MIDCENTURY MODERN WITH THIS STYLE, EVERYTHING OLD IS “IN” AGAIN By Diane Krieger Spivak | Photos provided by Villa and Farm, Warehouse 55 and Trend + Relic
H
ome decor has gone “Back to the Future,” to quote the iconic time-travel movie.
If there’s one thing that the pandemic has taught us, it’s to simplify. Working and being at home more has left us staring at the same rooms for extended periods of time, inspiring many of us to purge belongings in our quest for uncluttered peace. Enter midcentury modern. While the resurgence of this mid-20th-century design began before anyone had ever heard of COVID-19, the past few years have made the sleek look even more appealing. “There’s no fussiness in decorating anymore,” says Carolynn Maltese, owner of Villa and Farm, a Kane County-based pop-up home decor store. “Bedrooms have become offices, and rooms that were always offices are used every day now.” Midcentury modern took off after World War II when people wanted the clean lines of Danish and Scandinavian looks, explains Maltese. Back then, the style was considered avant-garde with its simple, often sculptural lines and fabrics sporting geometric, abstract
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HOME & LIFESTYLE MARCH 2022
and atomic prints. Look up Charles and Ray Eames and Arne Jacobsen, pioneers in midcentury design.
“If you don’t design it correctly and you have a lot of pieces, it can look really dated.”
“People are liking the cleaner lines in furniture and simplicity, not fancy,” concurs Mark Allen, who owns Warehouse 55 in Aurora and Chicago. “People are no longer looking for ornateness and carvings.” Big sellers are the period’s long dressers. “People use them as a buffet console table,” says Allen. “Nightstands are really popular again.”
Karri Custardo, co-owner of Trend + Relic in St. Charles, says she’s doing a lot of mixing of midcentury modern with boho. “The texture blends really, really well with the clean lines of MCM, and it makes the MCM a little bit more current,” says Custardo, who suggests marrying the two styles by pairing a simple furniture piece with a boho pillow or rug. “It’s letting people bring color back in. We’ve been devoid of color for such a long time.”
Record cabinets are also flying out the doors due to a renewed interest in vintage LP records. “We’ve also been selling a lot of nightstands and credenzas.” Some buyers refinish their “new” pieces, while others leave them as is, adds Allen. One of Maltese’s customers had received a vintage record player as a birthday gift, and bought a small midcentury modern hall table. “Everyone wants raw or natural wood now, so we had left it the natural color and painted the front and added hardware. That was the perfect statement piece. It didn’t overtake the room. “You have to be so careful with MCM,” says Maltese.
Custardo updates midcentury pieces by changing out the hardware to a gold or black bar. “It gives a clean, sleek look that people just can’t get enough of. We sell a lot of that. People aren’t necessarily doing their whole house in MCM, but they’re mixing in pieces of MCM, which is very on-trend right now. It’s the same with decor. You may have a modern dresser, but on the wall above it you have an MCM clock,” says Custardo. Trend + Relic also sees a lot of midcentury modern dressers and in particular buffets going out the door. “We’ve brought more in the last six months because it’s becoming more and more in demand.”
