I have heard from many of you that you really love the industrial design trend and want to incorporate it in your own home, but you’re nervous about where and how to do it. I get it!
The look might be mistaken as rough and cold, and today, I wanted to walk you through and share a few tips for how to use this aesthetic to create a living area that feels organic and lived-in.
1. Industrial Style Living Room
I think industrial living rooms have become so popular because they are just as comfortable and functional as they are stunning to look at.
These spaces usually have that signature open floor plan, which means your furniture has to do the heavy lifting to create a sense of both separation and openness. A big L-shaped sectional sofa is a fantastic trick for creating the feeling of a distinct room.
One of my favorite ideas is mounting living room furniture on heavy caster wheels. It’s a perfect industrial design detail, but it’s also super practical since you can move pieces around whenever you want.
You’ll want to bring in lots of natural elements to create a beautiful balance with any exposed concrete or brick. Think about things like leather furniture, a cozy cowhide rug, or tables crafted from reclaimed wood.
Every single piece in the room should feel strong, sturdy, and wonderfully solid.
2. Attractive Industrial-Style Interior Colors
When it comes to color, industrial design is all about a neutral palette. Black and white are the big players here, along with a whole spectrum of gorgeous grays and browns.
Sticking with neutral tones throughout your home is a great way to make it feel more spacious and create a lovely sense of flow. Plus, these colors really let all those cool industrial details pop!
Even though neutrals are the go-to, some people love to bring in a few pops of color, and that’s totally okay! The key is to use them sparingly and stick to earthy tones like rusty reds and soft sage greens.
These rustic shades are just perfect for enhancing the beauty of features like brick walls and hardwood floors, really helping to ground the whole design.
3. Classy Industrial Lighting and Accessories
Natural light is a huge deal in industrial style. Since the original architecture came before electricity, many buildings had floor-to-ceiling windows to let tons of natural light flood the workspace.
These massive windows have stayed a key feature of the style. You’ll often see industrial lofts with a whole wall of windows set in sturdy metal frames.
In some decor styles, light sources are supposed to be subtle, but it’s the complete opposite with industrial design. The light fixtures are often bold, eye-catching pieces that get everyone talking.
You might spot table lamps made from reclaimed iron pipes with an Edison bulb, or even huge iron chandeliers.
Because the furniture and architecture are usually pretty no-frills, you can really go for it with unconventional lighting that makes a bold statement to balance everything out.
4. Rustic Industrial Style
Rustic industrial design is a decor style that feels almost like the complete opposite of a sleek modern look. This style is grounded in heavy details and earthy elements. Think wood furniture, metal light fixtures, vintage finds, rough textures, and even unfinished paint.
Just like a pure industrial look, rustic style uses natural materials all over the place. When designers bring modern touches into an industrial design, the natural elements are usually sleek and smooth.
But when you bring in a rustic aesthetic, things get more textured and distressed. I’m talking about hardwood floors, exposed wood beams, and a gorgeous kitchen table made from reclaimed wood.
The decor might also feature big, overstuffed furniture instead of more minimalist pieces. Metal accents are also a popular way to balance everything out.
A rustic industrial interior will have brushed and rusted materials, exposed piping, metal signs, and other decorative pieces with cool metal frameworks.
5. Stylish Industrial-Style Flooring
Flooring in an industrial design follows the same rule as everything else. It’s usually made from natural materials like wood and concrete. A concrete floor might seem a bit unfinished in other styles, but here, it adds some serious visual impact.
You can leave the concrete a plain gray and just polish it, or you can have it stained to get a more old-fashioned patina, which brings in a really interesting texture.
I get that concrete floors can feel a little cold to some people, so they often lean towards another natural flooring material like hardwood.
If you’re going for a really traditional take on industrial design, you’d probably pick distressed floors made from reclaimed wood. For a more modern spin, you might go with polished, wide planks of wood instead.
Some people love a minimalist approach and leave the industrial flooring completely bare. But others like to bring in area rugs to help create and define different spaces.
