location_on
You're Shopping () :
warning
Select a Showroom Check Availability Update Your Location
close
Enter your zip above to search for the showrooms closest to you
Displaying stores closest to
You may select one or more stores below
miles
In stock
On display
miles
Loading...
search
search
Mid-century Modern vs Contemporary Design: How to Mix these Styles
Whether you feel that you’re a design expert that is fully versed in the nuances of Mid-Century Modern design, contemporary design, or both, or you just happened to have admired one of these still-trending styles in a home décor magazine, this article will help familiarize you with the similarities and differences of the two disciplines.
If you’re considering transitioning from MCM to Contemporary or fusing the two looks together, we have some fantastic tips as well as pieces by top-tier furniture manufacturers for you.
What Makes a Design Mid-Century Modern?
As with any design style, Mid-Century Modern has specific colors, shapes, textures, and themes that distinguish it from other, closely related designs. Here is a checklist of traits that are characteristic of MCM:
Muted tones or vibrant colors (avoid the in-between)
Clean furniture lines
A mix of both natural and manmade materials. You’ll find chrome and pleather mixed with wood and leather in Mid-Century Modern spaces.
Geometric shapes or lines
Mixing indoor and outdoor themes (for example, a chaise lounge in the living room)
Mid-Century Modern décor attempts to recapture the spirit and mood of mid-20th century style. As a result, any change to Mid-Century décor is confined by that construct. If not, it may look great, but it’s no longer Mid-Century.
An Overview of Contemporary Design
Unlike Mid-Century design, contemporary is constantly evolving. What was considered "contemporary design" in the 1980s is no longer what would be contemporary today. However, like Mid-Century, contemporary has traits. These include:
Strong use of texture
Neutral colors
Strong lines. They don’t necessarily have to be straight or curved but distinct. A round area rug can fit into a contemporary space as well as a quadrangle, as long as the edge is distinct. In other words, no fringe or tassels.
Furniture tends to have distinct, geometric lines, similar to MCM.
Why is Contemporary Sometimes Reminiscent of Mid-Century?
Contemporary design came into vogue in the 1970s, at the tail end of the Mid-Century Modern phenomenon. Because interior décor never announces the end of a style’s lifespan or the beginning of a new theme, certain elements of contemporary can probably trace their roots to the Mid-Century style. This is excellent news if you’re trying to transition from one motif to another or if you want to create a dual-motif space using design elements from both the Mid-Century Modern and contemporary themes.
Elements to Tie the Décor Styles Together
You can utilize color, shape, and materials to transform your Mid-Century room into a contemporary room. We have selected a few pieces of furniture that will work with either discipline.
Our first selection is the striking Tommy Bahama Ocean Club Bed. As mentioned earlier, contemporary design makes a strong declaration of lines. This gorgeous bedframe has a strong rectangular shape, with smaller rectangles appearing throughout the frame. The rich walnut color of the wood is ideal for Mid-Century bedrooms, as walnut and maple are de rigueur for this style.
If you are looking to make a more subtle change to your contemporary or Mid-Century bedroom or living room, consider the Bernhardt Solaria Accent Table. This round, drum-shaped table was inspired by Mid-Century design, but it was created with the contemporary theme in mind, making it the ideal crossover piece. The weathered bone exterior works famously with nearly every color palette.
For a bolder statement, we have Hooker Furniture’s Big Bang Entertainment Console. Its clean geometric lines and handle-less doors allow this magnificent entertainment center to fit into a Mid-Century or contemporary living room. The expansive storage space allows you to hide away non-thematic elements of the room (i.e., electronics, remotes, quilts, etc.)
Few accessories can help define a style like the chairs you surround your dining table with. These Bernhardt Decorage Contemporary Side Chairs can be the lynchpin between contemporary and Mid-Century modern. With clean lines, rich textures, and muted tones, these dining chairs check all of the boxes.
