5 Tips for Combining Mid-Century Modern Style With a Farmhouse Aesthetic

5 Tips for Combining Mid-Century Modern Style With a Farmhouse Aesthetic

If you hear the style terms “mid-century modern” and “modern farmhouse” within the same sentence, there’s a good chance you may feel a bit confused about how to shop by room at many local stores and furniture sites. These two seemingly opposite style choices — mid-century modern with its sleek lines and geometric shapes and farmhouse with its rustic, reclaimed wood aesthetic — are usually not thought to complement each other.

 

What do you do if you love both styles and don’t want to choose one over the other for your home décor? Surprisingly, if you choose the right pieces and plan your interior’s overall look ahead of time, you can integrate these two looks that seem as likely to mix as oil and water upon first glance. Read through the five tips below to see how you can start combining mid-century and modern farmhouse styles today.

1. Focus on Minimalism

These two disparate styles have at least one point in common: minimalism. You don’t often see a fashionable mid-century couch draped with multiple pillows, and you probably won’t see a modern farmhouse table adorned with anything more than a small pot of flowers. Choosing one or two accent pieces is key to combining both of these styles. Regardless of whether you choose to accentuate one or the other, resisting the urge to over-decorate can be crucial to pulling off the look you’re trying to achieve.

2. Understand Your Materials

If there’s one thing mid-century modern style is known for, it’s the use of repetitive geometric patterns. Farmhouse style tends to use neutrals, plaids, and lace materials, but this doesn’t mean that the two can’t be mixed! If you want to keep the overall farmhouse look with a few mid-century accents, focus on using geometric patterns in accent pieces such as mirrors, pillows, and curtains. They can be as subtle as you want. On the other hand, if you wish to include more farmhouse-inspired décor into your mid-century look, choose lace curtains (with a repeating geometric pattern, of course), rustic mirror frames, quilts, or wood-inspired accent art.

3. Use Wood

Farmhouse styles use a lot of wood in every room, and for good reason: If you were a traditional farmer, what would you likely craft your house with? Wood, stone, and other natural materials were readily available in the countryside. With that in mind, focus on using wood in your floors, creating a natural wood look with bookcases, and using wooden chairs at your kitchen table. Remember, you do not have to perfectly combine these two styles. Using sleek wood that is not too intricate — maybe a rectangular coffee table or a series of white wooden picture frames to add a pop of contrast to a wall — can be a great way to combine both of these styles without confusing the eye.

4. Utilize Floral Prints

Figuring out exactly how much of a “natural” or nature-inspired look to use can be difficult when seamlessly integrating a farmhouse aesthetic with a mid-century style. Too many florals and lace and your home may end up looking like a cottage in the woods (which can certainly be charming in its own way!), and too many angular shapes and your house may start to feel a bit cold. Pull nature in by using unconventional methods — use flowers to create pops of color and look for geometric floral prints to add aspects of both styles to your walls.

5. Bring In Color — But Not Too Much Saturation

Using neutrals as a backdrop including wood materials, white and cream furniture, and grey, tan, or off-white walls is a big selling point for those who love the farmhouse look. Mid-century modern styles often focus more on the contrast and saturation of color. These are usually opposite ideas, but they don’t have to be. If you like the calm, desaturated look of farmhouse rooms but you love mid-century couches, consider using neutrals such as charcoal and white, wood accents, and the sleek lines of a rectangular-shaped couch to combine styles.

 

Shy away from bold pieces that take up a lot of space. That lime green couch you love, for example, may completely derail the combination of farmhouse and mid-century modern styles! A cream-colored couch and curtains with a small pink geometric pattern could fuse both styles without looking odd. Incorporate bold colors in small doses so they don’t become overwhelming.

 

Hopefully, you now have a mental list of ideas and a renewed energy for perfecting your home’s interior. Remember, there’s no one right way to combine these styles — or any two styles, for that matter. Start with these suggestions and let your imagination do the rest! Find your next idea at Antique Farm House or get in touch with us for inspiration and awesome products that will bring just the right flair to your home’s décor.