The obsession with mid-century furniture design, explained

If you’ve gone to a furniture store recently, you have probably come in contact with mid-century modern furniture, even if you don’t really know what that is. Furniture inspired by the designs from the 1950s is everywhere today. So why has mid-century design been so popular for so long? Krista Hessey explains.
Some prominent mid-century designers: Charles and Ray Eames, Eero Saarinen, Isamu Noguchi, George Nelson, Harry Bertoia, Florence Knoll, Arne Jacobsen, Eileen Gray, George Nakashima, Alvar Aalto.
Today, shops like West Elm, CB2 and IKEA are full of mid-century-inspired pieces but there’s still a huge re-seller market too.
Scroll through Pinterest or Instagram and you’ll find thousands of posts tagged #MidCenturyModern.
The term is now a marketing tactic ubiquitous with modern style.
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[@bob15479]

It's because it was actually good design. Houses in the 50's-70's were actually DESIGNED. They were not made to make the buyer feel they were getting a mcmansion.

[@Nicoya]

Except most MCM furniture was incredibly cheaply made. Veneer on plywood if you were lucky, particle board if you weren’t. Lots of plastic and Formica, cheap secondary woods stained to look like they matched the walnut veneers, just screws and stamped brackets instead of solid joinery. It was the interior design equivalent of McMansioning.

[@Doomsterlobster]

@@Nicoya Exactly, and it has to do with post-war scarcity on the one hand, and a new idea of democratising design on the other, which inspires new, cheaper materials and processes. So that you can just buy something new, modern and functional (that, most importantly, fits the new, smaller apartments built during post-war reconstruction, at least in Europe, where kitchens start being built-in and you no longer have the space or need for a full set of dining room furniture etc.), instead of cherishing the inherited pieces your grandparents had made for their drawing room. It's fascinating to look at interior design literature from that period, and see the outright hostility towards inherited, traditional furniture. It's a far cry from the arts & crafts and jugendstil/art nouveau emphasis on natural materials and woodworking. Of course, if you look at actual homes from the 50s or so, they likely won't be as "mid-century modern" as many homes nowadays. They may have a piece here and another there, but just as likely they'll have a set of newish, factory-made rococo dining room chairs, an inherited biedermeier armchair and coffee table, etc. People didn't just swap out their entire decor when a new style came into fashion, and many weren't fans of it to begin with.

[@bluedancelilly]

Actually modern chairs are very uncomfortable. Hard plastic? Nah.

[@bluedancelilly]

@Susan Fudge I agree. The older Craftsman era of the 1900-1920s had a great of beautiful design. Thus the name. I'd take a 1920s house over a 1950s house ANYDAY!

[@NaturallyGifted77]

So true!

[@shedoesconcerts5762]

I think the biggest reason is that Millenials came into adulthood famously indebted and impoverished. Our elders' midcentury cast-offs were easily accessible in thrift stores and as hand-me-downs in the family. My bedroom set is from the 1950s. I love it, but there's no question that I have it because it was inexpensive in the 90s when my parents bought it from an estate sale and I still use it because the expense of replacing it would be obscene. And frankly, I like the design. Always have. There's no question the design is good... But I think the main reason it resonates with our generation is that it was what was available to us.

[@Gina231329]

shedoes concerts It’s so nice to hear when someone appreciates things and doesn’t get rid of perfectly good stuff just because it isn’t trendy. Like people who rip out perfectly good bathrooms and kitchens just because they’re 5+ years old and not the latest craze on HGTV. It’s a waste of money and resources not to mention perfectly good materials going into the landfill. The only time things should be replaced is when they are worn down or broken but somehow it’s become perfectly acceptable to throw away good materials and destroy someone’s craftmanship.

[@booksb3983]

Mid century is not cheap. Have you ever been to a West Elm store? It's over priced ugly furniture.

[@JunoYellowfox]

Yes I was seeing it at thrift stores and they could not give away the furniture. Why is it popular, poverty. Mid-century modern anything jammed thrift stores. Seems like it trended and suddenly it's popular 🤦🏻‍♀️. Literally you could get something at goodwill and then turn around and make a small fortune on eBay

[@aj_inspace2043]

I got a perfect condition mid century dining set for $110 you just gotta live in a rural area

[@Print229]

It also fits well with the 1970s houses which tend to be cheaper starter homes now.

[@abilea4081]

Short answer: it's versatile, can be done in any price range and never goes out of fashion

[@LeahLaushway]

As a child who grew up in the '80s, I assure you, MCM went out of style.

[@paulbundy9061]

Other than my Great Grandmother’s kitchen table and chairs from Haywood-Wakefield, mid-century was de trop in our family, preferred for what was, and is, considered stodgy by mainstream fashion- spool beds and fall-front desks, drop leaf tables and marble topped buffets, painted ‘fancy’ chairs by the dozen, braided rugs, and clocks that chimed the hour mechanically. It was heavenly, and thankfully most of that is much cheaper than mid century, so I can furnish my own home well and inexpensively.

[@decfairlight3228]

@@paulbundy9061 Ok but four words: "eames 607" and "maria flap"

[@paulbundy9061]

@@decfairlight3228 Beautiful pieces yes, but not my own personal taste

[@decfairlight3228]

@@paulbundy9061 And that's fair but they're also great bits of design that are very usable. Maria flap in particular is small enough to tuck into a closet or some other space in an apartment while also being able to expand big enough to host thanksgiving and all without having to keep track of and store leaves.