Shop In Stock Contemporary and Mid-Century Modern Styles
Baer’s Furniture boasts millions of square feet of display space in our Florida furniture showrooms. Because our staff is comprised of trained design experts, you can rely on us to help guide you on your quest to merge MCM and contemporary design. Or, if you want to go in a different direction, they can help you there as well.Find the Baer's Furniture near you today!
come say hello!
Locations
Locations
Come stop by our store! We have 16 convenient locations across Florida.
location_on Find a Store
Family Owned and Operated Since 1945
Here at Baer's we are so much more than just a furniture store. We are your Florida design and decor partners offering a huge selection of furniture by quality name brands at a great value. Take advantage of our 75 years of experience in the designer furniture industry and turn your house into the home of your dreams.Visit one of our 16 locations across Florida today.
Information Accuracy - We have taken great care to provide you with information that is accurate and useful. Please notify us if you find an error and we will do our best to correct it. We ask that you contact us directly to confirm information about pricing, color, features, dimensions, availability and lead times.
Nothing on this page may be copied or reproduced without explicit permission.
\r\n\r\n
\r\n ![How to Mix Mid-Century Modern and Contemporary Décor (12)](https://i0.wp.com/www.baers.com/\"images.furnituredealer.net/img/loc/dealer/43/upload/lexingtonswatches.jpg\" "How to Mix Mid-Century Modern and Contemporary Décor (12)")
\r\n
\r\n\r\n
\r\n ![How to Mix Mid-Century Modern and Contemporary Décor (13)](https://i0.wp.com/www.baers.com/\"images.furnituredealer.net/img/loc/dealer/43/upload/lexington2.jpg\" "How to Mix Mid-Century Modern and Contemporary Décor (13)")
\r\n
\r\n
\r\n\r\n
\r\n
\r\n ![How to Mix Mid-Century Modern and Contemporary Décor (14)](https://i0.wp.com/www.baers.com/\"images.furnituredealer.net/img/loc/dealer/43/upload/bernhardt.jpg\" "How to Mix Mid-Century Modern and Contemporary Décor (14)")
\r\n
\r\n
\r\n ![How to Mix Mid-Century Modern and Contemporary Décor (15)](https://i0.wp.com/www.baers.com/\"images.furnituredealer.net/img/loc/dealer/43/upload/stressless.jpg\" "How to Mix Mid-Century Modern and Contemporary Décor (15)")
\r\n
\r\n
\r\n ![How to Mix Mid-Century Modern and Contemporary Décor (16)](https://i0.wp.com/www.baers.com/\"images.furnituredealer.net/img/loc/dealer/43/upload/tommybahama.jpg\" "How to Mix Mid-Century Modern and Contemporary Décor (16)")
\r\n
\r\n
","Phone1":"561-391-2012","Phone2":"","Email1":"bsmithson@baers.com","Email2":"bsmithson@baers.com","URL":"/stores/boca-raton-florida/286","County":"","StoreHours":"Monday - Saturday: 10am-8pm\r\nSunday: 