Modern home design features a minimalist style that focuses on structural simplicity, order and ergonomic intent. Form most certainly follows function in the modern home, and so the landscape or home’s intended function will always dictate the overall design.

Modern architecture and structure

The style emphasises clean, architectural lines, bold horizontal and vertical features, and asymmetry. The true nature of the structure and the materials used are visually enhanced rather than hidden, and so beams, windows, rooflines and other structural elements are focal points that help cement this style.

New materials and techniques in modern homes

Modern home design celebrates advances in technology with industrially-produced materials such as iron, steel and glass – but includes the novel and advanced use of traditional materials, too. You will find large expanses of glass, for example; curved steel structures in the likes of pendant lights and furniture items; and corrugated iron roofing. Modern home design also strives to be a pioneer in new building techniques – like building on top of concrete slabs, for example.

Open-plan living

Modern homes explore the use of space, and open-plan living, in particular, is popular. Windows and glass panels are used extensively to bring in light and blur the line between indoors and outdoors, while acknowledging the setting in which the house sits. Open-plan living that embraces the outdoors is one of the reasons modernist architecture and design remains a popular choice for Australian and New Zealand homes, as it complements our warm climate and active lifestyle.

Modern decor and furniture

Interior design for the modern home doesn’t deflect attention from the structure of the house itself or anything that doesn’t complement the design as a whole. As a result, the space is usually uncluttered with minimal furniture pieces. While the style can appear to be ‘stripped back’, homeowners can attribute their own sense of style to the space through colours and textures. Modern decor is visually light, functional, and uses basic materials.

Streamlined kitchens

In modern kitchen design, the space is streamlined, practical and open. In fact, because the kitchen has such a definitive purpose within the home, it is one of the most important spaces in a modern house, in which functionality is of the utmost importance.

Pioneers in modern style

Robin Boyd, Roy Grounds, Harry Seidler and Paul Pascoe are some of the most well-known Australian and New Zealand architects who have materialised modernist principles for Australian and New Zealand homes, responding directly to the landscape and countries' unique climates.