For our midcentury modern color palette, we love ochres, browns, soft whites, warm neutrals—and a signature spike of red. Explore the quintessential hues of this streamlined, sophisticated style.
Warm, natural materials and soft sculptural lines are synonymous with midcentury modern interiors. Cultivated by a range of designers and artists between the '30s and mid-'60s, today, midcentury modern design remains as powerful and relevant as ever.
The Benjamin Moore Midcentury Modern Color Palette
Combine organic, warm colors and sleek, industrial white and blue-gray hues with pops of red to capture the spirit of midcentury modern style.
Midcentury Modern Living Room Ideas
Clean midcentury design allows for interesting plays on texture and shape. Here, a Noguchi-inspired lamp reflects the Japanese influence on midcentury modern. Black and white is always a midcentury modern go-to, found here with an elegant rug with an animal print-meets-cubism twist. Warm browns are always welcome in a midcentury modern living room as seen here with a low-slung coffee table and simple leather stool. The enveloping warmth of an accent wall in Incense Stick 2115-20 showcases the power of rich brown colors in midcentury modern design. Furniture and home accessories influenced by midcentury-modern designers remain wildly popular today. Look for inspiration from names like Eames, Eero Saarinen and Mies van der Rohe. You can find midcentury modern-inspired furniture in a range of retailers, from Design within Reach to Wayfair to Target.
Midcentury Modern Meets Retro Reading Nook
As seen in our photo showcase below, midcentury modern chairs are homeowner favorites. Here, a Bertoia chair and ottoman in soft beige, and a light wood credenza are surrounded by tranquil blue-gray walls in Wythe Blue HC-143, a beloved hue from our Historical Collection. As an alternative, consider Wales Gray 1585, a mid-tone, soft blue with a gray-green cast—from our midcentury modern palette above—to achieve this look. Painting a table offers an easy way to spruce up furniture and enliven any room. Here, a circular table painted in Terra Cotta 2090-30 carries on the key midcentury modern style point of red splashes of color.
Interior Designer Jay Jeffers Talks Midcentury Modern Design
"I have always used midcentury furnishings in my design," says Jay Jeffers, a designer featured in Benjamin Moore's Design P.O.V. "It brings a soulful touch to a room as all antiques do, and midcentury designs give the room a more modern feel that other period antiques might not." From his headquarters in San Francisco, Jeffers regularly designs luxurious spaces infused with contemporary styles, including midcentury modern. In one of the homes he has transformed, shown here, Jeffers' design shows how midcentury furniture can lend a sense of history, warmth and sophistication to a modern dining space.
Wine & Dine: A Midcentury Modern Dining Room
Midcentury modern design juxtaposes organic and neutral elements with crisp linearity and curated color. 'Honest' materials like wood and stone, with their authentic natural properties, ensure the midcentury modern home retains a relaxed, welcoming energy. A red accent wall offers a contemporary counterpart to these organic materials. The Arco floor lamp and Eero Saarinen tulip tables are classic midcentury modern home furnishings that add to the dining nook's bold design statement. From our midcentury modern palette, White Opulence OC-69—with its hint of pink undertone—is a fantastic color pairing to the Caliente AF-290-painted accent wall, a former Benjamin Moore Color of the Year.
The Craft of Midcentury Modern Design
Ochre, orange, brown and mustard yellow are all classic midcentury modern paint colors. Whether paired with other colors or used for a clean, monochromatic look, these earthy hues reflect the handcrafted, organic nature of midcentury modern design. The understated warmth of teak, and other medium-toned woods—as seen in this floating credenza—is a trademark of midcentury modern style. Woodstock Tan HC-20, from our midcentury modern color palette, offers color versatility with a vibrant edge. One of 191 colors in our Historical Color Collection, Woodstock Tan is a timeless hue equally at home in traditional as well as more minimalist, modern spaces.
The Zen of Midcentury Modern
Harmony with outdoor surroundings is a key tenet of midcentury design and architecture. Frank Lloyd Wright's iconic homes epitomize this concept. The right paint color helps connect the inside with the outside in a well-balanced, nature-inspired home. In this Pacific Northwest lodge, Elemental AF-400, a rooted neutral in a smooth matte finish creates a zen environment. Too deep? Consider soft white Ashwood OC-47, from Benjamin Moore's Off White Color Collection, and one of the six hues in our midcentury modern color palette.
Continue the Color Story on the Front Door
Midcentury modern color choices are always purposeful, strategic and thoughtful. The same holds true for exteriors. A front door in a lively color is always a win, providing both curb appeal and welcome-home happiness. From golden yellow Sunny Days 172, shown here, to something more bold—think Blue Lake 2053-40, Courtyard Green 546, and from our midcentury modern color palette, Terra Cotta Tile 2090-30—a colorful front door makes a statement.
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