Four squares containing bright and busy textile patterns designed in the 1950s and 1960s by textile designer Lucienne Day. The upper left design has a taupe background with black, white, yellow, and red half moon shapes of different sizes and patterns aligned along straight lines like stylized flowers on stems. At upper right are white outlines of leaves overlaid on squares of varying shades of green. At lower left is a grey background overlaid with roughly rectangular faded coral, faded blue, and white shapes with tiny black characters (stars, squares, leaves) overlaid above the colors in lines. At lower right is a goldenrod covered square with many square and triangular lines and dots overlaid in black.
Design 101

Midcentury Modern Colors

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Don’t let the grey and beige midcentury furniture reproductions in home furnishing stores fool you. Actual midcentury home colors were often vivid and varied!

Six bent plywood midcentury modern chairs are displayed inside glossy white square cells at the Danish Museum of Art & Design. Three chairs are on the top row, and three more are below. Arne Jacobsen's Series 7 chair is at upper right. None of the chairs is labeled.
Design 101

When Danish Modern Style Ruled

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In the 1940s, during World War II, Danish designers were prominent leaders in the movement to design and make affordable, functional, elegant furniture. Danish designer Kaare Klint (1888–1954) is today considered the father of modern Danish design. He helped establish the Department of Furniture Design at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, and taught […]

Design 101

The Birth of Midcentury Modernism

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Midcentury modernism of the 1950s and 1960s is based on innovations of architects and designers of the 1920s and 1930s. Explore what led to the style’s creation and eventual massive popularity.

A painting from 1875 by Gustave Caillebotte shows three shirtless men working on the floor of an empty Haussmann-style Parisian apartment building. They are in the midst of planing the floor, scraping up curls of wood before refinishing the floor for a new tenant.
What's Your Style?

Parisian Interior Design

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Here’s an overview of one of the most influential and popular French styles—welcome to Parisian interior design.

A Midcentury Modern minimalist rush-seated wooden dining chair in pale wood sits on a light-wood floor with a white bare wall behind. To the left of the chair is a pair of small MCM cabinets in a mid-toned wood (perhaps walnut) with a prominent grain. It has two sliding doors across a cabinet on the top, and a wooden shelf below, all on a metal frame. It is about as tall as the back of the chair. Resting on the cabinet is a minimalist line drawing of a face in simple black lines on a white background. Books rest on top of and below the cabinet with spines facing away from the camera.
Design 101 Feature

Sustainable Interior Design

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Sustainability is, simply put, the goal of creating and maintaining an environment in which we can safely coexist with other humans, animals, and botanical life, both now and far into the future. This beautiful goal means we have to be honest with ourselves about how we live. Living sustainably can sometimes mean changing the way […]

A four-poster bed hung with white fringed linens sits at left. A caned two-seat bench sits at the foot of the bed on a wide-planked floor; a white chamber pot sits on the floor at the foot of the bed. At right are walls covered in bright, cheery leaf-patterned wallpaper in greens and whites, a double-hung window with white shutters, and white wainscot. Below the window is a window seat. Caned side and arm chairs matching the bench sit along the right wall. An antique highboy chest sits in the back right corner.
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The Delights of Historical House Museums

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When I visit a new region, one of the first things I want to know is where to find the historical house museums. They’re full of beautiful old treasures and architectural choices I’d never find elsewhere. Houses tell us fascinating stories about their place in history. Guides or placards explain what you’re seeing and what’s […]

A large loft apartment with exposed beams, ducts and brick is decorated with midcentury modern (MCM) dining furniture, a Persian carpet, and a dark leather sofa, mixing industrial and MCM styles
Design 101

Decorating with Texture

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Texture is one of the elements of design that does the most to make a room feel welcoming and comfortable. We notice and remember colors and patterns, but textures really make a room feel interesting. They invite us to let our eyes and hands explore a space. Decorating with texture and three-dimensionality can bring warmth, […]

Many Arne Jacobsen Series 7 pale bent-wood chairs arrayed in offset lines seen from above, all with a white floor showing between the many chairs
What's Your Style?

Scandinavian Interior Design

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Scandinavian interior design is a functional and minimalist style. It combines sleek, simple geometric forms with organic shapes using natural materials. Scandi style emphasizes the beauty of decorative elements like wood and glass by adding unexpected curves or textures. The Nordic countries represented by Scandinavian design all have much in common regarding materials, colors, shapes, […]

A glass vase filled with pink and clear glass balls is viewed from above. It sits on a patchwork runner made of patterned fabrics designed by Kaffe Fassett and Philip Jacobs. At left is a vase of evergreen branches decorated with fake red berries and red and green tartan ribbon.
Feature Special Occasions

Quick and Elegant Christmas Decorating Ideas

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Here’s how to decorate for Christmas both quickly and elegantly. Featured here are centerpieces, mantel decor, and large and small Christmas trees.

A view of Wright's studio complex from the sidewalk shows a sseries of low horizontal walls of brick, concrete, and wooden shingles topped by planters designed by Wright. In the center rear is a taller octagonal wooden building that contained the drafting room and the vault that held his blueprints.
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Decorating Tips from Frank Lloyd Wright

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Frank Lloyd Wright (1867 – 1959) is often described as the greatest American architect of the 20th century. But he was much more than an architect. He designed furniture, stained glass windows, tiles, ceramic blocks, sculptures, and decor. Wright thought of his buildings as environments in which every element should work together to create a […]