[@pdcichosz]

Although I personally find the style timeless and have a few items from the era at home, one has to admit the current popularity and ubiquity is a fad. I've once read that each generation rejects the aesthetics of their parents and embraces the aesthetics of the grandparents and this seems very true. The original furniture from that era is built to last and very well designed, but you can already see an interest in the 80s.

[@ah5721]

the 80's as an era was totally ugly in all styles of fashion, hair and interior design, closely followed by the 90's

[@pdcichosz]

@@ah5721 I could not agree more. Which does not change the fact that it's getting traction.

[@L0veepanicc]

my dad born in 1960 filled his home with midcentury design and now that im 26 and have more spending power im all about this style!

[@mar7268]

My parents were born in the 70s and growing up my parents decorated their house with colonial type style and I loved it honestly felt exotic! Might try to incorporate that type of style in my future home

[@notbill08]

Amanda H: you are right except for maybe one thing: Kitchens! I had a Country Kitchen (late 1980’s-1990’s) that I loved!

[@cameroncieglo7467]

Worth a mention in this video... During WWII, a lot of materials were rationed for the war, so they weren't really available anymore for basic consumer uses. Materials rarely, previously used, like plastics and aluminum became readily available and designers decided to build furniture with it as well.

[@oltedders]

As well as building houses with materials and techniques used for the war effort.

[@sharksport01]

Fiberglass!

[@pyewackett5]

Only Britain was impoverished after the war. Us Brits only stopped paying for the yanks' contribution when that war criminal tony blair was prime minister. But we had Basil Spence & Ernest Race & later Robin Day. Scandinavian design is still more expensive than american. I know. I chase original pieces

[@gabriellecarlson6812]

How about this: many living spaces are small. The overstuffed oversized furniture popular in the recent past cannot fit neatly into our homes.

[@klear19634]

U can really tell somebody's style and priorities by the size of their couch

[@oltedders]

Into your 450 sq ft, 1 bedroom apartment?

[@oltedders]

@@klear19634 And if it also doubles as their bed.

[@tracymonroe6001]

Everybody has those giant Costco leather modular couches. Ugh!

[@LucasFernandez-fk8se]

Gabrielle Carlson the average suburban home is now 2400 sqft. The highest in American history. We can and do still have massive sectionals in our McMansions.

[@vkuscak]

To a large extent, I think the obsession is caused by the fact, that we still associate mid-century modern with something futuristic. It is a flashback of future once promised but never actually achieved. Failing to fulfill the visions of flying cars and space-travel, this is our way how to fill in that void. A way how to at least partially relive the future that never happened.

[@ken2kozy]

this interpretation is really good! 😭

[@aaronjones818]

This is the Mark Fischer interpretation I think.I agree though just the ornaments of an unrealized future

[@peace_larva]

retrofuturism

[@user-qb3bw4lu4e]

It also sound like a mid life crisis definition 😅

[@quonzelle]

modern day “mid century modern” is kinda Scandinavian minimalist

[@willowboughs5111]

This is super true 🙌🙌🙌

[@helveeta]

I live in Sweden (I'm an American tho) and you can find DOPE stuff from the 60s in thrift stores. It's CHEAP and not that popular here because it reminds younger people of their grandparent's stuff. Good for me!

[@heikorudi6105]

No. Skandinavian Design uses mid century modern pieces

[@simeonzanechambers2430]

Agreed, I lived there for a few years. Beautiful designs

[@andypanda9251]

helveeta sooo lucky. You should sell online for profit hey hey

[@redsharpiemarker]

midcentury can be characterized as high art in that it feels timeless and is aesthetically pleasing regardless of context and social trends. this is rare for cutting edge, futuristic designs which generally attain popularity just for being 'different' and rebelling against current norms (ie. think 'statement' pieces) rather than for being objectively pleasing.

[@robertf6409]

well said

[@purplemonsterMOOO]

this looks like a VOX video

[@kenshii7404]

Mahtab Alam that's what i said

[@hcd621]

But without the liberal bias

[@bowloflinguinepasta4404]

exactly! Got confused, since they put ,explained at the end too

[@beelzemobabbity]

I only realized it wasn’t when I read this comment..

[@beelzemobabbity]

Holly Dent well, they have different topics.

[@stephaniehouse4619]

I just want my house to look like a home in Disney's The Incredibles.

[@thesparks00]

Yes!

[@melissad1080]

Well described

[@nnaheim.]

Without the sexual references though

[@chronometa]

I like this style mixed with industrial.

[@RitaFindsDoesTrys]

EA R meeee tooo

[@tamiwithani]

I like it mixed with southwestern usa style (basically Mexico style...brightcolours 'boho')

[@hosank]

Industrial aesthetic got so overused so quickly that it became a pastiche of itself within like 5 years.

[@PM-tc6sl]

@@tamiwithani Oh great, another white person who thinks "Mexico style" is cool but has never been.🙄

[@tomasck2973]

@@PM-tc6sl take a chill pill, please

[@brickboss5232]

Honestly today mid century since anything like American mid century of the 1950s it’s more danish modern by the wood color they use

[@AmandaDavis6130]

Brickboss I smell the influence of IKEA. It smells of inexpensive furniture and meatballs.

