Finding Midcentury Modern in New England

If you were asked to define New England architecture, you might point to saltbox Colonials, Cape Cod cottages, or maybe some sea captains’ mansions. But there’s another equally historic style with New England roots, and it’s much more sleek than clapboard and covered bridges.

Midcentury modern, or MCM, is a style that prioritizes clean lines, geometric forms, and, above all, form following function. (You’ve no doubt glimpsed it on the period drama Mad Men or even during its heyday on the 1960s sitcom The Dick Van Dyke Show.) It’s a practical and often budget-conscious style—a 20th-century revival of Yankee thrift, if you will. And yet its origins in New England tend to get lost in a sea of rustic public houses and white-steepled churches.

Ahead, find out where you can learn more about New England’s retro-turned-cutting-edge-cool design, where to buy a piece of it yourself, and where to dine or rest your head in its open, unfussy embrace.

Guide to Midcentury Modern in New England

MCM 101

Midcentury modern design’s hallmark organic shapes and lines can be traced to European modernism, which arrived in the United States in the 1930s when design giants such as Walter Gropius and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe fled the rise of Nazism. Gropius eventually became the chair of the architecture department at the Harvard Graduate School of Design; it’s at Harvard and MIT where modernist principles proliferated, setting the foundation for what would become midcentury modern design.

MCM houses and furniture soon followed, beginning in Massachusetts and Connecticut. A firm called The Architects Collaborative, or TAC, led by Gropius, began planning communities like Six Moon Hill in Lexington, Massachusetts, where functional, cost-effective homes met modern design. Then there was the Harvard Five, another group of architects including Marcel Breuer and Philip Johnson, who both settled in New Canaan, Connecticut, in the 1940s. By building modest homes with flat roofs, open floor plans, and minimal ornament, their innovative ideals and concepts helped modernism go more mainstream. 

Where to Learn About MCM in New England

Cape Cod Modern House Trust | Wellfleet, MA

Beginning around 1940, groups of artists, academics, designers, and other bohemian types began building (or hiring their architect friends to build) experimental summer cottages on the Outer Cape that integrated modern design principles with the landscape. Today, you can tour five of those homes thanks to the Cape Cod Modern House Trust. Founded in 2007 by architect Peter McMahon, it manages four homes on leased National Seashore land—the Kugel/Gips House, the Hatch House, the Weidlinger House, and the Kohlberg House—and owns one outright, the Breuer House.

The Folly at Field Farm | Williamstown, MA

Many of the best examples of midcentury modern design bring the outdoors in via expansive floor-to-ceiling windows. At “The Folly,” a guest cottage at The Trustees’ Field Farm, the outdoors in question are rolling lawns, a serene little pond, and distant views of Mount Greylock and the Hoosac Range. The Folly itself was designed in 1965 by architect Ulrich Franzen; the pinwheel-shaped construction defies convention, with multiple slanting wings intersected by a central, silo-like column. Inside, those curves and angles are clad in cedar and redwood paneling, complemented by custom furniture like a sleek mustard-colored sectional. Walls of windows, naturally, steal the show.

The Glass House | New Canaan, CT

Invisible from the road, Philip Johnson’s Glass House appears as a translucent structure hovering over the landscape. Known for its innovative use of materials like glass, brick, and black-painted steel, this iconic home was inspired by Mies van der Rohe’s modernist Farnsworth House in Illinois, which also blurs indoor and outdoor spaces. The Glass House itself was finished in 1949, but the property grew to include a total of 14 buildings across 49 acres by 1995. Johnson’s original structure brought into the mainstream the International style, a term for the 1930s architectural movement that serves as a foundation for MCM design.

Gropius House | Lincoln, MA

Built in 1938, the Gropius House is not technically a midcentury modern home, but it has an even better provenance. Designed by Walter Gropius, the founder of the Bauhaus school—a German art school that fused sleek profiles and sculptural contours with mass production—this International-style house stands as a precursor to what midcentury modern design would become, with its curving chrome banisters, walls of glass blocks, and other markers of practical, unornamented design.

Where to Stay

Bluebird Dennisport | Dennis Port, MA

The best-preserved element of this midcentury motel? Delightfully ’50s pink tiles in the bathrooms. Wood paneling and modern art add to its appeal, as does the sprawling pool area surrounded by sunny yellow umbrellas dripping with tassel fringes. And it’s all a stone’s throw from Dennis Port’s most timeless draw: the beach.

The Hotel Salem | Salem, MA

The geometric prints and bold colors of the ’60s are on full display at The Hotel Salem, a 44-room boutique hotel with MCM decor at every turn. Think: sofas with low profiles and sleek cushions, bathroom vanities with tapered teak legs, and Danish-inspired bureaus and desks.

The Nevada | York, ME

Thanks to a recent renovation by new owners Joe Lipton and Michelle Friar, this waterfront motel’s 1951 allure lives on. Curving rooflines recall the ship it was named after, the USS Nevada, while pops of bright aqua-green and a new tiki bar solidify its retro status. The ocean views don’t hurt, either.

