Mid Century Inspired Modern Dining Rooms by FCI London

Despite working at London’s largest modern furniture showroom, we are a bit old-school in some matters – one of which, of course, is mid-century design. We believe that the mid-century design was way ahead of its time, and it can easily be merged with modern interior design for a unique look.

Our team has lately been working on some really interesting projects that we would love to share with you. We have an outdoor and an indoor kitchen, both of which are inspired by the magnificent mid-century style design.

But first, we believe it is important to discuss the following:

What is Mid-Century Modern Design?

This word describes the prevalent furniture of the middle of the 20th century, when teak wood, basic, functional furniture, and curved shapes were the norm. The first half of the 20th century saw the boom of mass manufacturing and technology – designers and architects were keen to create new concepts that combined these innovations with furniture and interior design. 

Back in those days, life and homes were much simpler and this was evident from the furniture too as it was mostly clean-lined, simple but functional. It was pretty much in line with what we now know as ‘minimalistic’ as the ornate traditions of the past were being replaced with simplistic and organic decor. But when compared to modern design, the mid-century design still maintains a retro charm along with the use of bright accent colours. So between the two, modern design is more understated.

Our senior interior designer, Benjamin Ibanez, sums this up in the following words: “So when we talk about mid-century modern design, we’re obviously trying to create the perfect balance between mid-century and modern elements. The aim is to create a space that is more focused on function than ornamentation but at the same time, everything works well together and never clashes.”

Mid-Century Modern Outdoor Dining Area

Benjamin just finished working on a beautiful property in Bushey, where FCI London provided furniture for not just the interior but also the outdoors.

The project featured a stunning and huge outdoor space where the client wanted a dining area that was both modern and classic, so we decided to go for a mid-century modern vibe.

Here’s a closeup of the outdoor space where you can see that it is connected to the semi-outdoor dining and bar area:

As mid-century modern enthusiasts, we obviously had to go for Teak furniture for this space.

Back in those days, Teak was a popular material because of its strength and richness in terms of colours and luckily, even today, teak furniture continues to be the most preferred material for outdoor furniture.

The dining chairs and armchairs were both chosen because of their curved silhouette – another popular design trend of the mid-century era.

Since the dining table was big enough with extra seating in the semi-outdoor space, we decided to add a few teak wood benches to match the dining table – they made the space visually more aesthetic and open as we felt that adding more dining chairs would have made the space feel cramped.

As we discussed above, mid-century decor almost always included some bold or accent colours which is why we went for these pink armchairs that brought the whole dining area together:

Mid-Century Inspired Indoor Dining Room

Back in 2019, Benjamin Ibanez collaborated with Rina Vastu for this award-winning project from Elm Park, Kensington, and it continues to be our favourite because of the special memories associated with it.

The dining area is what we would truly call a mid-century modern space because of its simple yet functional look while highlighting the traditional mid-century elements: clean lines, curved silhouettes, and a mix of wood and glass.

Keeping with the mid-century love for raw and natural elements – we went for a skylight over the dining space and highlighted it with a vintage chandelier that resembles the traditional, candle-style fixtures of the era.

Summing Up

As you can see in both the kitchens shared above, mid-century modern design is highly focused on highlighting the wooden pieces and other natural elements. So when designing a mid-century modern dining room, try to incorporate a balance between wood, glass and other materials. It is also important to remember that mid-century design was all about functionality so any furniture or accessories you add must be strong and durable enough to stand the test of time.

If you need help selecting the furniture for your mid-century modern dining room, get in touch with us for a free design consultation.