[@VictorAFP]

@@AmandaDavis6130 I mean not really. Some of the designs featured in the video are even by Scandinavians, like Arne Jacobsen, a famous Danish architect. Scandinavian design has been trendy forever and still is.

[@windsofmarchjourneyperrytr2823]

@@AmandaDavis6130 The Heywood Wakefield stuff is all solid, light wood (maple?) And pre-dates Ikea, which is a fun, innovative store in many ways. But there's also a lot of cheap crap there. And I didn't have to disassemble or put together my Wakefield table :) Harder than you think... It was cheaper for a very thick MDF desk than for a Wakefield, tho...

[@QuiqueSaldivar]

I remember not liking these kind of furniture as it reminded me my grandmas house ( obviously with lots of all-over-the-place furniture/decoration styles ). Now that I own a house I am inclined for this kind of look as it looks timeless and elegant.

[@AmandaDavis6130]

Enrique Saldivar placement and pattern have a huge influence on that. Like today you tend to see such pieces in more minimalist settings and colors, as opposed to the “let’s get a big house and pack it with this stuff” style my gran always had when I was little.

[@KarlSnarks]

@@AmandaDavis6130 Agree, placement and decoration/styling is just as much a contributing factor as the actual furniture. For instance a mid-century chair would instantly look granny-ish if you put one of those knitted, laced pieces of cloth on the back cushion (sorry can't think of the name for it)

[@TiberianFiend]

My great-grandparents had mostly mid-century colonial revival furniture, but they had a few modern pieces, and I'm using their MCM coffee table in my apartment now.

[@AmandaDavis6130]

somethingsomething thingy a doily? I think technically a doily is a flat thing that goes on a table or stand, under a lamp or a fancy dessert, but my gran had a few larger ones that decorated her sofa and chairs.

[@kathryngehrke3922]

My mother was a decorator and artist. Growing up we had a house full of mcm furniture. My dad was a builder and they would go to LA to furniture shows and buy Eeames furniture, tables, chairs, and lamps. George Nakishima is a favorite also. I loved the classic mid century homes my dad built and mother decorated.

[@kathryngehrke3922]

💺💺💺💺💺💺💺🐈

[@crownandbrim9261]

The guy on the sofa hit the nail on the head. For many, it’s nostalgia for their past. For others, it’s nostalgia for a kinder gentler time in which they wish they had grown up. And of course, design.

[@windsofmarchjourneyperrytr2823]

I see it like the film Sing Street. Poor Irish kids making a band in the 80s. So basically the writer said the movie was his DREAM of his real life...it wasn't exactly like that. If for no other reason than poor Irish kids wouldn't have a Simmons original electronic hexagon drum kit. Because it was probably $4,000+ BACK THEN, lol.

[@optnal9354]

Thank you! You took it right out of my heart

[@cassieclover99]

that's literally exactly it💖 I've been obsessed with 60s/70s designs lately and I've finally come to the realization that it's probably because it reminds me of my great grandma's house. Where growing up, I had some of my BEST memories. It's a nostalgic thing.

[@itsabovemenow1016]

I ve been transforming my ground floor rooms to mid century design piece by piece. I’m a healthy 67. My family and I actually lived in these times. We had the starburst clocks, the big blocky console TV/stereos, the chairs we thought were so futuristic. I’m going to retire soon. Going mid century is like going back home. I’m very skilled with tech. I don’t shun it. The world outside can move along (and I with it) but inside my house I’m relaxing in 1964.

[@Person-mh6xq]

Love it! Nostalgic and home-like for you 👍

[@lemonlover6559]

My favorite, back in the day when I was a kid, was the materials that they used on couches in the 50's. They were amazing in texture, and also the satin quilted bedspreads were to die for. All the fabrics were top quality and the designers were brilliant and I miss that. By the 70's , fabrics were getting cheaper in quality and ugly designs were 'in'. Beautiful designs in fabric were a thing of the past and I still mourn the day when ugly was all you could buy !

[@marvindujardin463]

Really? I remember what my grandparents told me. Artificial materials everywhere... Think the turquoise dress in the ad was silk? Rather some Polyester...

[@shedoesconcerts5762]

you must've come from a decently well-off family for that to have been the case: new, high - quality materials were far more costly back then

[@windsofmarchjourneyperrytr2823]

@@shedoesconcerts5762 And ridiculously flammable. Dr. Suzanna Lipscomb and a fire expert did a thing on "Hidden Killers of the Post-war home" I LOVED the mock-up 50s house and her gorgeous vintage attire in that one! And most of that stuff PROBABLY STILL WORKS! Lol. My granny has a 65 year old stove. Damn thing STILL WORKS!

[@WitchKing-Of-Angmar]

@@windsofmarchjourneyperrytr2823 then might I recommend controlling your thermal spewing of lava onto your kittchy couch. Yah, if a house lights on fire, don't blame the past like its somehow magically changed. Go light a couch on fire today and see how "improved" it is.

[@octogirl555]

These designs were also much more cost effective to produce and used stronger and (eventually) cheaper materials like metal and plastic. Because they were marketed as the height of good design, companies could then charge more for each piece as a luxury item despite their structural simplicity and make more profit than on traditional styles of furniture requiring intricate hand labor and craftsmanship. Not knocking the aesthetic, I love MCM, but it should be noted that the style's enduring popularity had more to do with manufacturers pushing it than through organic, 'grass-roots' nostalgia.