12pm-6pm","PageName":"","MapThumbnailFileName":"map_02.gif","StoreThumbnailFileName":"","MSA":82,"DisplayOrder":10,"Geo":"","InActive":false,"ModifiedDate":"2022-09-30T15:26:10","IsNew":false,"Hidden":false,"HideFromHtmlList":false,"HideFromPreferredStoreList":false,"DeliveryRadius":0,"LatLong":"26.3593126,-80.0851825","Latitude":26.3593126,"Longitude":-80.0851825,"PayPalID":"","SyfMerchantID":null,"SalesTaxRate":0.0,"DoNotTaxDelivery":true,"IsPickUpLocation":false,"TaxTypeOverride":0,"FeatureOnPortals":false,"DealerStoreId":"ST03","TrackingPhoneNumber":"","IsECommerceServiceStore":true,"PickupTaxOverride":0.0,"UrlSlug":"","GooglePlaceId":"ChIJUz1Bx_fh2IgRRZYWbd2o7WM","LocationType":1,"ExcludeForInventory":false,"DealerLogoPath":null,"DealerName":null,"DealerUrl":"","DealerProgramLevel":0,"DealerFurnishingRetailersDirectory":null,"PortalStoreSortRanking":0,"DistanceFromZipCode":0.0,"ItemIsOnDisplay":false,"RodeoPageUrl":"","Id":286,"DealerId":43},{"Name":"West Palm Beach, FL","Address":{"Company":"","Street1":"2324 N. Military Trail","Street2":"","Street3":"","City":"W.Palm Beach","State":10,"StateAbbr":0,"StateAbbrString":"FL","Zip":"33409","AddressId":0,"UserId":0,"FirstName":null,"LastName":null,"FullName":" ","AddressType":0,"Address1":"2324 N. Military Trail","Address2":"","Address3":null,"StateCode":"FL","Country":"United States","CountryCode":"US","CountryISONumeric":840,"Phone1":"","Phone2":"","Email":null,"Latitude":0.0,"Longitude":0.0,"isOrderAddress":false,"IsNew":true},"Directions":"Directions from the east - Palm Beach, Lake Worth, West Palm Beach, Baywinds\r\n\r\n * Take Okeechobee Blvd./SR -704W\r\n * Turn right onto N.Military Trail and arrive at Baers-West Palm Beach at 2324 N.Military Trail\r\n\r\nDirections from the west - Royal Palm Beach, Wellington, Loxahatchee, Emerald Dunes Country Club, Breakers Rees Jones Course, Village Country Club, Links at Madison Green, Turtle Bay Golf Club, Kensington, Andres Isle, River Walk, Pallisades, Emerald Dunes\r\n\r\n * Take Okeechobee Blvd/SR-704E\r\n * Turn left at N.Military Trail/SR-809\r\n * Arrive at Baers-West Palm Beach at 2324 N. Military Trail\r\n\r\nDirections from the north - President Country Club, Bear Lakes Country Club, Lake Mangonia, Mangonia Park, Palm Beach Shores, Riviera Beach, Stonehaven, Porto Sol, Becca Terra\r\n\r\n * Take I-95 S via ramp to Miami\r\n * Take exit 71 for Palm Beach Lakes Blvd.\r\n * Turn right at Palm Beach Lakes Blvd.\r\n * Turn right at Okeechobee Blvd.\r\n * Turn right at N. Military Trail and arrive at Baers-West Palm Beach at 2324 N.Military Trail\r\n\r\nDirections from the south - Lantana, Boynton Beach, Hypoluxo, Trump International Golf Club, Gun Club Estates, Lake Belvedere Estates,Lake Osborne, Winston Trails, Winston Trails Golf and Country Club, Strathmore, The Cove, Valencia Shores, Jonathan's Cove, Renaissance Commons Beuna Vida\r\n\r\n * Take I-95 N via ramp to West Palm Beach\r\n * Take exit 70 for Okeechobee Blvd/SR-704 W\r\n * Left at Okeechobee Blvd.