The Mid-Century Modern Bathroom is Back!

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Breaking News! The Mid-Century Modern Bathroom is back in style. But what is Mid-Century Modern? How can you apply it to your own home? Is it chic? Is it fetch? What is it? Don’t worry dear reader, we will explain all. From the history to the revitalisation, this is Mid-Century Modern unpacked.

History of Mid-Century Modern

The movement began with architect and furniture designer Miles van der Rohe and the invention of a single chair. The Barcelona. With it’s sleek, yet unusual design that dared to embrace both functionality and form, a new wave of interior design was born.

This chair, The Barcelona, was released in 1929, the turn of the Mid-Century. It struck a nerve and within a few years a movement began. The timing led to the movement being retroactively called “Mid-Century”. Designers of countless magnitude answered the call and for decades. From 1933 to 1965, the West saw an influx of beautiful, yet practical items. Around 1947, as the world recovered from war, designers introduced a lot of colours to the now classic Mid-Century look and Mid-Century Modern was born.

The Design Philosophy

The name of the game was function as beauty. The people wanted practical. They wanted things to have multiple uses and for everything to work just so. But they also wanted it to be pretty, soothing and nice to look at.

Especially after the war, people wanted designs that benefited them and increased ease of life. Mid-Century Modern had to be practical and easy, yet fun and interesting. It was all of these things and more.

Now let’s break down the different design elements of the movement, so you can understand how to style your bathroom today.

Colour

A lot of colours were lavishly splashed around the house, with greens and pinks used as excellent accentuators. However, importantly, the colours were cool tones. Nice, calming and soothing colours with minimal contrast. It was about embracing the fun and modernity of colour, while keeping the much needed simplicity and calmness.

Bathrooms saw use of a lot of white as the main body colour, with black floor tiles used as a subtle offset. There would often be a feature colour utilised, maybe a pale green bathtub or cool pink shower to give a bit of life to proceedings.

Décor

Keeping in line with the tenets of simplicity and functionality, minimalism was embraced. Items with clean lines and silhouettes were favoured and clutter was removed. Patterned tiles would be used to break up the visuals and highlight the stark cleanliness of the spaces.

The odd plant would find itself dotted around the bathroom, bringing that simple beauty that only nature can provide. If you’re wondering which plant you should have in your bathroom, we have an entire article dedicated to it. Afterall, the bathroom industry is going green, so you might as well too!

Fixtures

With the element of beauty, came the visual cues of luxury. Freestanding baths made a splash and their beautiful and ornate legs were part and parcel of their divine aesthetic appeal. As well as this, close coupled toilets were popular, as they provided much needed functionality and visual simplicity when compared to their competitors.

Materials

Tile was king in the bathroom, but wood was its doting queen. Darker teak wood was the most popular by far as it made for a nice feature against the cool tones and simple patterns. This was often highlighted with the much lighter beech wood which allowed for subtle contrast that didn’t interrupt the cool, low contrast surroundings.

As well as this, both woods are incredibly strong and durable. This made them perfect for the culture favouring functionality and dependability and it makes them perfect for you. These materials were used for vanities and shelves that were connected to their fixtures, again driving home the minimalism and functionality by featuring combined elements with dual purposes.

Expanding on the classics

If you’re looking to expand on the Mid-Century Modern style, we can suggest incorporating a toilet with a sink on top. A modern invention that echoes the Mid-Century Modern stylings perfectly. It is a piece that combines beauty and function by being multipurpose and convenient, design philosophies the Mid-Century Modern movement lived by. If you want the unique edge to your Mid-Century Modern styled bathroom, get a toilet with a sink on top. It’s the fixture that makes the old new again.

Conclusion

As you can see, the Mid-Century Modern aesthetic has its many boons. The focus on beauty and functionality means your bathroom can be more functional than ever. Combine this with the introduction of subtle smart bathroom elements and you could really see your ease of life increase exponentially. As well as this, the soothing colours and reliability of the functional designs is so important in our modern, chaotic age.

Mid-Century Modern is back, as it should be.