Is it possible to mix Mid Century style with Farmhouse style and have it look good? You sure can! Mixing decorating styles is like making soup. Combining the right ingredients and proportions result in something truly magnificent.

It’s not difficult to do as long as you know how to combine certain elements and the reasons why they go together to get a good result.

In decorating, as with making soup, if you add too much of your favorite seasonings, you run the risk of overpowering the flavor.

Here’s how to combine Mid Century touches with farmhouse furniture.

But first this…

Jennifer reached out to me after reading my blog post: 5 Key Tactics the Pros Use for Mixing Mid Century Modern & Farmhouse Design.

She writes:

At the time Jennifer reached out to me, I was developing the idea for this monthly blog series.

I wasn’t sure how I would structure this series. I knew that I wanted it to be a mini e-design presentation with a handful of easy to implement suggestions for a specific space.

I stress the idea of easy to implement because sometimes those little changes make the biggest difference.

Even though the suggestions are meant for one specific person’s challenge, the processes I use can be applied to many others in the same boat.

As I pondered this series, I thought maybe I would try to find a thread online or visit some forums for ideas…

But that didn’t feel authentic to me.

I prefer the old in real life approach over a hypothetical, you know?

So, to my delight, Jennifer commented on the post and that started this idea rolling.

I now had one IRL challenge, but I wanted to see if others would be interested as well.

So, around the end of November I asked my newsletter subscribers if anyone else would be interested in participating.

The response was great!

I got many more people reaching out than I had anticipated, and I’ll be producing one of these problem-solving posts each month in 2021!

What to call this series?

I’m still between ‘Design Diagnosis’ and ‘Room Review’. Both sum up my intention. (Keep a look out for a title change in the near future.)

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Okay, let’s get into the first Design Diagnosis: How to Combine Mid Century Modern Touches with Farmhouse Furniture.

I asked Jennifer to send me a few pictures with the table and the cabinet so I could get a sense of her space.

Photographs displayed here with permission.

As we chatted back and forth, she told me more about the goals she had for making her dining room come together.

I present Jennifer’s wish list:

• Find a way to mix the light oak and MCM wood tones.

• Swap the chairs out for something a little more MCM.

• Find some MCM geometric art that will coordinate with the white farmhouse table and bench legs.

• Turn the light fixture so that it runs horizontal to the table.

The first thing I noticed in the before pictures is that gorgeous teal color! It’s on the new hutch and on the entry door which is part of the space.

I don’t know if that was planned out before or if the coordination of the door and the paint detail on the hutch were a happy coincidence, but that’s the perfect beginning for a coordinated color story.

The teal accent color even shows up in the Christmas tree decorations, which is a great way to coordinate your holiday décor with your year-round color scheme.

That leads me right into my first recommendation for combining the MCM & Farmhouse vibes in Jennifer’s dining room:

Paint the Entire Hutch

This will eliminate the two different wood tones dilemma.

I know many people don’t like to paint furniture or are afraid of diminishing its value.

My answer to that is your furniture should work for your vision of your home.

If different wood tones are not working for your taste and aesthetic, then paint that furniture!

The perceived value of furniture doesn’t just pertain to whether it’s heirloom quality or ‘important’.

The measure of your furniture’s value is how it makes you feel when you look at it day after day.

Since the piece is half painted to begin with, I feel that going all in with the teal color will cancel out the different wood tone issue.

That change will build on the beautiful color story.

The second benefit of painting the hutch is that Jennifer’s white china and serving pieces will pop.

The contrast between the teal and the white will make the hutch an absolute focal point while giving the table its own distinction.

Since Jennifer truly loves this handcrafted gorgeous table that her cousin made, the contrast between the two pieces will highlight the unique characteristics of both.

The last thing I would do with the hutch is to change out the hardware so that it’s all the same tone.

I love that this cabinet has a combination of knobs and pulls but having different finishes on them is distracting.

Mid Century Modern aesthetic is about minimizing superfluous details.

Making the finish all brushed brass or all black with little unnecessary embellishment will satisfy the MCM aesthetic by coordinating the functional aspects of the piece.

So, step one, paint the hutch to eliminate the dilemma of different wood tones and get coordinating hardware to make a cohesive look.

Add a Large Rug

I love using rugs in dining rooms because they are great sound insulators.

Dinner conversations will be easier to hear and they add a layer of warmth between your feet and floor, always nice.

Rugs are ideal for staring or reinforcing a color story.

For this room, I choose an ombre rug that graduates from taupe and beige, to almost white in the middle, then light to dark blue on the other side.

This colorway has all the nuances of the existing room colors covered and it also has a modern aesthetic that isn’t ‘on the nose’ Mid Century.

