A simple way to radically redefine a home’s interior is to change the lighting. If you own a Mid Century Modern home, period-appropriate lighting can highlight its architecture and capture the mid-century vibe. The same principles can also help you bring a classic MCM design style to newer homes.
The wrong lighting, however, can completely clash with that look, no matter how carefully you’ve chosen your furniture and décor. This post will guide you in creating an authentic MCM vibe while avoiding common pitfalls.
1. Start with a cohesive theme.
Because the lighting is so integral to an MCM house, you should think about it early. If you are currently shopping for furniture and décor, think about starting with illumination.
Map out your plan for the interior design. Where will you place furnishings? What activities will you do in each room? What are the logical places to install lights? Account for the architecture and floor plan, as well as where you want to place decorative accents.
Some Mid-Century Modern lights are very eye-catching and can establish a decorative theme for your entire home. For example, say you fall in love with the Louis Poulsen PH5 lamp in green. You might decide to add other pops of green color throughout your house, coordinating with the lamps. You could also choose furniture and décor that has a similar sleek, almost retro-futurist vibe to complement your lights
2. Highlight architecture with soft, indirect glow
If you have post-and-beam construction (common in Eichler homes), show it off with sconce lighting. Mount the sconces relatively high. They will cast light upward onto the ceiling, showcasing the exposed beams. A soft, diffuse glow from a series of sconces will illuminate the whole ceiling, with enough light and shadow to make the beams stand out, but without the kind of glaring light that would create harsh contrasts. Lighting source for sconces: remcraft.com
3. Make ample use of pendant lights
Along with wall sconces, one of the most ubiquitous types of lighting in Mid Century Modern homes is pendant lights. Globe pendant lights are an authentic classic, and can be your go-to in the kitchen, foyer, hallway, and over your kitchen or dining room tables. You can also find pendant lights with simple but bold geometric shapes that likewise can suit an MCM interior design style.
For chandeliers, the classic choice is a sputnik light. This is a chandelier that typically looks like a starburst of pendant lights attached to a central sphere or cylinder. It can coordinate very nicely with nearby pendant lights (those positioned over your kitchen counter or island, for example).
4. Layer in floor and table lamps
We’ve mostly discussed ambient lighting to fill your rooms with a soft, diffused glow. But for specific tasks, you may need to layer in other types of lights. Floor and table lamps can provide you with the focused light you need for working, reading, and more.
Look for simple geometric forms and honest materials. Brass, walnut, teak, painted metal, ceramic or glass can all be good choices
For table lamps, look to the 1950s George Nelson “Bubble” table lamps, or 1960s Lotte & Gunnar Bostlund ceramic lamps as possibilities.
For your floor, draw inspiration from the graceful, delicate arc of the Arco lamp by Achille & Pier Giacomo Castiglioni, or consider a multi-arm “tree” lamp with a sputnik-like look for some space-age flair.
5. Avoid recessed cans
One type of light to stay away from is recessed can lights. For starters, cans are not cozy. Their downward light creates harsh, unwelcome contrasts, and tends to make a room look and feel sterile.
They are also too utilitarian. Mid Century Modern design emphasizes function, but it doesn’t jettison form. Most MCM designers used functionality as a constraint to guide the design of beautiful furnishings and décor along creative and practical pathways, not to dismiss the role of aesthetics in comfortable living.
Canned lights are installed inside the ceiling. You just see the bulb. MCM light fixtures feature shapes like globes, saucers and starbursts so that they double as functional lighting and sculptural objects.
Canned lights are installed inside the ceiling. You just see the bulb. MCM light fixtures feature shapes like globes, saucers and starbursts so that they double as functional lighting and sculptural objects.
6. Stick with warm light temperatures
The cold white LED lights installed in many homes today did not exist during the mid century. You can install LED lights in your Mid-Century Modern house. But you should set them at around 2700K, which is a warm, yellowish glow mimicking an incandescent light bulb. This color may be marketed as “soft white” or “warm light.”
If you can, choose bulbs with white glass or opal glass. These types of glass diffuse the light so that it is soft.
We also recommend that you purchase lights with dimmers. You can then raise or lower the brightness of each of your light layers to create different moods or to do a range of activities.
7. Consider how the home will look from outside at night
One of the typical defining features of Mid-Century Modern homes is large glass windows, sometimes taking up entire walls. If you are outside in your yard or garden at night, a lot of light is going to be spilling out into your lawn.
As you decide on lighting solutions for your interior, do not forget to account for how your lighting will impact your outdoor spaces. If you follow all the guidelines in this post, the gentle glow pouring out of your house should beautifully showcase its architecture while softly illuminating your garden.
Install accent lights in your garden to light up trees, sculptures, or other features, and to illuminate paths. Avoid harsh, glaring light or cool tones. Choose softer, warmer lights to carry the cozy atmosphere into your garden or courtyard.
The Right Lighting Sets the Stage for an Authentic Mid Century Mood
You can shop for Mid Century Modern lamps and fixtures at stores like Hobbs Modern, Herman Miller, and Louis Poulsen. MCM lighting fixtures also make their way onto the used market. You can use Treasure Fox to scan lamps you find at estate sales, garage sales and antique stores to see if you’ve found an MCM treasure. Check the Treasure Fox marketplace for Mid Century Modern light fixtures for sale.
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