What Is Modern Design Style?

Not to be confused with contemporary style (an ever-changing reflection of current trends), modernism is an instantly recognizable aesthetic that dates back to the early 20th century. As the architect Louis Sullivan famously put it, “form ever follows function” in modernist spaces: rooms’ structural elements are often exposed, pieces’ silhouettes are pared down to horizontal and vertical lines with few curves, materials are sleek and reflective and palettes are muted or boldly monochromatic. This confident, forward-looking style was hugely influential, and minimalist, midcentury modern and Scandinavian spaces all carry visual echoes of its uncompromising (but undeniably attractive) utilitarianism. Get back to basics by making modernist power moves like these.

Modern Spaces Use Glass Partitions

Open-concept modern spaces like this soaring, two-story Arizona great room emphasize every inch of their square footage by deploying materials like plate glass (which very nearly disappears from most angles) in lieu of banisters or railings that would carry more visual weight and interrupt both natural light and sight lines. Polished, poured-concrete flooring also promotes flow between the living and dining areas in this characteristically modern home. (Bonus points for the non-geometric but handsomely monochromatic dog.)

Modernism Minimizes Accents

This modern sitting area does have a few adornments: its linear white sofa sits beneath a large color photograph, and a clear glass sculpture shares space with design books and a lacquered box on a glass slab coffee table. Consider how faithfully those few accessories hew to modernism’s principles, though: the sculpture is a simple, seamless shape, the photo features a clean chrome frame and a virtually invisible, linear chrome picture light, the box’s crisp white surface has clean black edges and the design books are bound in muted tones that don’t scream for attention.

Warm Wood Softens a Modern Space

With majestically modern exterior glass walls (no breezy textiles to interrupt the natural light or block views here), concrete flooring and an angular platform bed as its sole piece of furniture, this austere bedroom depends on connection with the outdoors for warmth. The honey-toned wood and rust-colored linen duvet on the bed add a few clean, organic notes; the natural wood ceiling, in turn, contributes additional warmth and guides the eye out to both the geometric roof line and the verdant foothills outside.

Modern Pieces Are Ideal for Outdoor Spaces

Porches, patios and pool decks are the perfect places to play with modern design principles: where better to use smooth, industrial-strength pieces that are easy to clean and virtually impervious to the elements? Consider the dining set, chaises and umbrella in this impossibly chic Long Island yard: their no-frills construction and white-on-white palette can serve as the backdrop for stylish outdoor entertaining now and for decades to come. If you’re looking to dip your toe in old-school modern style, heading outdoors is an excellent way to get started.

Modern and Midcentury Are Complementary

This dramatic, upholstered black leather platform bed and the low, tone-on-tone dresser beside it are pitch-perfect homages to traditional modernist spaces. Its sculptural, steel-boned white light fixture (inspired by George Nelson’s iconic 1952 Saucer Bubble Pendant) and the banana art Andy Warhol created for the Velvet Underground’s 1967 album, in turn, push the space in a more midcentury-modern direction.

Modern Upholstery Skips Trim and Tufting

Pull a modern bedroom together with cues from this luxurious space on St. Barts: its expansive-but-unfussy window seat and benches lack the tassels, braid and fringing one would associate with more decorative styles. A gleaming, rectangular (the modernists loved right angles) headboard frames crisp white sheets, and the cool concrete floor lacks an area rug.

Modernism Favors Cool Metals and Stone

With steel-trimmed furniture polished to a mirror-like shine and a monolithic, near-seamless granite fireplace that matches its ebony flooring, this urban aerie epitomizes modernism’s cosmopolitan glamour. Unlike the serene St. Barts bedroom (above), this space lacks a view of golden sand and swaying palms to soften its sharp edges — so its design team added an area rug to soften the geometry just a smidge.