The MCM feeling is there but it’s not a literal representation.

You don’t have to have a literal MCM room, filled with period pieces to appreciate and honor the style aesthetic.

Important Thing About Rugs Under Dining Tables:

The table and all the chairs need to fit on the rug.

There should be enough rug so that the chairs are still on the rug when they’re pulled out from the table.

So, step two is put down a large rug that establishes or reinforces the color story of the room.

Add Window Treatments

The third thing I would do is add in some curtains.

I know that Jennifer has beautiful blinds on her windows but, drapes soften the angular lines of windows.

They also provide insulation for sound and heat, much like area rugs.

It’s totally fine to have both blinds and drapes at the same time.

The rods should be hung close to the ceiling trim or the ceiling if there is no trim.

Here, I’m recommending the rod to be hung around 2” from the bottom of the trim.

The curtains should break at the floor, not pool.

I feel that a more tailored construction for the drapes will fit both farmhouse and MCM style.

Drapes that pool are more appropriate for a boho aesthetic, which is too casual for this space.

I chose a simple black rod because I love touches of black in any space. More on that in a second…

Having a simple rod without embellishment is also in keeping with both farmhouse and MCM styles.

To sum up, add some curtains to soften things up and to provide sound and heat insulation.

Switch Out the Side Chairs

Jennifer wanted something a little more MCM style inspired.

At this point, there’s a nice mix of farmhouse: the table legs, bench, contrasting white color and wood top.

Adding in the more simple, straight lined chairs amps up the MCM style: clean lines, no fuss.

The white color repeats below the chair rail, on the table, in the drapes and dishes.

White feels more farmhouse while the teal feels more MCM.

A simple swap out of the chairs provides a perfect opportunity to reinforce the MCM style cues.

Add Art

Jennifer mentioned looking for white MCM art.

I like that idea, but I went a bit further and added in black frames to my choices.

I did this because the addition of the black frames reinforces the ‘touch of black’ concept I like in most rooms.

It also ties in nicely with the drapery rod and the other finishing touches, see below.

The more farmhouse, black and white clock, gives a nod to the hint of black, but it contrasts the MCM style of the art, which is a simple geometric subject matter.

This is how to mix styles successfully. You take a few details from one style and mix with the other. The easiest place to do that is with art and accessories.

You can never go wrong with black frames because they add contrast and drama to any subject matter. They are also the perfect touch of black for any room as well.

Switch the Direction of the Chandelier

This is something that was already on Jennifer’s ‘to-do’ list, but I think it’s important to point out.

If you have a long chandelier like this one, it’s best to hang it parallel to the length of the table because it gives you the most amount of light shining on the table and it looks better.

Switching a fixture or changing the direction it faces is a simple DIY project.

Turn the power off.

Test that there’s no electrical current to the source.

Unscrew the threaded nuts and change the fixture.

When in doubt, hire an electrician.

Better safe than sorry if you’re not comfortable working with electricity.

Once again, the black color now shows up in 2 to 5 other places around the room.

It provides places for your eyes to rest as you look around the room.

I like to refer to black as the punctuation in rooms.

It draws your attention and makes you stop like the period at the end of a sentence.

Long lighting fixtures above dining tables should run parallel to the table length.

Finishing Touches: Small Accessories and Plants.

To round out the teal color story, I brought in this beautiful table runner.

It’s a nice addition of color but still allows you to see and touch the wood tabletop.

I liked it because it has a lovely geometric hydrangea pattern.

The colors and shapes are all MCM and the fact that it’s a take on a floral pattern is farmhouse. A great mash up.

In my opinion, no room is complete without plants.

Jennifer has a fine snake plant, but the addition of an MCM style plant stand will amplify the look adding in just the right touches to complete this farmhouse and MCM aesthetic.

So, finish up the space with accessories that reinforce the color story and that add distinct style cues from both MCM and farmhouse.

There you have it, a beautiful combination of Mid Century Modern and Farmhouse in a dining room.

I’d love to hear what you think of the design.

Would you change anything?

Go more farmhouse?

Go more MCM?

Tell me all about it in the comments below.

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I write about small space design and decorating, sustainable furniture options, positive self care and a variety of do-it-yourself home décor.

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Michael is Principal designer and blogger at Michael Helwig Interiors in beautiful Buffalo, New York. Since 2011, he’s a space planning expert, offering online interior e-design services for folks living in small homes, or for those with awkward and tricky layouts. He’s a frequent expert contributor to many National media publications and news outlets on topics related to decorating, interior design, diy projects, and more. Michael happily shares his experience to help folks avoid expensive mistakes and decorating disappointments. You can follow him on Pinterest, Instagram and Facebook @interiorsmh.