Mid Century Style: characteristics

If there’s a decorating style that never goes out of fashion, it’s minimalism. But we’ve already talked about that trend, so today we want to bring another ‘classic’ of interior design: the Mid Century style. Although it may sound somewhat outdated, one shouldn’t be misled, as it’s one of the most avant-garde , innovative, and desired aesthetics of all.

It is capable of integrating different decorative styles and techniques into a single ensemble, making it possible to achieve it in many ways, ensuring it always remains timeless. Nowadays, in addition to its style, it is present in many homes and spaces because its incredible functionality has been discovered. If you still don’t know this technique, don’t worry, because we have gathered the fundamental steps that characterize it so that you can apply it in your spaces. Let’s get started!

Characteristics of Mid Century

In addition to integrating nature into furniture and decor, the Mid Century style advocates for functionality (this will sound familiar if you’ve read about Scandinavian minimalism, which draws from this type of interior design). Hence, it has been a style constantly revived throughout history, becoming a highly recognizable and sought-after type of interior design, especially today. Now that the pandemic has shown us that our homes can be ‘many things at once’ (turning the living room into a gym or an office, for example), we seek furniture that allows us to change the layout of spaces or serve different purposes.

One of the points that will always have to be on our list if we want to have this style at home is simplicity, the rejection of any type of excessive decoration. The beauty of simplicity is sought after. Let’s not forget that the visual reference are those soldiers’ houses, which had to be built quickly and without much attention to detail. Their appearance was neat and they only had one floor, albeit with huge windows and open floor plans.

The foundations of Mid Century

Although we briefly mentioned some key points of this style in the previous section, it’s necessary to delve deeper into the trend to understand it. We must be aware that it arises in a time of profound changes. The end of the war and the migration of thousands of people to large urban areas made it necessary for habitable spaces to reduce their size, which of course influenced their design.

One of the most interesting curiosities of the Mid Century style is that it has adapted very well over time; from the mid-20th century, when it was born, to today, it continues to evolve to adapt to the trends of each season. As a new era or advance appeared, along with new needs, it was perfectly capable of adapting to continue maintaining its essence while at the same time changing what was becoming more obsolete.

Perhaps this astonishing adaptability is due to the fact that, essentially, this trend is simple and uncluttered, so there are no very striking or distinctive elements. So, what characterizes Mid Century style? Let’s look at its main foundations:

Colors and Textiles

This style employs a palette of neutral colors (white, gray, beige…) as a base, to which touches of color can be added, always within earth tones. As you can see, not even the colors are particularly striking; rather, they seem to try to blend in. If we want to add a stronger color, it’s usually done in small amounts (the most popular being shades of orange or yellow).

mid century style

Furniture

As we’ve briefly mentioned, this style stands out by not standing out at all; simplicity and functionality are its most powerful tools when it comes to attracting attention as a decorative style. It doesn’t even bother to make things complicated; instead, it aims and strives for furniture to be as natural as possible. In terms of its shape, horizontal and fluidity must be ensured, hence they often feature clean lines and straight strokes.

Any kind of overloaded patterns are avoided (which is why geometry is often used, as we’ll see later) in favor of straight lines and clean finishes. Together with the color palette used, the style overall conveys harmony and beauty within its simplicity. We mustn’t lose sight of the reasons behind the birth of this style, so the industrial influence, which ensures every piece of furniture has a function, will also always be very present.

Geometric Patterns

Since the Mid Century style avoids any kind of overloaded or exaggerated patterns, it often employs geometric figures in its decoration (furniture, wallpaper, upholstery, painting, etc.) when necessary. This choice is not random: geometric patterns were very popular in the mid-century. However, we don’t recommend using them indiscriminately or excessively, as even though they are not very flashy, they can still saturate the space, something that Mid Century style completely avoids.

Materials

The most commonly used materials, influenced by the industrial era in which the style was born, are predominantly metals such as brass, especially in lamps and other objects in the rooms. It brings a very retro aesthetic, creating an attractive and vintage focal point.

However, the clear protagonist, when it comes to materials, is wood. Keep in mind that there’s always a desire for a connection with nature, so what better material to evoke nature than wood?

mid century style

Space

The importance of the exterior, even when decorating an interior, is overwhelming: natural light is always sought to be present in the rooms, and the view outside the home is always visible. Gardens are often integrated into the living room or dining room, eliminating the division between ‘inside and outside’. This also blurs the lines between spaces.

Remember that light will always be the best form of decoration for the Mid Century style, as it brings life to the space and allows for a better view of the exterior. Give it the importance it deserves and avoid using very opaque or heavy curtains; nature is also part of interior design.

Exposed Structure

Simplicity taken to the extreme: no decoration is decoration. Often, we find that walls are left with exposed brick, wooden beams are left visible, and metal pillars are used as decoration themselves. For Mid Century, the architecture and structure of the building are considered beautiful and do not need to be hidden. This aspect of the trend has actually carved out its own niche, and nowadays many people choose not to cover up beams or internal structures. As you can see, we owe a lot to the architecture and designs of that era.

mid century style

What is Mid Century Style?

If you haven’t yet placed this type of interior decoration, we’ll give you a reference point: the Mad Men series (2015) is the best representation of this style, if not the standard-bearer that opened the door to the return of this trend. However, this style has been around for a long time, specifically since the 1950s to 1970s.

Its mid-20th-century inspiration gives it the name Mid Century. It is based on the architectural designs of the homes created after World War II, a dark period that people wanted to forget. That’s why these constructions place a lot of importance on natural light and bringing the outside, nature, into our homes. The need to accommodate thousands of soldiers, and their families, returning from the war, created a trend for these houses to be primarily organized in modules.

It was hugely successful in Scandinavian countries, where there was a growing emphasis on technological, functional, and economical design. In fact, we can find many references of Mid Century style in Scandinavian or Nordic design. But not only in Northern Europe, for decades this trend was in vogue and in the spotlight of most designers, as it focused on naturalness, one of the main ideas of this trend.

Manuel Torres Design

Are you ready to give your home a change of perspective? Are you looking for simplicity and functionality? Mid Century style might be what you’re looking for. However, we’re aware that completely changing the decoration of your home and choosing the right one isn’t an easy task. That’s where we come in: at Manuel Torres Design, we carry out your project by anticipating your needs and offering you the best result. Our way of working is based on maximizing space, always paying attention to the smallest detail.

We offer comprehensive service with the highest quality, maximizing available resources and minimizing time in project execution. If you have any doubts about the style you prefer or don’t know where to take the interior design of your home, you can contact us. Our team will assist you at all times so that, together, we can find your ideal space, tailored to your style and needs.

The images used in this post do not belong to Manuel Torres Design, unless otherwise indicated. Credits for these images belong to other companies, photographers, and professionals. We appreciate their contribution in inspiring our content and recognise their work.

Characteristics of Mid Century