Modern vs Contemporary – What is Modern Contemporary Furniture?

Modern and contemporary is one of the most popular furniture categories we offer. However, what many people don’t know is that they’re actually two different styles!

Well… sort of.

Although they are considered synonyms in most dictionaries, they are used to refer to different styles in interior design.

Understanding the difference between modern and contemporary furniture styles will help you to create a matching style that works across your entire room, or even home.

In this post, we’ll attempt to resolve the age-old modern vs contemporary debate, helping you understand the difference and improve the design and style of any room in your home.

 

Looking for modern contemporary furniture? – Check out our range of modern contemporary bar stools and modern dining chairs. We have a huge range, ensuring you find the perfect set of dining chairs or bar stools for you.

 

Why it’s  important to understand the difference

The difference between modern and contemporary furniture may not be major, but knowing the difference can help you to improve the consistency of your room’s design. It will also help you create contrast between the two if you do decide to mix and match.

Since these different styles are often used interchangeably and are often very similar, understanding what the similarities and differences are is all the more important.

 

Modern vs contemporary – What’s the difference?

The difference between modern and contemporary styles is the era to which they refer. Contemporary style refers to new, trending styles of today, whereas modern styles are styles from the recent past.

Where a contemporary or “hyper-modern” home may have a lot of sharp edges, glass, marble and metal and use relatively basic, light colours, a modern home with a vintage design may have more wooden and brick surfaces and be more colourful.

Even though these two design styles can look very similar to the untrained eye, the biggest difference is in the era they take their inspiration from. Even if they’re both reasonably minimalist and functional, there’s a clear difference in the type of furniture and the different design elements used, with contemporary featuring many hyper-modern chairs, tables and colours and modern styles capturing more of the (recent) past.

 

Side note: Although these styles are technically different, many people tend to mix and match them when designing or redesigning a room. This is also the main reason why they’re often used together – since it’s common for modern furniture to be well suited to contemporary interiors and visa-versa.

 

Modern style

Modern or modernism is used to refer to a style that started just before the start of the 20^th century, where minimalism and functionality took centre stage. Many modern styles have their roots in the period before 1950, including art-deco styles and various other vintage designs.

The ’50s saw the rise of mid-century modern design, and post-modernism soon followed in the 70s and ’80s which is generally where the switch from modern to contemporary takes place.

Since modern design refers to a larger trend in interior design, there are many different types of modern styles that exist. These range from vintage and mid-century modern design to postmodernism and they each have slight but important differences In style, colour use and furniture design.

All of that being said, many use the term “modern” to refer to any modern or recent style, which often results in any somewhat recent design trend being referred to as modern – even if the trend doesn’t necessarily come from that particular period.

Contemporary style

All recent styles are classed as contemporary and this includes both styles from the 90s and 00s as well as the new trends of today. Recent trends like waterfall edges, minimalist colour palettes and glass and metal surfaces are all common features of contemporary design.

Contemporary is known for featuring a combination of various other styles with new design trends and minimalist colour palettes. Although some bold colours can be used in contemporary designs, they are often used for accenting and generally consist of bold colours. That being said, the majority of the colour used is white, black or grey.

 

 

The similarities between contemporary and modern styles

Although there are some differences, there are also many similarities between modern and contemporary design. Below are just a few of them, in no particular order:

• Minimalist designs

Both modern and contemporary designs are relatively minimalist and sleek. Although modern styles are generally a little less minimalist than contemporary styles, in the broader scheme of things, both styles are relatively clean and uncluttered.

 

• Calm look and feel

Both create a calm look and feel and reduce distractions in a room. With a minimalist design, clean lines and calm colour palettes, both these styles are easy on the eye.

 

• Prioritise functionality

Both contemporary and modern styles prioritise functionality over overly complex designs and features.

 

Why are they often used together?

One of the biggest questions people have when talking about modern and contemporary styles is why they’re often used in conjunction with one another when describing furniture.

This is so common that even furniture stores like ours add them both to the same category!

The main reason for this is that, although there is a clear difference, it’s common for modern furniture to be used in contemporary homes, as well as contemporary furniture being used in modern design.

They often complement each other well and, depending on the style and feel you’re going for, are therefore easy to mix and match.

Take our modern and contemporary dining chair category for example. We stock a broad range of modern and contemporary dining chairs for you to choose from, but whether you use them in a modern interior or a contemporary interior makes all the difference.

This means that how they’re ultimately used and how they fit into the general style of the room makes all the difference.

 

Conclusion

Now that you know the difference between modern and contemporary styles, what the similarities are and why they’re often used together, you should be in a better position to find the perfect style for your room.

If you have any questions after reading this post, or you’d like more information about the different kinds of modern and contemporary furniture we offer, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us.