One of the most popular design styles right now is the Mid-Century Modern style. Also known as “MCM” this style has been popular for quite a while now.
MCM design emphasises sleek lines, functionality, organic living, a mix of materials, and some amazing colour palettes. The combination of fun shapes and natural earthiness makes MCM design both interesting and timeless.
But before we get too caught up in the oh-so-wonderful world of MCM design details, if you are going with this style, let’s start at the beginning…with the colours. This is true for any design style. If you’re going for a specific design style in your space, nailing the colour palette is a must.
What You Need to Know About Colour Palettes
The colour palette has the ability to create the overall mood in the room and therefore can make or break your design. It is the first step in imagining your space, and starts with whatever you already have, whether that be flooring, walls or a piece of furniture.
This post is all about some of our favourite MCM colour palettes, featuring rich earthy hues and pops of jewel-like tones. If you love this design style, try starting out with one of these palettes and designing your space from there. We always suggest playing around with different colours to see what you are attracted to most!
The colour that is the smallest in the palette is usually used for more miniscule accent pieces, like a decorative vase or throw cushions. In order to strike balance in your space, the amount of each colour must be used in different variations.
MCM Colour Palette #1
Take a look at this MCM design we did for one of our amazing clients. We’ve created all the images on this post from this one client project to show you the relationship between the colour palette and the final design.
We began by creating the colour palette we wanted to work with, based on our client’s needs and wants. The colour of the walls and some of the main furniture is a beautiful, neutral cream.
You’ll notice our second prominent colour comes from the accent walls we created using a fluted-wood effect. The remainder of the colours can be seen in other accents of the space.
We used a fun mustard-yellow colour for throw pillows, a striking black, for vases, baskets and frames, and touches of green with actual plants! All put together, the colours have created a welcoming, warm cohesive look.
Here’s the mid-century modern colour palette we used in that design.
MCM Colour Palette #2
Let’s take a look at the second MCM colour palette we’ve created for the perfect MCM space. You’ll notice the middle colour is a neutral, creamy, warm tone. We love this wall colour as a base for your MCM design, as it really allows you to have some fun with the other tones.
You’ll notice some very deep, earthy tones of brown and red. These would be excellent colours for furniture. An absolute staple in MCM design is natural, wooden furniture (specifically teak wood).
If you have a lot of wooden furniture, the colour of your wood is going to be one of the prominent colours in your palette. It is important to keep this in mind so you can properly balance the warm wood tone with other colours.
The remainder of colours make for stunning pops around the room. You can do this by incorporating throw blankets and pillows, funky prints on the wall, or practically anything else you can think of!
MCM Colour Palette #3
This last mid-century modern colour palette shows that you can incorporate both warm and cold tones into your MCM design. Notice how well the peach compliments the blues and greens. MCM design often features a coloured piece of furniture so don’t be afraid to buy that dark green, velvety sofa, or those blue accent chairs!
Again, we want to stress how important (and fun) it is to play around with colours. Sometimes it’s the least likely pair of colours that result in a beautiful combination.
Are you hooked on the colour palettes of MCM yet? We absolutely are.
Not sure if MCM is your design style?
We believe that you are most likely attracted to more than one design style. Take our quiz to find out your unique style combo.
