Whether you’ve been studying interior design for years or just becoming familiar, you’ve probably found yourself questioning what makes certain design aesthetics different from the other. Modern and Contemporary are the two most confused terminologies when it comes to interior or architectural design. Due to the many crossovers between the two, people think modern when a room is actually contemporary and vice versa. Though these two terms may seem synonymous, there are many elements to define each style of design.

Modern

To the contrary, the term “modern” does not mean of present time like you would find in the dictionary. In the world of interior design, modern refers to a distinct time period in history - the early to mid 20th century. During this era, Scandinavian and German design helped to create modernism with simple and natural elements from each style. The 1950s and 1960s, specifically, were the most popular periods in modern design now referred to as “mid-century modern”.

Before modernism came into the picture, interiors were saturated with dark and heavy textures of the Gothic, Renaissance and Victorian eras. Modern design, however, encompasses more of a clean and minimalist look over bold and adorned. This radical change in design style was the intent of the modern design movement. With form and function as the foundation, modern style is also meant to have purpose in every piece. In other words, the vase you see in a room of this style shouldn’t just be for looks but rather to serve a purpose, like holding flowers.

An easy giveaway of modern design is the element of natural materials such as wood, stone and leather mixed with earth tones. Below is a perfect example of what modern interior looks like.

Contemporary

Now here is where people start to interchange the two design terms - contemporary means what is happening now in this very moment. Which is usually what modern means everywhere else, except in interior design. Furthermore, contemporary design is constantly evolving thanks to its trendy nature, making this style a bit harder to define and even more confusing. Luckily, there are still some key characteristics to help identify this style.

Contemporary design often contains more sophisticated materials known as glass, steel, nickel and chrome. In addition, you can usually find a very neutral color palette made up of black, white, tan and grey with rare pops of color. Check out examples of my personal favorite design style below:

Modern Vs. Contemporary - What's the difference?

Modern

Contemporary