How Mid Century Modern Decor Inspired The Incredibles 2 Set Design

The Incredibles 2 was released in UK cinemas on Friday 13th July, and I was very excited to watch it! Myself and Liam took my younger cousins to see it, but I think we were the most excited! Believe me, it doesn’t disappoint.

The one thing I couldn’t stop noticing throughout the film was the references to Mid Century Modern architecture and interior design. The production design team of Ralph Eggleston (Production Designer), Philip Metschan (Visual Designer), Nathan Fariss (Sets Supervisor) and Bryn Imagire (Art Director) have done a wonderful job of weaving Mid Century design features into the set. From impressive architecture to colourful interiors, the designers paid so much attention to detail. Even the home accessories are time appropriate.

In this post, I’m going to show you the best example of Mid Century Modern decor in the film, the Parr family home.  (I’m focusing purely on the decor so there will be no plot spoilers ahead!)

The exterior:

The production team were inspired by Modernist architect Mies van der Rohe as well as architectural photographer Ezra Stoller. During this design movement, buildings featured angular lines, ample windows and open floor plans. Many Mid-century houses utilized post and beam architectural design that eliminated bulky support walls in favour of walls that looked like they were made of glass.

The living space:

The first thing that grabbed me was the eye-catching brass starburst pendant – a Mid Century lighting icon. Also known as sputnik pendants, they were invented in the 1960 but remained popular into the 1970s. They are a true feature piece and create a real statement within the Parr family home.

The concept of ‘bringing the outside in’ was also very popular during that time period. Again, the floor to ceiling windows help with this as they allow the outside and inside to be visually linked. However, the key to this concept is the use of nature and natural materials within the interior space. The Parr home is built into a mountain, so the use of the mountain rock within the interior walls is very clever. There are also a lot of houseplants throughout the house, which helps to solidify the concept. Of course, all the plants used were very on trend in the 1960s – cheese plants, palms and bamboo to name a few.

The furniture used in the house has been inspired by designers for Knoll. Knoll were responsible for creating many key pieces of furniture within the mid-century design movement. The angular wooden legs on the chairs and the arched chair backs perfectly capture the retro vibe.

The Kitchen:

Another key Mid Century design feature is Terrazzo flooring, which has been used within the open plan living space and kitchen.

“I really love terrazzo floors because it’s such a big element in mid-century design. Terrazzo was a really expensive material back then, and today it would also probably cost lots of money to do it right. And so we felt that, because the house is so fabulous, we’re going to put terrazzo everywhere.”

Bryn Imagire – Art Director

One thing that easily links the kitchen to the Mid Century era is the colour palette. The tangerine hue and warm wood tone is brought into the kitchen within the stools and extractor fan. However, the producers have introduced citrus yellow and aqua accents.

“It’s easy to find colors and textures, palettes that are specific to mid-century design, so we just picked up on those and used them throughout the film,”                                                                                                                                           Bryn Imagire – Art Director

The family room:

This room has a much more classic retro look. The modular corner sofa cleverly brings all the colours together trough the teal upholstery and colourful cushions. The style of the sofa is perfect for the time period as it features a solid warm wooden base.

I also really like the addition of the stone wall as it creates a strong look and contrasts to the sleek linear sofa.

“We aren’t trying to capture [an era], but people’s memoryof the era. Brad’s writing of characters and his storytelling skills are such that it allowed us to really caricature the world. It’s not about reality. It’s about believability.”

Ralph Eggleston – Production designer

The Bedroom:

The bedroom is interesting as it has a different feel to the rest of the house, but it does still have a distinct Mid Century aesthetic. The built-in storage on the wall is a nice feature and the accessories used have clearly been thought through. There are a couple of sculptures that have been inspired by Harry Bertoia, as well as geometric vases and stacks of books.

As an added bonus, I’ve created a product board to help you steal the living room style:

1. Executive chair, orange – Nest.co.uk
2. Belgrave coffee table – Made.com
3. Starburst ceiling light – Turnbull & Thomas
4. Monstera Plant – Sweetpea and Willow
5. Arcs floor lamp – Searchlight
6. Edwin sofa bed, retro orange – Made.com

So that’s it. It’s clear that the designers carried out a lot of research into Midcentury decor before making the film. They had such a strong vision and put a lot of effort into making sure every detail was perfect.

The Incredibles 2 is in cinema’s now in the UK. I would seriously recommend going to see it. Even if only for the cool decor!

Eve x