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06 Mid-Century
Modern

Mid-Century Modern is maturing, evolving from its practical, timeless roots into a more layered and comforting direction. The look is refreshed with high-performance design and joyful maximalism, featuring bright colours, tactile finishes and expressive geometry.

Download the full Design Handbook for a more in depth look at design themes, inspiration, floorplans, landscaping and more.

Download the full Mid-Century Modern Design Handbook

Playful, layered
& comforting

Clean lines and smart layouts are softened with warmer tones, textured surfaces and striking colour accents, creating homes that feel both timeless and full of personality.

Contents:

  • Lifestyle themes NEW
  • Floorplan NEW
  • Design features
  • Cladding solutions
  • Colour palette
  • Style variations
  • Materials & textures
  • Landscaping NEW
  • Styling
MCM Design Handbook Contents
MCM Design Handbook Contents

Lifestyle themes

Guided by optimism, expressive geometry and layered comfort, the Mid-Century Modern home responds to evolving lifestyles, encouraging creativity, connection and everyday ease through adaptable design, warmth and enduring performance.

MCM Design Handbook Lifestyle themes 1

Evolved Living

With modular layouts and durable materials, Mid-Century Modern helps deliver high-performance living. It is a smart, design-led response to rising costs and changing lifestyle needs, offering homes that are not only efficient and resilient but also deeply attuned to the rhythms of contemporary life. From passive design to flexible zoning and indoor-outdoor flow, this style supports wellbeing and adaptability.

Creative Living

Mid-Century Modern embraces retro-inspired creativity through expressive geometry and vibrant colour-blocking, turning nostalgia into a dynamic design language that sparks joy and individuality.

Multigenerational Living

Mid-Century Modern supports multigenerational living through flexible zoning, open-plan flow and adaptable nooks, balancing shared connection with personal retreat while maintaining warmth, practicality and enduring spatial efficiency across changing family needs.

Autonomous Living

Mid-Century Modern approaches Autonomous Living through durable materials, passive design and adaptable layouts, enabling low-maintenance comfort, energy efficiency and long-term resilience while maintaining warmth, character and everyday ease.
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For additional insights in to the lifestyle shifts shaping Mid-Century Modern homes today, Download the full Design Handbook to gain expert insight from Jenny Li of WGSN.

Download the full Mid-Century Modern Design Handbook

Design features

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1 Expressive roofline

Flat, skillion or butterfly roofs are concealed behind parapet walls and feature wide, overhanging eaves. These pronounced rooflines define the home’s silhouette and add playful character.
Design Features - Barn (1)

2 Structural Expression

Exposed beams and columns showcase the building’s framework with detailed connectors adding visual interest. This structural clarity reinforces the style’s geometric confidence and Mid-Century craftsmanship.
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3 Light-filled openings

Large windows flood interiors with natural light and connect indoor and outdoor zones, reinforcing the style’s open, optimistic character.
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4 Layered materiality

Tactile warmth is created through a mix of materials from different textures and groove lines of cladding to touches of timber, stone, terrazzo and glass. This reflects the expressive layering of the style.

Cladding solutions

Mid-Century Modern cladding pairs smooth panels and pronounced grooves with tactile materials, creating layered facades that celebrate structure, colour and craftsmanship while supporting durability, flexibility and enduring performance.

Ready to specify Hardie™ fibre cement products in your next project?

Order a sample

Colour palette

Mid-Century Modern colour palettes reinterpret Mid-Century optimism through warm neutrals, earthy greens and soft blues, balanced with playful accents. Layered tones energise interiors while highlighting texture, geometry and architectural clarity.

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Want to understand how colour shapes the Mid-Century Modern aesthetic? Download the Design Handbook for insight into the colour palette from Jenny Li of WGSN.

Download the full Mid-Century Modern Design Handbook

Scheme 1

Scheme 2

Scheme 3

Roof
Main Walls
Trims
Front Door

Colorbond® steel Dover White®

Dulux® Colorbond® Dover White®
Wattyl® Solagard Colorbond® steel Dover White®
Taubmans® Colorbond® Dover White®

Dulux® Shallow Sea
Wattyl® Teal grey
Taubmans® Surfside Green

Dulux® Pink Clay Quarter
Wattyl® Snow Rose
Taubmans® Perfume Spritz

Dulux® Open Sesame
Wattyl® Galilean moon
Taubmans® Cornmeal

Dulux® Chlorite
Wattyl® Pine Ash
Taubmans® Fenwick Garden

Dulux® Colorbond® Dover White®
Wattyl® Solagard Colorbond® Dover steel White®
Taubmans® Colorbond® Dover White®

Dulux® Open Sesame
Wattyl® Galilean moon
Taubmans® Cornmeal

Colorbond® steel Dover White®

Dulux® Colorbond® Dover White®
Wattyl® Solagard Colorbond® Dover steel White®
Taubmans® Colorbond® Dover White®

Dulux® Tsunami
Wattyl® Pyrenees Olive
Taubmans® Green Fiddler

Colorbond® steel Monument®

Dulux® Rodham
Wattyl® Dingle
Taubmans® Sweet Grass

Dulux® Colorbond® Monument®
Wattyl® Solagard Colorbond® steel Monument®
Taubmans® Colorbond® Monument®