[@halsuisso]

ı think aft watching MAD MEN series everybody started to search for these furniture items

[@jtotheb-ip2hh]

true; i think the timing of the show capitalized on the trend as well.

[@vsculpt]

Give me Victorian any time

[@sharksport01]

I think millions of people were into it before Mad Men, in fact the early episodes had horrible sets, enthusiasts complained to the directors and they schmoozed it up.

[@vsculpt]

Your probably correct but l find them really ugly.

[@thecatlady3501]

I’ve never seen mad men but my liking for it personally started with all those home renovation type shows

[@megantaylor2871]

Honestly one of the reasons I really like this furniture style is the small footprint. In a tiny apartment, I can’t really have a recliner but I could fit an egg chair in here. The design is super functional, light, and bright. So I can have the interesting curves and colors without enormous stately pieces of furniture

[@nina9346]

One of my neighbors recently left a mid century modern media console on the sidewalk so I took it and I LOVE it

[@KeepOnChasingLights5]

I’ve been obsessed with mid century modern since my teens before it became popular again.

[@ZoraTheberge]

It was sort of the first time furniture looked like it was designed to be used by humans. An ergonomic molded chair will look like you are meant to sit in it.

[@christinewatson1989]

Maybe it's because I'm short or because I sit in a chair with legs crossed, but I've always found these mid-century design chairs horribly uncomfortable.

[@crystalwolcott4744]

@@christinewatson1989 Same. I'm Not short tho, just gay.

[@Travieso78702]

I'm in my mid-50s and I remember these chairs in my grandparents house. For me, no they were not comfortable. They look uncomfortable and, for me, they are.

[@paulbundy9061]

C. Watson Midcentury is really only moderately comfortable if you do have height. I much prefer a ‘simple’Empire or Eastlake sofa because tall or short, you can sit, lay, or curl up on it. Even Chippendale or Stickly case pieces have an efficiency about them that is unexpected, and the gentle maintenance of such furniture induces a mindfulness you don’t much get with more modern pieces

[@decfairlight3228]

@@paulbundy9061 Midcentury modern sofas have been a hard bit of design for a while, it's hard to do a sofa that's both stylish and also comfortable. The Eames lounge chair is one of the few exceptions to this rule along with certain in the futon family but even true vintage victorian era sofas have a hard time actually being comfortable.

[@SW-od5er]

It's just a great look and many of us are yearning to return to the society of the 50s and early 60s. MCM feels like home.

[@whossahar2070]

Every Insta influencer is now posting a pic of mid-century chair or sofa lol

[@prawiraagung4011]

MIDCENTUREH deesayn

[@crazy808ish]

I'm surprised so many people in the comments like this style. It explains a lot of why it's sold so much today. I don't like it personally, but this video has a good explanation on how it came about.

[@booksb3983]

I dont like the style either. Too plain.

[@kperttul]

Well, I have the MA in industrial design and let me tell you, even though your style would have been something else in the beginning the “form follows function” as well as “costs down” was brainwashed to our minds in Uni and the professors made it clear that anything else was not expectable. From my point of view, many of these “mid century modern” pieces are not necessary particularly ergonomic. E.g the famous LCW chair 5:40 in is much too low for older people to comfortably sit in and get up. They kept the costs down by using as much as possible pieces from the same factory. Otherwise the legs and spine would have been metallic. Nowadays it would be cheaper to buy those pieces metallic because steam molded plywood takes lots of time and man hours. That’s why you see the metallic version in Ikea. It’s all about costs.

[@AmandaDavis6130]

K Perttula design in general needs to consider disability more. We think of that as a minority market, but everyone ages into disability eventually, and I hope future industrial design recognizes that.

[@sharksport01]

Think about what was available before the LCW. And, it sounds like your MA was a waste of debt.

[@crystalwolcott4744]

@@sharksport01 No reason to be a dick.

[@britneyjoy2982]

as an interior design student i just love mid century modern furniture designs but also art nouveau needs to come back !!

[@lenchenes]

I remember these kind of designs when i was a kid, then now want it for our house then. my mother told me OH JUST LIKE THE "OLD STYLE".

[@acorgiwithacrown467]

Simplicity is just nice, life is already so complicated its nice to have a simplistic environment to relax in.

[@pranaytony]

This Mid Century Modern became Timeless!💐

[@carolannaitken5812]

As a boomer I grew up with MCM furniture. I started noticing MCM design being talked about more when the TV show Mad Men became popular.

[@windsofmarchjourneyperrytr2823]

It was around long before then. You found vintage stuff if the time.

[@tay9332]

I found a mid century early 50's (the clerk, around 70 said) coffee table and side table (SUPER LIGHTWEIGHT + fit in my VW beetle since the legs unscrewed super easily) at my local saint vincent de paul for $20 altogether. It was like winning the lottery!! The clerk said they get things like that all the time and shoppers aren't a fan of them so they sit for super long.

[@ZnenTitan]

We never called it "Mid Century Modern" back then, it was always known as "Contemporary"

[@FMFvideos]

lol

[@limiv5272]

Makes sense. Like world war one wasn't called that at the time

[@ChairLove1000]

You may not have but it is well documented that the term was in use during the 1950s. The earliest recorded use I've been able to find was from 1948. It never went out of print.