\r\n * Right at N Military Trail to Baers-West Palm Beach at 2324 N.Military Trail","Description":"Just north of Okeechobee Blvd, on North Military Trail, our West Palm Beach store is \r\n\r\nhome to many top designer furniture brands. Originally opened in 1990, our 38,000-\r\n\r\nsquare-foot showroom has been showcasing quality furniture for over 25 years. \r\n\r\nDon’t know what would look best in your home? Our sales associates and interior \r\n\r\ndesigners are here to answer all your questions and make sure that you are satisfied \r\n\r\nwith your furniture purchase. Baer's Furniture serves the Wellington, Lake Worth, Boynton \r\n\r\nBch, Delray, Palm Beach Gardens, West Palm, Palm Beach, Loxahatchee, Green Acres area. \r\n\r\nWe are open seven days per week for your shopping \r\n\r\nconvenience.","Phone1":"561-684-3225","Phone2":"","Email1":"bsmithson@baers.com","Email2":"bsmithson@baers.com","URL":"/stores/wpalm-beach-florida/299","County":"","StoreHours":"Monday - Saturday: 10am-8pm\r\nSunday: 12pm-6pm","PageName":"","MapThumbnailFileName":"map_15.gif","StoreThumbnailFileName":"","MSA":82,"DisplayOrder":11,"Geo":"","InActive":false,"ModifiedDate":"2022-09-30T15:26:03","IsNew":false,"Hidden":false,"HideFromHtmlList":false,"HideFromPreferredStoreList":false,"DeliveryRadius":0,"LatLong":"26.7114748,-80.1103168","Latitude":26.7114748,"Longitude":-80.1103168,"PayPalID":"","SyfMerchantID":null,"SalesTaxRate":0.0,"DoNotTaxDelivery":true,"IsPickUpLocation":false,"TaxTypeOverride":0,"FeatureOnPortals":false,"DealerStoreId":"ST06","TrackingPhoneNumber":"","IsECommerceServiceStore":true,"PickupTaxOverride":0.0,"UrlSlug":"","GooglePlaceId":"ChIJ42n9FOgp2YgR6YId7zbs4yY","LocationType":1,"ExcludeForInventory":false,"DealerLogoPath":null,"DealerName":null,"DealerUrl":"","DealerProgramLevel":0,"DealerFurnishingRetailersDirectory":null,"PortalStoreSortRanking":0,"DistanceFromZipCode":0.0,"ItemIsOnDisplay":false,"RodeoPageUrl":"","Id":299,"DealerId":43},{"Name":"North Palm Beach, FL","Address":{"Company":"","Street1":"910 North US Highway 1","Street2":"","Street3":"","City":"North Palm Beach","State":10,"StateAbbr":0,"StateAbbrString":"FL","Zip":"33408","AddressId":0,"UserId":0,"FirstName":null,"LastName":null,"FullName":" ","AddressType":0,"Address1":"910 North US Highway 1","Address2":"","Address3":null,"StateCode":"FL","Country":"United States","CountryCode":"US","CountryISONumeric":840,"Phone1":"","Phone2":"","Email":null,"Latitude":0.0,"Longitude":0.0,"isOrderAddress":false,"IsNew":true},"Directions":"Directions from the east - Singer Island, Palm Beach Shores\r\n\r\n * Go S on SR-A1A\r\n * Turn right on US-1\r\n * Go 1.2 miles and we are located across the street from the North Palm Beach Country Club\r\n\r\nDirections from the west - Lake Park, Marisol, PGA National\r\n\r\n * 786-E\r\n * Right on US-1 S\r\n * We are located across the street from the North Palm Beach Country Club.\r\n\r\nDirections from the north - Jupiter, Admiral's Cove, Frenchman's Creek, Baer's Club, Palm Beach Gardens, Ritz Carlton Golf Club\r\n\r\n * 706-E\r\n * Hwy. 1 South\r\n * We are located across the street from the North Palm Beach Country Club at 910 U.S.Hwy.1\r\n\r\nDirections from the south - The Breakers, Palm Beach Country Club, Palm Beach Airport, West Palm Beach, Jonathan's Landing, Ballens Isle\r\n\r\n * Depending on your city- 95 N to 708 E to Hwy. 1 N or Hwy. 1 North to 910 US Hwy. 1","Description":"Baer's 45,000 square foot North Palm Beach showroom is conveniently located 1/2\r\n\r\nmile