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Natural Timber

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Scheme 1

Scheme 2

Scheme 3

Roof
Main Walls
Trims
Front Door

Colorbond® steel Dover White®

Dulux® Colorbond® Dover White®
Wattyl® Solagard Colorbond® steel Dover White®
Taubmans® Colorbond® Dover White®

Dulux® Shallow Sea
Wattyl® Teal grey
Taubmans® Surfside Green

Dulux® Pink Clay Quarter
Wattyl® Snow Rose
Taubmans® Perfume Spritz

Dulux® Open Sesame
Wattyl® Galilean moon
Taubmans® Cornmeal

Dulux® Chlorite
Wattyl® Pine Ash
Taubmans® Fenwick Garden

Dulux® Colorbond® Dover White®
Wattyl® Solagard Colorbond® Dover steel White®
Taubmans® Colorbond® Dover White®

Dulux® Open Sesame
Wattyl® Galilean moon
Taubmans® Cornmeal

Colorbond® steel Dover White®

Dulux® Colorbond® Dover White®
Wattyl® Solagard Colorbond® Dover steel White®
Taubmans® Colorbond® Dover White®

Dulux® Tsunami
Wattyl® Pyrenees Olive
Taubmans® Green Fiddler

Colorbond® steel Monument®

Dulux® Rodham
Wattyl® Dingle
Taubmans® Sweet Grass

Dulux® Colorbond® Monument®
Wattyl® Solagard Colorbond® steel Monument®
Taubmans® Colorbond® Monument®

150ff25f304c17ca80b04a1e6f95bb2cb3cdcb41 (1)

Natural Timber

JAM2677 MHF 2026 Campaign Dev 4 9 3

Want to understand how colour shapes the Mid-Century Modern aesthetic? Download the Design Handbook for insight into the colour palette from Jenny Li of WGSN.

Download the full Mid-Century Modern Design Handbook

Style variations

While the relaxed coastal language anchors Mid-Century Modern, variations respond to lifestyle, site orientation and climate. Layouts, material palettes and indoor–outdoor detailing adapt to context, enabling breezy homes that balance comfort, flexibility, connection and long-term performance across evolving family needs.

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Eco Mid-Century Modern

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Palm Springs Mid-Century Modern

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Japandi Mid-Century Modern

Download the full Mid-Century Modern Design Handbook

Get the Look

Materials & textures

A layered material palette combines warm timbers, natural stone and dimensional tiles with smooth render and matte finishes, balancing nostalgic character with contemporary performance and expressive, liveable texture.

MCM Design Handbook Materials and Textures
Editor Avatar

Hear directly from VOGUE Living Editor Rebecca Caratti on material choices. Download the full Design Handbook for exclusive insights.

Download the full Mid-Century Modern Design Handbook
Small Image1
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Exterior

  • 1

    Haven Crazy Paving, Limestone, RMS Traders

  • 2

    Tuscan Paver, Travertine, RMS Traders

  • 3

    Ubud Green Wavy Mosaic Tile, The Pool Tile
    Company

  • 4

    PVC Decking, Vintage Collection®, Weathered
    Teak, TimberTech®

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Flooring

  • 5

    Haven Crazy Paving, Limestone, RMS Traders

  • 6

    Harvest, Walnut Cork, The Flooring Co

  • 7

    Le Corbusier Molitor Gris Clair 31 Tile, Artedomus

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Windows & Walls

  • 8

    Narrow Reeded Decorative Glass, Veridian Glass

  • 9

    Narrow Reeded Decorative Glass, Veridian Glass

  • 10

    Dulux Ecru Quarter Interior Paint, Dulux

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Cabinetry

  • 11

    Travertine Noce Benchtop, CDK Stone

  • 12

    American Walnut Costato Veneer, Havwoods

  • 13

    Laminex Natural Teak, Laminex

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Tiles

  • 14

    Haddon Pink Matte Medium Square Tile,
    Tilecloud

  • 15

    Noosa Gloss Zellige White Square Tile, Tilecloud

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Large Image18

Textiles

  • 16

    Billie Linen, Yellow, Annie Coop

  • 17

    Pacifico Linen, Bastion, Annie Coop

  • 18

    Halston Velvet, Rust, Warwick

Get the Look

Materials & textures

A layered material palette combines warm timbers, natural stone and dimensional tiles with smooth render and matte finishes, balancing nostalgic character with contemporary performance and expressive, liveable texture.

MCM Design Handbook Materials and Textures
Small Image1
Small Image2
Small Image3
Small Image4

Exterior

  • 1

    Haven Crazy Paving, Limestone, RMS Traders

  • 2

    Tuscan Paver, Travertine, RMS Traders

  • 3

    Ubud Green Wavy Mosaic Tile, The Pool Tile
    Company

  • 4

    PVC Decking, Vintage Collection®, Weathered
    Teak, TimberTech®

Editor Avatar

Hear directly from VOGUE Living Editor Rebecca Caratti on material choices. Download the full Design Handbook for exclusive insights.

Download the full Mid-Century Modern Design Handbook

Landscaping

Landscaping for Mid-Century Modern homes celebrates structure and flow, pairing sculptural planting with layered grasses, native textures and climate-responsive species to create relaxed outdoor rooms that connect architecture, lifestyle and landscape.

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Find a detailed, climate specific planting list in the full Design Handbook, with expert insight from Matt Leacy, Director of Landart.

Download the full Mid-Century Modern Design Handbook
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05 Barn
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07 Modern Coastal