up-to-the-minute changes in the design world, midcentury modern design feels more securely rooted.
Key Element: Natural Wood
Natural wood provides a grounding, warming element in midcentury modern spaces. Think of wall paneling, wood floors and furniture featuring beautiful natural wood. As this room from Jessica Helgerson Interior Design illustrates, wood offers a welcome counterpoint to the sleek shapes and clean lines of midcentury-style decor.
Natural wood provides a grounding, warming element in midcentury modern spaces. Think of wall paneling, wood floors and furniture featuring beautiful natural wood. As this room from Jessica Helgerson Interior Design illustrates, wood offers a welcome counterpoint to the sleek shapes and clean lines of midcentury-style decor.
Key Element: Color
Color plays an important role in midcentury modern spaces. These rooms draw inspiration from the iconic color palettes of midcentury designers — think of muted brights like tomato red, aqua blue and warm yellow. When combined with expanses of palate-cleansing white and natural wood, these hues add personality without overwhelming a space.
Great shades for midcentury modern spaces:
Color plays an important role in midcentury modern spaces. These rooms draw inspiration from the iconic color palettes of midcentury designers — think of muted brights like tomato red, aqua blue and warm yellow. When combined with expanses of palate-cleansing white and natural wood, these hues add personality without overwhelming a space.
Great shades for midcentury modern spaces:
- Neutrals. White, oatmeal, taupe, walnut
- Muted brights. Tomato red, aqua, teal, chartreuse, warm yellow
- Pastels. Misty blue, pale mint, light rose
Key Element: Iconic Designs
Classic pieces designed by midcentury greats including Eero Saarinen, George Nelson, Charles and Ray Eames, and Hans Wegner are still being produced today. Incorporating a few iconic pieces — like the Eames Shell chairs, Saarinen Tulip table and Nelson Saucer pendant light shown in this space by Quinn Morgan Design — is sure to elevate your midcentury modern-style space.
Shop for midcentury-style furniture on Houzz
Classic pieces designed by midcentury greats including Eero Saarinen, George Nelson, Charles and Ray Eames, and Hans Wegner are still being produced today. Incorporating a few iconic pieces — like the Eames Shell chairs, Saarinen Tulip table and Nelson Saucer pendant light shown in this space by Quinn Morgan Design — is sure to elevate your midcentury modern-style space.
Shop for midcentury-style furniture on Houzz
Finishing Touches: A Pop of Color
Midcentury modern style has perfected the color pop, and one fun place this shows up is in accessories. When it comes to these finishing touches, less is more, so choose carefully and display with confidence.
Accents for midcentury modern spaces:
Midcentury modern style has perfected the color pop, and one fun place this shows up is in accessories. When it comes to these finishing touches, less is more, so choose carefully and display with confidence.
Accents for midcentury modern spaces:
- Rugs with graphic patterns
- Midcentury-style illustrations and typography
- Wallpaper or grasscloth wallcovering
- Sculptural pottery
- Statement-making pendant lights
- Plants in midcentury modern plant stands
Midcentury Modern Kitchen Design
Clean but not starkly minimalist, midcentury modern kitchens often incorporate a touch of warm wood and a burst of color or pattern. Horizontal lines are a strong element, but there is often a smooth curve in the form of lighting, stools or pottery for balance. This look walks the line between crisp and comfortable, and it can be a good choice for couples with differing design tastes.
Find a kitchen and bath designer on Houzz
Clean but not starkly minimalist, midcentury modern kitchens often incorporate a touch of warm wood and a burst of color or pattern. Horizontal lines are a strong element, but there is often a smooth curve in the form of lighting, stools or pottery for balance. This look walks the line between crisp and comfortable, and it can be a good choice for couples with differing design tastes.
Find a kitchen and bath designer on Houzz
Features of midcentury-style kitchens:
- Slab cabinets with simple hardware. No excess embellishments here. Hardware can be integrated into the cabinet, linear pulls or other streamlined designs.
- Horizontal lines. Long, wide lines, horizontally set hardware and rectilinear tile are common features.
- Natural wood. Flooring, wall paneling, cabinetry and other wood accents bring warmth to a midcentury modern kitchen.
- Tactile materials. In addition to the usual wood, stone and stainless steel, you may see cork, concrete, linoleum and laminate.
- Midcentury-style accents. Bar stools, lighting and accessories often have an iconic or handmade feel.
Midcentury Modern Bathroom Design
Many of the features that give midcentury modern kitchens their warm simplicity work well in the bathroom too. Consider a wood vanity, graphic tiles, glass shower panels and midcentury lighting. Details are simple but just-right, like minimally framed mirrors and built-in niches.
Your turn: Are you a fan of midcentury style? Describe or show us your favorite midcentury-style space in the Comments!
More on Houzz
Read stories about midcentury homes
Browse photos of midcentury modern spaces for inspiration
Find a designer to get your project started
Shop for products
Many of the features that give midcentury modern kitchens their warm simplicity work well in the bathroom too. Consider a wood vanity, graphic tiles, glass shower panels and midcentury lighting. Details are simple but just-right, like minimally framed mirrors and built-in niches.
Your turn: Are you a fan of midcentury style? Describe or show us your favorite midcentury-style space in the Comments!
More on Houzz
Read stories about midcentury homes
Browse photos of midcentury modern spaces for inspiration
Find a designer to get your project started
Shop for products
Midcentury style has its roots in the middle of the 20th century, from the mid-1940s to about 1970 — but that doesn’t mean today’s midcentury modern style has to feel like a period piece. With an emphasis on strong shapes, clean lines and the graphic arts, midcentury style nods to the past while maintaining relevance to today’s world.
Roots of Style: Midcentury Modern Design