Take stock of your dining room furniture and the other accents in the room. Is your style modern? Not sure? It’s ok—most homes don’t fit in a neat little box of one particular style category. We can, however, define the category itself. Let’s investigate what it means to Go Mod.

History of Modernism

Furniture produced from the late 19th century to the present that was influenced by modernism is what we now loosely refer to as modern furniture. One particular time period of modern furniture production stands out: the post World War II era (1940s and 1950s). For the first time in decades, many people found themselves with disposable income and with a strong desire for change and innovation.

What originally created this movement? Traditional dining furniture was viewed as ornamental, and great value was placed on the length of time it took to create a piece. Modernism played upon an entirely new philosophy, where dining room furniture became focused on function and accessibility. The movement was all about newness, originality, and technological innovation.

A Different Look

Modern dining room furniture was a drastic departure from all furniture styles that had gone before it. Suddenly, smooth surfaces were in; gilded carved woods were out. Richly patterned fabrics had no place on modern dining room chairs. One theme that was carried throughout the furniture that was being defined as modernist was simplicity.

A very visible departure from tradition that modernism took was to incorporate new materials into furniture design. Steel, plastic, leather, and molded plywood were just a few of the new ingredients embraced by this innovative movement.

Buying Modern Dining Room Furniture

Dining rooms are one of the easiest spaces for you to incorporate modernism into your home. As far as dining room tables go, look for sleek, non-fussy designs. Rich, dark woods with chrome accents fit the bill. Blonde wood dining tables with a quirky twist of Art Deco plastic dining room chairs work, too.

There’s no particularly shape you have to go with to be modern: round, oval, square or rectangular all work.  Just ensure that your dining room table is streamlined and not chunky, or it won’t fit in with the overall modern look that you’re going for.

Lastly, don’t fall into the trap of thinking that modern furniture has to be black or white. One of the best retro dining rooms we’ve seen had a round dark-wood table surrounded by six leather chairs in six different colors. So go ahead and be daring in using color to accent your modern home.