Local Designers and Educators Define Midcentury Modern

The crowd-favorite design movement has a complex history, according to industry experts.

by Lynne Thompson | Mar. 2, 2026 | 5:00 AM

RiverRock in Willoughby Hills employs a midcentury modern-inspired design. | Photographed by Suzuran Photography

Brett Tippey defines “modern” and “midcentury modern” by giving a history lesson.

Modernism, the professor and program coordinator for architectural studies at Kent State University explains, is rooted in the late-19th-century industrial revolution, when materials like reinforced concrete, steel and glass became plentiful and mass migration to the cities spurred the development of building up, not out, in the form of skyscrapers. He cites as a major influence Swiss-French architect Le Corbusier’s 1923 text, Toward an Architecture, which defined the modern building as a boxy structure devoid of ornamentation.

“Ornament becomes anathema to modern architecture,” he stresses.

Interiors were — and, by the definition of “modern,” are — similarly austere, which initially limited their appeal to the most progressive of wealthy homeowners. Tippey describes furniture with chrome and tubular steel frames.

“The upholstery (was) often either rattan or leather,” he says.

Color generally was limited to accents in expanses of black, white and gray.

But the addition of wood and stone in the 1930s and 1940s made modernism more approachable. Developers began offering affordable versions of modern homes being built by the likes of Frank Sinatra and Lucille Ball.

This version of modern, eventually coined midcentury modern, was infinitely more colorful. Lindsey Putzier of Lindsey Putzier Design Studio in Hudson describes a palette that included avocado green, harvest gold, flame orange, magenta and turquoise, patterns that ran the gamut from geometrics to bold florals. Furniture design ranged from what Adam Hoover, owner of vintage furniture store Main Street Modern in Canton, describes as “atomic” (think boomerang laminate coffee table) to the more traditional.

Hoover attributes modern and midcentury modern’s popularity to a streamlined design that allows pieces to be mixed with a variety of styles. Heirloom-quality construction is another draw.

“When we restore furniture,” he says, “we’re restoring it so it can be passed on to the next generation.”

For more updates about Cleveland, sign up for our Cleveland Magazine Daily newsletter, delivered to your inbox six times a week.

Cleveland Magazine is also available in print, featuring immersive stories, helpful guides and beautiful photography and design.