south of PGA Boulevard, directly across the street from the North Palm Beach \r\n\r\nCountry Club. Baer's Furniture serves the Palm Beach Gardens, Jupiter, Tequesta, \r\n\r\nStuart, Pt. St. Lucie, Vero, North Palm, West Palm, Boynton Beach, Boca area. \r\n\r\nWe are open 7 days per week for your shopping convenience.","Phone1":"561-626-6100","Phone2":"","Email1":"bsmithson@baers.com","Email2":"bsmithson@baers.com","URL":"/stores/north-palm-beach-florida/293","County":"","StoreHours":"Monday - Saturday: 10am-8pm\r\nSunday: 12pm-6pm","PageName":"","MapThumbnailFileName":"map_09.gif","StoreThumbnailFileName":"","MSA":82,"DisplayOrder":12,"Geo":"","InActive":false,"ModifiedDate":"2022-09-30T15:25:48","IsNew":false,"Hidden":false,"HideFromHtmlList":false,"HideFromPreferredStoreList":false,"DeliveryRadius":0,"LatLong":"26.8273315,-80.0605647","Latitude":26.8273315,"Longitude":-80.0605647,"PayPalID":"","SyfMerchantID":null,"SalesTaxRate":0.0,"DoNotTaxDelivery":true,"IsPickUpLocation":false,"TaxTypeOverride":0,"FeatureOnPortals":false,"DealerStoreId":"ST10","TrackingPhoneNumber":"","IsECommerceServiceStore":true,"PickupTaxOverride":0.0,"UrlSlug":"","GooglePlaceId":"ChIJR9GF_-Mq34gR_LWG_Qb-92Q","LocationType":1,"ExcludeForInventory":false,"DealerLogoPath":null,"DealerName":null,"DealerUrl":"","DealerProgramLevel":0,"DealerFurnishingRetailersDirectory":null,"PortalStoreSortRanking":0,"DistanceFromZipCode":0.0,"ItemIsOnDisplay":false,"RodeoPageUrl":"","Id":293,"DealerId":43},{"Name":"Stuart, FL","Address":{"Company":"","Street1":"1421 S. Federal Hwy.","Street2":"","Street3":"","City":"Stuart","State":10,"StateAbbr":0,"StateAbbrString":"FL","Zip":"34994","AddressId":0,"UserId":0,"FirstName":null,"LastName":null,"FullName":" ","AddressType":0,"Address1":"1421 S. Federal Hwy.","Address2":"","Address3":null,"StateCode":"FL","Country":"United States","CountryCode":"US","CountryISONumeric":840,"Phone1":"","Phone2":"","Email":null,"Latitude":0.0,"Longitude":0.0,"isOrderAddress":false,"IsNew":true},"Directions":"Directions from the east - Sailfish Point, Ocean Club, Snug Harbor, Sewall's Point\r\n\r\n * L on A1A\r\n * L on SE Monterey Rd./SR 714\r\n * Sharp right at SE Federal Hwy to our store at 1421 SE Federal Hwy.\r\n\r\nDirections from the west - Tradition, Monterey Yacht and Country Club, Monarch Country Club, Martin Downs Country Club, Evergreen Club, Palm Cove Golf Club, Tesoro\r\n\r\n * 714-E/SW Martin Downs Blvd.\r\n * L on SE Federal Hwy. to our store at 1421 SE Federal Hwy.\r\n\r\nDirections from the north - Hutchingson Island, Stuart Club, Harbour Ridge Yacht and Country Club, Pineapple Park, Eagle Marsh Golf Club, Ballantrae Golf and Yacht Club, Sandpiper Bay Golf Course, Jensen Beach, Ocean Breeze Park, Vero Beach, St. Lucie, Indian River Plantation\r\n\r\n * U.S. 1 S\r\n * Make a U-turn at SE Contractor Way\r\n * Arrive at our store at 1421 SE Federal Hwy.