18 Stylish Homes with Modern Interior Design
In the 1940s and ’50s, midcentury-modern design, with its clean lines, warm woods, and bold upholstery hues (often in woolly, menswear-inspired textures), changed the way homes looked. Suddenly, less was more, and decorating a home was about finding a design where form served function—a philosophy that continues to inspire designers to this day. From Mies van der Rohe’s Barcelona chairs to Charles and Ray Eames’s designs for Herman Miller, countless modernist furnishings have cropped up in the pages of AD through the years. Here, we take you inside a Beverly Hills mansion, a New York City duplex, a Paris apartment, and other homes that display the height of modernist design.
Photo: Roger Davies1/18In a Beverly Hills house devised by architecture firm Marmol Radziner with interior design by Boehm Design Assoc., the great room is furnished with midcentury-modern staples like Mies van der Rohe’s Barcelona chairs and ottoman by Knoll.
Photo: Scott Frances2/18The living room in a glass-walled penthouse of a New York City duplex renovated by Steven Harris Architects and decorated by Rees Roberts + Partners features a vintage Milo Baughman chair in the foreground.
Photo: Pieter Estersohn3/18In the library of a Boston residence renovated by architect Dell Mitchell and decorated by Thad Hayes, André Dubreuil lanterns top the mantel; the ceiling fixtures are 1960s Seguso, and the Edward Wormley sofas are covered in a Larsen fabric.
Photo: Roger Davies4/18The living room of the 1960s Beverly Hills home of designer Waldo Fernandez is furnished with a pair of vintage Jacques Adnet club chairs and a rosewood chiffonier by Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann, which is surmounted by a Lucio Fontana canvas.
- Architecture + DesignStep Inside June Diane Raphael and Paul Scheer’s Character-Filled Los Feliz Home
Photo: Scott Frances5/18In the New York City loft of architect Steven Harris and interior designer Lucien Rees Roberts, monumental bookshelves delineate the living and dining areas, which feature a 1960 Georges Braque print (at left) and Ib Kofod-Larsen chairs at the Rees Roberts + Partners dining table.
Photo: Richard Powers6/18The living room of film and TV producer Brian Grazer’s modern, Santa Monica, California, mansion, with interior design by Waldo Fernandez, features triangular chairs by Rick Owens and a painting by Richard Prince.
- Architecture + DesignStep Inside June Diane Raphael and Paul Scheer’s Character-Filled Los Feliz Home
Photo: William Waldron7/18An Aspen, Colorado, home designed by Shelton, Mindel & Assoc. features midcentury furniture including the Joseph Paul D’Urso chairs by Knoll.
Photo: Richard Powers8/18In architect Charles Zana’s midcentury home just outside of Paris, a sterling silver Takashi Murakami sculpture stands between the two sections of the living room, and the stainless-steel chaise longue is by Christophe Pillet.
- Architecture + DesignStep Inside June Diane Raphael and Paul Scheer’s Character-Filled Los Feliz Home
Photo: Laura Resen9/18A vintage dining table and chairs by Hans J. Wegner and a circa-1963 Arteluce pendant light furnish the dining room of a Bridgehampton, New York, house devised by the architecture firm Deborah Berke Partners, with interior designer Thomas O’Brien of Aero Studios.
Photo: Pieter Estersohn10/18Barstools by Charles and Ray Eames for Herman Miller and a Pierre Jeanneret Scissor chair for Knoll are installed in the breakfast room of architect Lee Ledbetter’s New Orleans home.
- Architecture + DesignStep Inside June Diane Raphael and Paul Scheer’s Character-Filled Los Feliz Home
Photo: Pieter Estersohn11/18In the Chicago home of furnishings mogul Holly Hunt, two Matisse pochoirs are displayed in the kitchen near a table by Christian Astuguevieille and chairs by Holly Hunt Studio.
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Photo: Joshua McHugh12/18In the living room of Guido Palau's New York City home, a Danish-modern armchair and ottoman from Wyeth rest in front of the fireplace, which is surmounted by a Tommi Parzinger mirror.
- Architecture + DesignStep Inside June Diane Raphael and Paul Scheer’s Character-Filled Los Feliz Home
Photo: Richard Powers13/18At an Aspen home by designer Shawn Henderson and architect Scott Lindenau, the living room's club chairs, Jean Royère-inspired sofa, cocktail table, and carpet were all custom designed by Shawn Henderson. The vintage Hans Wegner spindle-back chair is from Wyeth.
Photo: Matthieu Salvaing14/18A George Condo painting makes a splash in the Stockholm flat of Giovanna Battaglia-Engelbert, a fashion editor at W and Japanese Vogue, and Oscar Engelbert, a real-estate developer. A Freeform wall light by Jean Royère undulates above the living room's George Nakashima sideboard, and a Vladimir Kagan sofa curves around the Pierre Chapo low table.
- Architecture + DesignStep Inside June Diane Raphael and Paul Scheer’s Character-Filled Los Feliz Home
Photo: Roger Davies15/18Designer Waldo Fernandez and architect Michael Kovac collaborated on the renovation of Jamie McCourt's 1980 John Lautner beach house in Malibu, California. The living room is outfitted with Charlotte Perriand cocktail tables, Oscar Niemeyer ottomans, and a matching vintage Jean Royère sofa and club chair; the pair of sculptures at left is by Isa Genzken.
Photo: William Waldron16/18At a Manhattan home designed by Tony Ingrao and Randy Kemper, the living room features Maria Pergay sconces and Philippe Hiquily side tables, all vintage pieces from Galerie Yves Gastou, as well as a 1920s French lacquer cocktail table, a Jean-Michel Frank-style sectional sofa by Jonas, and a circa-1950 Edward Wormley slipper chair from Duane Modern. The tabletop sculpture at far left is by Martin Megna.
- Architecture + DesignStep Inside June Diane Raphael and Paul Scheer’s Character-Filled Los Feliz Home
Photo: Joshua McHugh17/18A Richard Pousette-Dart painting surveys the living room of a Bridgehampton, New York, residence created by the architecture, interiors, and landscape firm Sawyer|Berson and furnished by LRS Designs. Next to the fireplace is a pair of 1950s Nino Zoncada armchairs from Van den Akker clad in a Pollack fabric, while Duane Modern club chairs upholstered in a Romo fabric face a custom-made cocktail table by Antony Todd Home. The colorful glass sculpture displayed near the window is by Monica Guggisberg and Philip Baldwin.
Photo: François Halard18/18In the library of a Manhattan townhouse, 1950s Pierre Jeanneret chairs with cushions covered in a Pierre Frey velvet are paired with an Oscar Niemeyer chaise longue. The '50s floor lamp is Italian, and the rug is by ABC Carpet & Home; the large painting is by Aaron Young, and a photograph by Roman Signer is displayed above a marble mantel original to the house.
