The Mid-Century Modern Style: a Legendary Trend That Conquered the World

The importance of a decorative style is probably measured according to the number of years it has been a trend, the magnitude of the impact it has on its professional area, the influence it's capable of generating in society, and how revolutionary and innovative were its most important exponents. These are some of the reasons that could explain the fact that the Mid-Century Modern style is still one of the most popular decorative trends today, after more than fifty years of the appearance of its most relevant and iconic models and the impact that had in other related areas such as architecture. The high point of this style is usually set between the 1930s and 1960s.

However, all in all, these don't seem entirely sufficient reasons to explain the fact that this style continues to be so popular and demanded. The most important reasons are probably the simplest: it's a style that despite being several decades old, still looks good, feels good, and doesn't seem to go out of fashion so quickly, especially when some television series' popularity such as Mad Men have spurred a rebound in the preference of these designs. It's that simple: People still love its clean lines, subtle organic curves, bold colors, and its traditional materials that convey warmth and have become very familiar resources within all kinds of indoors, both in homes and offices.

Much More Than a Decorative Style
The birth of the Mid-Century Modern as a trend is identified from the Bauhaus school, located in Germany, from which some figures emerged and had to flee to America after the rise of Nazism and the beginning of World War II. This global cataclysm, although it was a very difficult process in which humanity lost many things, also generated intellectual and artistic opportunities that had their repercussion in all kinds of areas, with the arrival of Modernity and the world crisis. The expansion of cities and suburban areas in the United States, with fast-built houses, generated a high demand for furniture that accelerated the market and opened the opportunity for the appearance of new designs with materials and shapes more in keeping with the current times.

The exploration of new textures, colors, effects, and shapes focused on the practical, direct, functional, with a minimalist aesthetic based on curves and simple lines, geometric and ergonomic figures gave rise to some of the most iconic pieces of its time. This defined a whole decorative style in which the interior spaces had minimal ornamentation and were focused on efficiency. Wood, leather, crystals, and even metals were of great importance in the creation of these pieces. This trend was not only shown in furniture pieces, but also in some fixtures such as the Arco lamp, currently considered one of the most important designs in its category, and includes in its structure a solid base of authentic Carrara marble.

Currently, the popularity of some designs such as the Eames Lounge Chair, the Noguchi Table, the Womb Chair, the Barcelona Chairs, the Shell Chair, the Tulip Table, among many others, has spread throughout the planet so massively that many faithful replicas of these pieces have appeared, manufactured and sold by stores specialized in this trend, such as Manhattan Home Design, a store whose extensive catalog includes the most important and iconic models of designers such as Charles and Ray Eames, Isamu Noguchi, Hans Wegner, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, the Castiglioni brothers, Finn Juhl, among others.

The existence of these stores has brought new generations to this style with renewed interest and has allowed them to get to know it directly. Also, reproductions of these pieces are usually found on the market at only a fraction of the cost of the original product. An example of this is the replica of the Eames Lounge Chair manufactured and marketed by many stores around the planet, one of the most popular and best-selling products today, which is present in millions of homes and offices around the world.

Regardless of the new trends that are about to appear in the world or those that gain the most attention, there's no doubt that the Mid-Century Modern will preserve its privileged place for a long time to come and will continue to conquer the tastes and preferences of people for several years.