You can place these rugs strategically to carve out areas like a living room or a dining nook. Using rugs the right way is one of the easiest tricks to make an open concept floor plan flow more naturally.
6. Modern Industrial Style Interior Design
If you’re into stylish interior design that really makes a statement, then a modern industrial style could be the perfect look for your home.
This aesthetic blends so well with other decor styles, so you can create the perfect balance between industrial and modern. The secret is to figure out what elements the two designs share and make them the focus.
One of the easiest ways to mix and match ideas is to choose the right kind of furniture. Both modern and industrial furniture often use natural materials like leather.
For instance, you could stain and polish a concrete floor to get a contemporary feel, and then pair that with a sleek black leather sofa or an upscale glass and metal table in the living room.
In other areas of your home, you could give an industrial kitchen an update with minimalist stainless steel appliances. Or, you could have one exposed brick wall in a room and paint the other walls a clean white.
If you’re working with a room that’s already very industrial, choose low-profile furniture with clean lines to bring in more modern elements.
If your space is already modern and airy, pick some large, sturdy furniture to add that industrial flair. At the end of the day, how you put it all together to get the look you want is totally up to your taste.
7. Industrial Style Bedroom Decor
Some people are a little hesitant to bring industrial design into their bedrooms because they worry it might feel too cold or sterile. But with the right decorative touches, you can create an industrial style bedroom that is both incredibly cozy and super trendy.
If your bedroom has a brick wall, you could paint it white or a light grey. This keeps the amazing brick texture but helps the space feel more finished and warm.
Bring in some large, overdyed rugs to soften the look of a concrete or hardwood floor. You can also add a touch of romance to the room with an iron chandelier.
Another great idea is to soften up a metal bed frame by piling on soft pillows and blankets in beautiful neutral colors.
8. Classic Industrial Decorative Materials
With a lot of interior design styles, people use furniture to bring in cool decorative materials. But with industrial design, the building materials themselves are a huge part of the decoration.
Functional materials like concrete, wood, brick, and metal are what anchor this entire style. Using metal and wood in your interior is the perfect way to nail the industrial aesthetic, especially if you’re aiming for that rustic home decor vibe.
When you start adding textiles, they should be made from similarly rugged, natural materials like linen, canvas, leather, and suede.
The textiles you choose need to be striking enough to hold their own against the rough architectural details without looking too flimsy.
9. Popular Industrial-Style Furniture
When you’re furnishing an industrial space, the pieces you pick should really reflect the architecture. Industrial architecture avoids any unnecessary frills, and the furniture is just as simple and straightforward.
The silhouettes of the furniture are similar to modern styles because they both have clean lines. But while modern furniture lines are usually straight and dramatic, industrial furniture has a bit more freedom.
These pieces can be square, blocky, and masculine, but they can also have organic curves and a more feminine look.
Industrial architecture puts structural materials like metal, wood, concrete, and brick on display as decorative features. So, the furniture you choose should feature these same kinds of utilitarian materials.
Look for sturdy and solid furniture made from things like wood, iron, and stone. Even upholstered furniture like couches and chairs can get an industrial feel with details like hairpin metal legs.
You can also find pieces that combine multiple elements, like a wooden table on a cool iron base.
The industrial aesthetic is still super popular, so it’s not hard to find new furniture at all different price points. But you can also hunt for vintage or secondhand pieces made from materials like reclaimed wood to really nail this style.
10. Industrial Layout
One of the defining features of industrial design is an open floor plan. These open layouts have their pros and cons. The lack of walls can make your space feel way bigger and helps you get the most out of your square footage.
Plus, light can just flow through your whole home. But, it can be a challenge to create separate, functional areas. This is where the right layout and furniture placement become so important.
There are lots of things you can do to create distinct spaces in an open floor plan. A big island can help your kitchen feel more contained, while a sectional sofa can create the illusion of a separate living room.
You can also use things like area rugs, bookcases, and room dividers to create a sense of separation.