Rye Motor Inn | Rye, NH

It may not have begun as a “premier oceanfront micro-resort,” but the circa-1956 Rye Motor Inn deftly mixes modern comforts with its vintage charm. A 2021 renovation preserved the architecture of the place while incorporating new details like retro-style Smeg refrigerators. The light-up sign out front is modeled after the original, to boot.

The Springs Motel | New Ashford, MA

A seafoam-green lounge with cathedral ceilings, a pool surrounded by classic aluminum lawn chairs, rooms with Eames-inspired shell chairs, and an original sign on the chimney’s facade make up this delightfully funky getaway in the Berkshires. A short drive from Mount Greylock and Mass MoCA, it’s a throwback to simpler times.

The Verb Hotel | Boston, MA

Originally designed with modernist sensibilities by architects Irving Salsberg and Ralph Leblanc in 1959, the former Fenway Motor Hotel blossomed into the present-day Verb Hotel in 2014. It retains all the hallmarks of a midcentury motor lodge—courtyard pool, sleek angles and lines—with playful additions like record players in all 93 rooms and Mondrian-style walls of colorful glass.

Where to Eat

Five Corners Bistro & Craft Bar | Farmington, CT

The vaulted ceilings and spherical pendant lamps in this New American restaurant recall the airy feeling of a ’60s deck house—with a vibrant twist. Blocky, geometric murals serve as a backdrop to dishes like PB&J foie gras and cider-brined pork chops with sweet potato hash.

Ocotillo | Portland, ME

Tuck into a top-notch Tex-Mex brunch—tender brisket tacos or potato-and-cheese enchiladas suizas, perhaps?—surrounded by salmon-colored walls, a colorful curving bar, velvety maroon booths, and blond wood accents.

The Silver Fork | Manchester, VT

Co-owner Melody French describes her restaurant, nestled inside a former library, as “a rich layer cake of local community and literary history with a sweet midcentury modern ganache.” The ganache in question? Deep-blue low-profile sofas, sleek armchairs, and plenty of color.

Stoked Pizza Company | Cambridge, MA

Maybe Stoked’s wood-fired pizzas don’t scream “retro,” but their tiki cocktails sure do. Enjoy both within the wood-paneled walls of the Cambridge location, complete with blush-colored booths and the kinds of curving wood chairs you might see on a ’60s TV show.

Where to Shop

Boston MidCentury Modern | Norwood, MA

In search of the perfect modern credenza? Stop by Boston MidCentury Modern in Norwood between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. on Saturdays to ogle one of the region’s largest suppliers of original midcentury furniture. Behold a wall of teak chairs piled high, in addition to desks, dressers, headboards, and more.

Emma’s Back Porch | Cranston, RI

Need a set of tulip chairs to go with your table? Try this shop for modern seating, side tables, nightstands, and decor, not to mention clothes and accessories. And nestled among the shelves of vintage stemware and kitchen goods are colorful Pyrex and Fiestaware.

Just L Modern Antiques | Littleton, NH

Steps from the delights of Chutters’s candy counter is a store with another kind of candy: eye candy. This gem of an antiques shop specializes in MCM and “intriguing” items” like Danish teak furniture and one-of-a-kind oil paintings.

Portland Flea-for-All | Portland, ME

Although there’s more than midcentury for sale at this sprawling marketplace on Congress Street, modern antiques is where the place really shines. Sofas, settees, and vanities are all fair game, as are bold lamps and original artwork.

Ramble Market | Waltham, MA

You could spend all day roaming the 10,000 square feet of showroom space at Ramble Market, tucked inside an unassuming industrial warehouse. And you should: It’s filled with treasures from every decade, with midcentury gems leading the pack. On any given visit, you might spot an original Bertoia bird chair, a tulip table, and lots of colorful hand-knotted rugs.

Refill Vintage | West Hartford, CT

At this colorful shop specializing in ’60s and ’70s pieces, whitewashed brick walls and bold Supergraphic murals in orange, rust, brown, and green complement the hard-to-find treasures: complete furniture sets, crushed-velvet armchairs, patterned sofas, and a rare combination bar-coffee table.

Refind Modern | Charlestown, RI

Those who prefer pieces by the period’s most well-known designers (Charles and Ray Eames, Milo Baughman, and Hans Wegner, to name a few) should head to this shop on the Rhode Island coast. You’re bound to see an Eames lounger and ottoman, plus a Noguchi coffee table or two.

Reside | Cambridge, MA

Stroll by this Cambridge boutique and you’re likely to spot one of Marcel Breuer’s Wassily chairs in the shop window. Step inside and you’ll see there’s so much more, from housewares and lighting to tapestry, art, and sculptures.

Salvage Modern | Portsmouth, NH

Not only can you stumble upon the midcentury dining set of your dreams in this showroom, but you can get your existing pieces restored there, too. Here, at the only shop on the Seacoast specializing in this style of decor, you’ll find furniture from Knoll, Broyhill, and many more.

This feature was originally published as “It’s a Mod, Mod World” in the May/June 2026 issue of Yankee.

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