[@ZnenTitan]

@@ChairLove1000 We never heard it, but back then it was not that big a deal. The neighbors had Eames plastic chairs in the basement because if the kids knocked them over they wouldn't break like "fine" furniture would.

[@leuphan]

Or just "The International Style".

[@NorwegianSparkle]

Why do you call it american design, when many of the designers were european and it started with the european Bauhaus movement.

[@maja4868]

it also hurts me that this content is so american-centralized. there is conviction, which history of design clearly proofs, that the ,,platonic ideals'' of american mid-century design was created in europe, taken by americans, who were adapting the idea to their reality and selling with stronger market orientation. Jeez... i got raged. didnt want to trigger anyone tho....

[@k.stacey7389]

Probably because post WW2 we were the only major country that wasn’t simply trying to dig ourselves out of the devastation and destruction. Even if stuff was designed elsewhere, this is where it was selling the most.

[@LucasFernandez-fk8se]

Iben Hegre because we are talking about America and the first world. Europe never changed styles and still use out of date furniture and cramped apartments

[@ruiyu9777]

@@maja4868 America is the center of the universe. I guess we all know that by now ; )

[@anthonylemkendorf3114]

Because America defeated the Fascist and communist Internationalist, while hosting much of the creative diaspora in America. Many stayed but most benefited,unless they were unlucky enough to be stuck behind the Iron Curtain.

[@Nik110512]

Did not know that's what it was. I just like the clean lines and curves. It goes with anything and it's not gaudy.

[@briannasusz]

I feel like no one has mentioned the feeling that design gives the human mind. There is a sense of warmth and comfort about “MC” design that makes people feel good about living in their space. A stark white house with black contrast doesn’t feel lived in or like a loving home anymore! People want to feel warm and happy in their environments. Straight lines and sharp corners feel assertive, I think we just want to love our homes and spaces the way the deserve to be loved. A home gives off good energy if that’s the kind of energy that’s built it ❤

[@simeonzanechambers2430]

2:12 What she said, basically sums up why "mid-century" is so beloved. Clean, beautiful, experimental designs. 6:25 "There's just something very kinda cool about that era". I think because America was thriving at that times, the housing industry and car industry, Fashion Industry were booming. Classic Americana just resonates with so many of us. I remember seeing a old picture of my Grandfather standing in front of his 54' Cadillac Seville and his new home in the background. As a kid seeing that I just thought, Wow that's America! I remember seeing pictures of all the men in my family wearing shirts and ties and the women wearing beautiful dresses and heels, to every event. That's just my experience.

[@rsoubiea]

My parents had danish modern furniture, as it was called, when I was a baby, I love it. Born in1955.

[@lluhu]

Im addicted to this furniture. I even checked prices of rental storages to store pieces that dont fit at home but that I find at cheap price and its difficult to let go. That sick I am.

[@dorcaspowellpowell5971]

I've been a fan of mid century modern since the late 90's🧡🧡🧡. Its clean crisps simple yet bold.

[@17Yanie]

I decorated my new house with MCM style, it turned out amazing. It don't feel exaggerated.

[@creamcheese6236]

Even if it is exaggerated. Own it 😘

[@Colt-ii4qn]

As a person that is in love with 60’s and early 70’s I have my apartment in mid century modern, just the coolest look 👌

[@John.T.]

It’s truly timeless is why.

[@christaclemons1455]

My favorite design style 🌹

[@mmcc4517]

This is a well done documentary. Thank you for mentioning The Bauhaus. The times were dreary and sad, but the incredible innovation of that era is inspiring. Also, it was great that you included female designers throughout the documentary. The research was thorough for only seven and a half minutes. 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾🏆🤓

[@annarowden9457]

Raised in a mid century house and furniture 50s, 60s and 70s. Got married, the country look was in at that time. Now, I want to go back to that era of time of mid century.

[@sheiladyck5863]

Exactly the same for me!!!

[@CocoOPNY]

I just think these pieces are so much fun along with elegant and functional. I'm so in love with mcm 😍😍😍

[@aprilsnappy3318]

It’s also really simple to replicate in DIY projects!

[@TheQUBANQT]

I'm a sucker for midcentury modern & Scandinavian design.

[@graceweber2822]

Simple yet lovely. I always loved mid century furniture.

[@jmabellanosa4513]

Beautiful in every way! Emphasis on the simplicity of the designs

[@OrNge127]

I love this style. So beautiful and simple.

[@LaurensTravels]

If I had the dough, I'd dieeee for a mid century home in Palm Springs. *sigh* I'll keep dreaming.

[@bcubed72]

I like how it's simultaneously nostalgic and futuristic...the past's idea of what the future looked like.

[@leahgregory889]

This style is so amazing 💕😻✨

[@debbiewilson9712]

Fantastic! A video I didnt know I needed to watch. Thank you.!

[@artchem1]

Loved it! Thank you for giving credit to the actual designers .. back before it was popular. :). Excellent rapport with our “ Mid- Century Design “ furniture 🌟🧡🌟

[@justafterdark1177]

Dig the video editing, it's really well done!

[@da1stamericus]

I also decorated with mid century wooden furniture. I still need sturdy chairs in this style. But the beauty of this is, they were free.