\r\n\r\nDirections from the south - Palm City,Willoughby Golf Club, Mariner Sands Country Club, Hole in the Wall, Champions Club at Summerfield, Lost Lake Golf Club, Pipers Landing Yacht and Country Club, Peck Lake, Hobe Sound, Eaglewood Country Club\r\n\r\n * Take U.S. 1 N\r\n * Arrive at our store at 1421 SE Federal Hwy./U.S. 1 N","Description":"You can find Baer’s Furniture in Stuart, south of the Roosevelt Bridge on U.S. 1. Our\r\n\r\nsales associates and interior designers have been proudly serving the southeast \r\n\r\nFlorida community since 1993. To improve our showroom, we’ve made adjustments \r\n\r\nsuch as installing new windows, updating our signage, and revamping parts of our \r\n\r\ninterior. But our commitment to provide our customers with the finest premier \r\n\r\nfurniture is still our number one priority. Our 39,000-square-foot showroom is filled \r\n\r\nwith a variety of high-quality designer furniture brands and accessories. Baer's Furniture\r\n\r\nserves the Stuart, Palm City, Hobe Sound, Port Salerno, Jupiter, Okeechobee, Jensen Beach, \r\n\r\nPort St Lucie, Vero Beach, Sebastian area. Open seven \r\n\r\ndays per week for your shopping convenience, we look forward to seeing you the \r\n\r\nnext time you shop for furniture.","Phone1":"772-221-8679","Phone2":"","Email1":"bsmithson@baers.com","Email2":"bsmithson@baers.com","URL":"/stores/stuart-florida/297","County":"","StoreHours":"Monday - Saturday: 10am-8pm\r\nSunday: 12pm-6pm","PageName":"","MapThumbnailFileName":"map_13.gif","StoreThumbnailFileName":"","MSA":173,"DisplayOrder":13,"Geo":"","InActive":false,"ModifiedDate":"2022-09-30T15:25:33","IsNew":false,"Hidden":false,"HideFromHtmlList":false,"HideFromPreferredStoreList":false,"DeliveryRadius":0,"LatLong":"27.3068609,-80.3091231","Latitude":27.3068609,"Longitude":-80.3091231,"PayPalID":"","SyfMerchantID":null,"SalesTaxRate":0.0,"DoNotTaxDelivery":true,"IsPickUpLocation":false,"TaxTypeOverride":0,"FeatureOnPortals":false,"DealerStoreId":"ST08","TrackingPhoneNumber":"","IsECommerceServiceStore":true,"PickupTaxOverride":0.0,"UrlSlug":"","GooglePlaceId":"ChIJS0ZRUW3d3ogR51vwkYmMkXg","LocationType":1,"ExcludeForInventory":false,"DealerLogoPath":null,"DealerName":null,"DealerUrl":"","DealerProgramLevel":0,"DealerFurnishingRetailersDirectory":null,"PortalStoreSortRanking":0,"DistanceFromZipCode":0.0,"ItemIsOnDisplay":false,"RodeoPageUrl":"","Id":297,"DealerId":43}], isMobile: false, activeNav: -1, get storeCount() { return this.stores.length; }, getNavLinkClassName(navLabel) { let formattedLabel = ""; formattedLabel = navLabel.replace(/ /g, "-").replace(/'/g, "").toLowerCase(); return "nav-builder-item__" + formattedLabel; }, setCurrentBreakpoint() { const isMobile = window.matchMedia('(max-width: 767px)').matches; this.isMobile = isMobile; }, setActiveNav(index) { this.activeNav = this.activeNav == index ? -1 : index; }, getStorePhoneLink(phone) { const cleanPhone = this.getCleanedPhone(phone); return "tel:" + cleanPhone; }, getCleanedPhone(phone) { return phone.replace(/\D/g, ''); }, formattedPhoneNumber(phone) { const cleanPhone = this.getCleanedPhone(phone); const match = cleanPhone.match(/^(\d{3})(\d{3})(\d{4})$/); // If there is a match, format the phone number if (match) { return `(${match[1]}) ${match[2]}-${match[3]}`; } return phone; } })); });
