Dining room furniture that is modern has a few tell tale characteristics about it that separates it from other styles. Interestingly enough though, those tell tale features are borrowed from many other eras and design styles, which makes the originality of such pieces truly debatable. None the less.
Modern trends of today for decorating include the dramatic style of mid century modern design. What makes the design of these pieces so fascinating is the fact that they are part of the contemporary modern look, yet the inspiration for those pieces stems from retro styles from fifty years ago. There are certain defining characteristics that seem to capture the true retro essence of this modern era of the past.
The most outstanding feature of modern dining room furniture is the clean and simple lines that the furniture follows. Furniture that dated before the 1950s was lavish, ornate, and extremely decorated and fancy but in todays cluttered world people seem to crave furniture that is very uncluttered and simple. Ironically it seems that these days the lavishness of pieces lies in the very lack of those ornate details. A good way to look at the smoothness of design of todays pieces is to think of them as being streamlined in design.
Another feature of modern dining room furniture is the color and texture of pieces. No longer is it fashionable in any room to have a huge abundance of patterns and tons of colors. Instead, the key to successful decor is all in the simplicity of pattern, which also means the lack of patterns. Solid colors are the way to go, which contributes to the organized and clean look of today. Bold colors on the walls and simple accents and textures are key. One of the best materials that is used in the dining room is teak. Teak has a strength and warmth that seemed to emit a sense of serenity during the 1950s, and it provides a traditionally excellent accent and backdrop to the bold wall colors and unique textures that are used.
In addition to fiberglass and teak, there were many other man made materials that were introduced in mid century design that were never previously used for furniture before. Plastic had become critically important as part of modern furniture in the 1950s and that included Plexiglass, Lucite, and Bakelite. There are some dining room furniture that is made of these materials today, and ever since plastics were introduced they have remained useful and often used. Some of the most popular designers of dining room furniture today are Herman Miller, Earnes, and Saarinen.