[@KerrieRedgate]

The new materials made the new shapes possible. Midcentury Modern design was born mainly from the principles of the Bauhaus: mass production of quality design for the masses. The architects and furniture designers of the 1920s and 30s were the trailblazers of this new approach to both materials and structure. But it took another 20 years (midcentury) to catch on, which is typical for most new things.

[@decfairlight3228]

That makes a lot of sense, the barcelona chair was a design from the 20s but it took post war attitudes to push that style into the mainstream.

[@WitchKing-Of-Angmar]

@@decfairlight3228 yah, I think it takes a bit of time before people address the exact number 3567 as meaning something throughout or internationally as a whole. Are you seriously calling an exact x like bent layout chair, its own style??? I'd harbor to think the 17th to 19th century has designed 60 thousand percent more shapely and elegant, masters of curvature and architecture and my goodness colors more importantly. You can't call such a specific style a catch on.... It isn't its own design, there was probably a chair in 1200 rome just like that, but the liberal freedom of america, france, india, etc made leeway for an entire wardrobe of similar designs that registered just period enough to not be considered exactly that. The Corbuiser chair for example, is only accented so differently by its extremely Art Deco contour or lack thereof, and the gliding vertical and horizontal metallic line work spectacle-zinging it up with such contemporary embellishments. It was a true hit with the gleeridden furnishing companies during the early 1930's in such hotel and residentials as 70 Pine street on the North of Manhattan (forever going to be North in my eyes, but generally known as the south districts) and 1910 art nouveau enticed art deco streamlined manor homes built very cheap but wealthily interiored in the early 1930's, a certified locale in Los Angeles; (angle-liss as it was once sounded out as), bitter sweet memories of the brilliant material work from the 8 types of wood, to metals, stones, and claybrick)/(glass brick used inside to give that futuristic oriental approach they so felt keen on representing with a La'Salle artfully worked in tapestry made of sheened satin.

[@bhatakti_bindu]

First of all that you @global New for bringing me across this Video, I am working on a project on the furniture market and your content really helped me out to understand the reasons behind current prevailing furniture designs, But I also wanted to thank each and every person who commented on this video. I went through each and every comment (Cause I was feeling excited to read them) and I got a diverse perspective towards the MCM furniture design. Thank You all 🥰

[@ChateauShack]

I was born in '61 so by the time I was a teenager, most of that furniture was relegated to the basement or furnishing first time apartments. I saw it as old stuff and as it was also massed produced, it was even tacky looking. Unfortunately, it still looks that way to me. I can see that the designs were well thought out, I can appreciate that era but it seems cold and it's not the type of furniture I want to be surrounded with. I don't mind it in an office setting but not in my home. I have some mid-nineteenth century pieces that were so well made that 170 years later; they're still functional and beautiful today. Alas, antiques are out of fashion now. I'm still keeping my furniture though, I'll upgrade it and I'll keep it from filling our already full dumps for another decade or more. Maybe antiques will be back in fashion by then and someone will adopt them and love them like I do. I really hate trends... Once they catch on, they always become tacky.

[@Cloudburst2000]

The good stuff from back then was definitely not mass produced. Most of the original pieces were crafted by artisans with extremely high quality materials. I am not so much into the pieces that had lots of metal. I like the pieces that were made of high quality woods...teaks and rosewood. These woods have a beautiful patina. When any furniture pieces, no matter the style, start becoming mass-produced they start looking cheap and tacky because they use low quality material and are made by machines instead of by hand. The good MCM furniture is the hand-crafted Danish pieces but they will also cost you a pretty penny, but any truly good quality furniture will be pretty expensive. The issue is that most people don't invest in good quality furniture (no matter the style) and just buy cheap mass-produced junk instead...and then they wonder why their item ages poorly.

[@ChateauShack]

@@Cloudburst2000 Great point! And that is exactly why trends become tacky. Someone finds a way to get the "look" and mass produces it. Why do plastic, mushroom lamps come to mind as I write this? I remember a beautiful MCM teak dining set from a neighbour's house when I was a kid. I would love to have that now because it was obvious quality even if it wasn't what I was into at the time. Long ago, rich or poor, furniture was part of your inheritance because it was well made therefore expensive. Now we live in a world of throw away stuff because so much of it is cheap. If it was expensive, they'd take better care of it and keep it out of the dumps, as well as save the planet's resources.

[@jaxxiet5851]

I love antique furniture too! And I do not really care at all for MCM style, as you stated looks cold and tacky to me. I dislike anything that is a trend though, like that farmhouse trend? Dislike that also very much. My parents have antiques and I hope to inherit a few pieces. Even the vases and decorations. I don't like the samey same look of west elm or Ikea. I have my grandparents bedroom set and it is from 1920. Pretty cool. 👍

[@ChateauShack]

@@jaxxiet5851 I hear ya, trends turn me off - everything seems to be made of barn wood lately, industrial lighting and etc. However, if I had a farm house, I would tend to go with that look. The house and its setting has to be considered when decorating. Nothing is more tacky though than immigrants' homes decorated with furniture they couldn't afford in their home country but can in North America. You know? The type of furniture they consider so dear that they wrap it up in plastic or put a chain to keep you from entering the room or worse, build another kitchen and living room and keep the other one for show? 25 years later, it's still brand new! Rococo furniture in a duplex ugh.. Highly ornate, gilded furniture that would suit a palace in Arabia or the South of France just looks gaudy in the wrong setting. Many people don't know how to decorate, and for some well at least they have Pinterest! No wonder everything is the same...

