mid century Modern design has inhabited our homes since its resurgence in the mid-nineties, filling our living rooms with teak sideboards, G-plan stacking tables and Danish wishbone chairs. The movement was based on a clean-lined aesthetic and used the new technology that emerged after World War II, along with a growing middle class that needed more. Collection and practical solutions for living well. It returned to favor in the 1990s and remains a mainstay in both everyday furniture design John Lewis‘ Collections, for example – and more elevated, advanced spaces.
Like politics and fashion, interior design trends Tends to swing from one extreme to the other. Where mid-century modern design had put an austere end to pre-war Victorian design, its 1990s revival came, perhaps in part, in response to the maximalism of the 1980s. So now that we’re living in a design paradigm where almost everything is subtly influenced by the MCM movement (tapered legs, teak finishes, hidden handles and streamlined silhouettes), what is the reactionary movement?
Although not a drastic leap, the subtle return to Italian modernism answers many of the design desires left unsatisfied by the teak of the 1950s. The appeal is clear: where Scandinavian modernism sought calm, Italian modernism pursued drama. According to 1stDibs‘ 2025 Designer SurveyEnthusiasm for classic mid-century modern waned, while interest in the Bauhaus and Art Deco Quadruple. The return of tubular steel, chrome and stained glass may be less a new trend than a return to the more glamorous European branch of modernism.