[@paulbundy9061]

I grew up with antiques, the pendulum will swing back to $1.2 million Chippendale armchairs, but hopefully after I’ve bought it, cause I’ve got student loans looming around the corner

[@winstonsmith2079]

I'd be crying too, 1:24 with a haircut like that.

[@oltedders]

The classic Moe Howard? Philistine!

[@StationeryPrincess]

😂😂😂😂

[@db200508]

I’m so glad I stumbled across this video. I had no idea at MCM was but I kept seeing it everywhere.

[@alec187]

It’s just a good balance of style and simplicity. Most contemporary designs are either comically minimal or impractical. And most Victorian and older designs are either too bulky or too dated like they were made for old women.

[@jquinlan94]

pleasantly informative video that was suggested to me just one day after posting a wanted ad for mid century modern furniture.

[@duuuud9364]

Why do I love mid century modern interior design so much!!!!! 😩😩😩

[@ChairLove1000]

Cara Greenberg did not coin the term "Mid-Century Modern." She may be reinvigorated the phrase, but the term was being used in the 1950's in advertising. The earliest reference I've been able to find comes from 1948. The term had worldwide reach as well and has never gone out of print.

[@cassidybb10]

This is old news. This trend has been around for the past 10 years with popularity the last 5 to 7. And I love that I loved it before it was popular again. The tv show Mad Men helped make this movement.

[@oltedders]

The last 10 years? The avant-garde were collecting it in the 1980s. They were of course the cognoscenti of the movement.

[@KarlSnarks]

@@oltedders Sure, like they said in the video, for a few decades it wasn't in trend, but didn't really disappear either and stayed in the background of interior design.

[@sharksport01]

@@oltedders You are 100% right.

[@charlottezronik5773]

Great video from Global!

[@jtotheb-ip2hh]

6:40 - nailed it. as handheld technologies rocket us into the future, there's nostalgia for the organic. Hence the real wood and accented wood grains in the MCM stuff; the organic lines that replicate the human body; the whimsical, the natural, etc., etc.

[@jobellecastro1508]

It make me me feel warm and adds color in my life

[@createlyn]

Nobody mentions how mid century modern furniture is also easier to move / lighter & sleeker so everyone being unable to live in permanent homes or constantly moving can’t afford or aren’t able to lug around bulky/heavy pieces. The number 1 thing I think about now when buying furniture is “how easy would it be to move?”

[@juli-hannah3569]

I love “mid-century modern” not only because it can be styled with almost any decor but because it reminds me of my grandmothers home who never updated it since the sixties and I 1000% appreciate she never did.

[@francoisberkinjr5088]

My favorite type of furniture by miles! 🙌🏽

[@markmoffatt6055]

im 19 and love mid century modern furniture even have some from the 1950s-60s myself and what I like so much is how individual they are and special. If you look at a mass produced ikea wardrobe there's no character to it just function.

[@CheerUp2]

Because we all consciously or subconsciously like art and design.

[@skipperallen205]

Mid century design is futuristic in its look and its clean design that works well with older designs when you mix it up. it has beautiful bold colors and its comfortable to sit on . It has a effortless classic look that gives you a peaceful feeling to your home.

[@judigemini178]

This video feels like one big marketing ploy meant to subliminally create demand

[@robertf6409]

didn't get that sense at all

[@LaisCordiolli]

it's well designed, I want it

[@windsofmarchjourneyperrytr2823]

I like it.

[@balanchuk]

Ploy or not its a re introduction of style over substance to a marketplace confused by Ikea knock offs and overstuffed fake leather sofas... the video is well done but for a couple of small errors .

[@waedidmyhandlechange]

MCM style is simple, functional, versatile, and chic. It caters well to modern aesthetics and easy to work with when styling rooms. They blend well together, yet can also function as statement pieces with proper placement. It also gives off the cozy feeling of warmth and being natural with the woods and fabric choices compared to many of today's cold steel, glass, and black-and-white designs.

[@marvindujardin463]

I felt this trend having a comeback at around 2008 (Don Draper anyone?).

[@roychefets6961]

I suggested to a well known designer in about 1985 that we should look for used Dunbar furniture. We were too lazy.

[@sharksport01]

@@roychefets6961 Dunbar is such great quality. Its a shame 90% of it is so boring it looks like it came from a hotel room.

[@windsofmarchjourneyperrytr2823]

It's still in for some. Some people spend every day in vintage attire in a vintage house in an antique car...I was fascinated. Video on YT . One girl has a whole thing about how people lived then, like a housewife. Sage someone. She's cute. Hair vids on how do dress/hair/makeup 💄 like all the Mad Men chicks. That bright red looks great on a lot of girls. So, its going to stick, I'm sure. Oh, and fit and flare styles look nice in anyone, also. Only down side is the pattern/clothing sizing is tiny... Lilleyman, that's it.

[@ianchesney9639]

I relate mcm to the 60s more than the 50s.

[@whaszis]

Once visiting a furniture store featuring beautiful wood furniture was like visiting an art

[@jondecarbonel8158]

I loved my Eichler in Diamond Heights San Francisco. I picked it up in late 80s for practically nothing. I moved about 10 years later. I've never been happier than in that type of architecture. I love everything about that era. I find it interesting you mention it sort of picks up where the 20s left off due to the war. The 20s is another magnet era for me. I have to say the Case Study Houses #22 The Stahl House designed by Koenig, and shot by Schulman must have been somehow emblazoned on my brain at a very early age. I recognize every angle of it instantly. But Schulman made it world famous with just one shot. Breathtaking! Perhaps these homes were really designed for the kids born during their construction. My dad absolutely abhorred my place, we never saw eye to eye where construction was concerned, he was a contractor for quite some time. I had my own ideas about things, being raised around Eichlets in Sunnyvale Ca, during a time of increased Japanese immigration. I embraced our newly planted friends with gusto. Their love of simplicity, balance and nature just got my soul so well. The gardens, the koi ponds, just fantastic. Again, my dad, lost in space with my new obssession. Or perhaps it was my youngest years spent mainly up at my grandma's extremely modern and stylish ranch house. One can never be sure. All I know is, Mid Century Modern is in my blood, forever!

[@dariusbutts3139]

I love this video. I love mid-Century furniture. It so exciting!

[@reneeb6411]

Love this time for EVERYTHING.

[@HansJazz]

These designs are just fantastic. I live in a house with mid century modern furniture etc etc since 1985 and wil never change it. I started collecting back in 1983 whem the prices were rather low and before it became a trend. There was plenty of stuff available from flea markets and junk shops at that time. You had to have some luck but even Dutch design classics could be found for cheap.

[@jovaneron]

So beautiful pieces! ❤

[@basedury]

nice work on this video! in my architectural studies courses, we had to use computer modeling to reproduce the noguchi table, now any time we see one, we send it into our old group chat 😅

[@swaranbains8326]

good- the 60s/70s was a time of creativity piece and freedom that we need again

[@mywalterego9248]

Stop, NO! The MoMA did NOT seek to lift up capitalism over communism. Their FIRST female exhibitionist was a Russian Federation sculptor who emigrated to America in the 30's to escape Jewish persecution. Eva Zeisel EPITOMIZED mid century modern homeware design and she had been a communist, and had worked closely with Stalin. Her designs for dishes and service were equivalent to what furniture designers were doing. Graceful, sweeping lines that mimicked the folds of our hands and the gentle cup it makes, simple, elegant, but somehow maternal designs that were meant to be held and caressed. I HATE WHEN PEOPLE TRY TO SHOVE THEIR MODERN PROPAGANDA INTO HISTORY, but it's like they say, communists gonna communist.

[@aniliname]

Yes! I was thinking the same. A massive amount of mid-century modern furniture came from Scandinavia and other parts of Europe. For them, the clean lines were meant as a departure from the trivial intricacies of bourgeois decoration, a departure that accompanied a transformation of the continent after the World Wars. Simplicity was meant to cater to everyone and followed a very strong socialist concept. It was also very visible in architecture with all of the new social housing taking on a completely different, simpler aesthetic. The transformation of society that came after the dismantling of imperialist constellations in Europe following each World War and the leap towards a whole new state of the nation and its populace played a massive role in why simplicity and designs that catered to a more open and broader notion of society in general were favored. As they said in the beginning, not enough credit is given to Bauhaus...well, they're not doing it either. The interwar period after WWI was important for design and it was picked up again after WWII for similar reasons. It wasn't simply something that appeared for a short time and was forgotten and reappeared on the other side of the world coincidentally. All of the patriotic shopping that was mentioned helped to convince people it was a local phenomenon, but that was hardly the case. It was a highly politicized aesthetic movement and it wasn't predominantly centered around American capitalism as the video would make it seem.

[@TheAZElele]

I don’t think they were saying that the MoMA specifically was seeking to raise capitalism over communism, but that the high regard the museum had for it was influenced by American propaganda’s attempts on the masses to associate the design style with freedom as a way of presenting buying furniture produced at home as a patriotic duty.

[@laurendodson6779]

I met Eva Zeisel and had my photo taken with her. I almost burst into tears I was so excited to meet her.

[@MrMackanno]

shhh! you're trying to educate people and will inevitably lead them to have a hunger for learning!

[@aniliname]

@@MrMackanno LOL, thanks for making me laugh in these insane times buddy

[@ff36196]

I loveee Mid Century. It’s my all time favorite design

[@michaelbrown6927]

Mid Century Modern is 3 words. Muscle cars didn't arrive until the 1960's. It is spelled Marshmallow. The tern mid-century modern was coined way before 1984.

[@dimplesd8931]

Mid century design is a good platform for most people to show individual style. I have incorporated Duncan Phiffe , Rattan, French and Asian pieces in my home but the overall esthetic is MCM. It’s like wearing a LBD, the accessories make it your style

[@bespokeoriginaldesign761]

I love working with Mid Century as an upholsterer.

[@bently629]

Moving into our own apt in July. And I found this video very amusing !

[@sebastains]

Congrats!

[@picklerick4588]

I wanted Spanish/Mediterranean houses before Now, I'm obsessed with mcm houses it's very nostalgic 💗

[@barcelonadesigns8710]

Fascination with Mid Century Modern has to do with a time with big names, great achievements and all the charm and sophistication that comes with it. Even for a minimalist, functional trend. For the best masterpieces in Mid Century Modern, Barcelona Design is the best place in America, with pieces like the Barcelona Chair.