Interior Design Styles Explained

There are so many options when it comes to selecting an interior design style for your space.

And it’s an important choice!

The interior design style you choose has the power to improve your life, reflect your personality, share your tastes with friends and family, and bring you endless pleasure.

But where to start?!

What’s the difference between the shabby chic style and French provincial anyway?

Do you see yourself living in a Bali inspired laid back tropical design or letting your individuality shine through with the bohemian style?

Do you want a masculine and mature space or feminine and soft space?

What works for you?

This article is your first step to finding a style that suits, with 25 of the most popular interior design styles broken down and explained, with simple steps for you to follow to realize in your own home.

Let’s jump in!

Scandinavian

A minimal Scandinavian style to the living room in black and white by nhadatvideo / CC by 2.0)

There is a special Danish concept called ‘hygge’ which roughly translates to mean coziness. The Scandinavian interior design style is all about making the space you live in warm and inviting compared to the cold Danish winter outside. We want to capture that snug feeling.

Here’s how:

Start with a neutral colour palette of whites and greys for the walls to open the space up. Also, consider whitewashing your timber floors (if you’re lucky enough to have wooden floors!) Consider installing wooden floors if you don’t.  Use light woods! Carpet isn’t big in Scandinavian style.

The furniture you select for the room is important; always purchase quality, well-crafted and ideally some Scandinavian pieces, such as chairs.  This might be expensive, but is a worthwhile investment, creating a sophistication in your space with the display of designer crafted furniture.

Add warmth to your room with furs, rugs and textiles made of organic materials. Imagine keeping warm with rugs and furs on a cold winter’s night. Also, you can add more comfort to your room by harnessing the natural light and creating an airy space.

Use your favorite artwork for a pop of colour, and add elegance with sparingly used metal accents.

Finally, the Scandinavian interior design style is all about simplicity so don’t display too many of your accessories or let your personal belongings clutter the space. For more information on Scandinavian trends check out this Elle decor article.

Key Points

•       Simplicity
•       Whites and greys
•       Warmth with textiles
•       Designer Scandinavian furniture
•       Natural light

Industrial

(Industrial loft refurbished by #HoutwerkBV by design milk / CC BY-SA 2.0) 

The industrial interior design style is trendy in the lofts and warehouses of the Big Apple. It’s a masculine and mature style that can be adopted in your space to capture that warehouse cool.

Here’s how:

In the industrial interior design style you want to make a feature of the structural elements of a building, so consider exposing the following: raw brick, wooden beams, distressed timber or concrete floors. The exposed elements become the focus of the space, and you can then layer in other design elements to compliment.

For instance, you can accentuate with metallic elements, add graphic artwork for a touch of colour, and reinforce the warehouse feel with salvaged furniture. The classic graphic print leaning against the wall is perfect for the industrial style.

Décor wise find pieces that go with the vibe, such as, antique metals or factory pieces.

For the colour palette of the walls, stay neutral and minimal. Want to paint like a pro, here’s a step by step guide.

Sparingly, use textiles and rugs for warmth but remember you don’t want softness in this look; it’s all about that masculine harshness.

Key Points:

•       Make a feature of structural elements
•       Masculine and mature
•       Graphic artwork and metal accents
•       Salvaged furniture
•       Neutral colour scheme.

Art Deco

(Dining Room Conservatory by Lizzie Benton / CC BY 2.0)

Bring back some of the glamour of the roaring 20’s in your space, with the Art Deco interior design style, a must for those who like things a bit opulent and larger than life.

Here’s how:

Ideally, you would fuse art deco with more contemporary styles, to avoid working on a history project. But if you are going to do art deco style here’s the lowdown.

Firstly, you want to aim for symmetry in your space, so find a sense of balance in your decorating.

Source traditional art deco decor, accessories, and furniture from auctions, antique stores or thrift shops, and feature them. If you can’t afford or find any, reproductions of the art deco era are fine too. Ideally, you want streamlined and statement sized furniture (glass furniture is popular) and lots of antiques displayed.

Work with bold colours with contrasts, or contrast softer colours with the lacquered wood common in art deco furniture. Layer your space with fabrics featuring geometric patterns, animal prints or nature motifs.

Make the space appear bigger with large mirrors.

Finally, accent with precious metals such as gold and silver, choose chrome lighting fittings and finish the look with nude and animal statues.

Key points

•       Source art deco era décor and furniture
•       Bold colours with contrasts
•       Mirrors
•       Accent with precious metals
•       Statues

Coastal

(Interiors (Coastal design) by Irene Baya Casal / CC BY 3.0)

Coastal interior design style is a popular look in the beach-side suburbs of Long Island in New York, U.S.A. However, even if you don’t live beside the ocean, it is still an option for creating serenity and tranquillity in your space.

Here’s how:

Coastal is all about letting the peacefulness of nature into your space. So consider opening up to create an airy and light space. You might want to install plantation shutters or decorate with white curtains that can blow in the breeze.

Select a colour palette that reflects nature, with shades of blue, yellow, green, and white, popular choices. You want to evoke the colours of the beach and create a light tone for your space. Furnish with wooden furniture, like wicker chairs or rattan, and pair with a plush sofa.

You want to layer the space with organic textiles. However, it is important to avoid decorating with nautical or beach items (such as oars and shells), this was popular once but is now considered passé.

Key Points

•       Open up to outside
•       Beach tones for the colour palette
•       Wooden furniture
•       Organic textiles
•       Avoid nautical decorations

Mid-Century Modern

(is what #midcenturymodern dreams are made of! by design milk / CC BY-SA 2.0) 

The mid-century modern interior design style is an all-time favorite for a lot of people. It’s all about bringing alive the nostalgia of the 1950s and 1960s. A lot of people mix furniture and décor from the mid-century modern style into a contemporary fit out with much success, so that is always an option. However, if you want a pure mid-century modern style read on.

Here’s how:

Mid-century modern promotes inside/outside living so you want to open your space up with large windows to let the sun and breeze in. Open plan living is a must, allowing a fresh flow of air to gently waft throughout your house.

Hunt around for original mid-century modern furniture pieces at auction, or if you’re lucky at seconds and thrift stores, to get that classic look. Mid-Century modern furniture is all about functionality and choosing natural, organic shapes that are simple. Teak furniture is popular.

Focus on a colour palette of blues, greens, and oranges, and accent with rusty metal and molded plastics.

You want to emphasize wood and clean lines in your interior design.

Key points

•       Inside/outside living
•       Source  original furniture
•       Natural organic shapes
•       Colour palette of blues, greens, and oranges
•       Wood

Urban Modern

(Urban interior by pxfuel / CC .0)

Cutting edge meets tradition in the urban modern interior design style, perfect for high-rise apartment and city living.

Here’s how:

Urban modern is all about modern living with an open plan and flexible space. You want to create a sense of space, softness, femininity, and chic living with this style (especially if you are decorating a smaller apartment). Personalize with a few vintage finds but avoid clutter if you can. Softness can be evoked with furnishings, with rugs especially helping soften wooden floors or tiles.

Keep furniture to a minimum, and don’t be afraid of using cutting edge furniture design, urban modern calls for it.

Select a warm colour palette to make the space inviting, with abstract paintings bringing a cool modern vibe. You can also create lighting displays that showcase your artwork. Feature walls are popular too, here’s how to choose paint for your feature wall!

House plants are a nice touch.

You can take inspiration from the industrial and contemporary interior design styles with urban modern, but remember to keep it soft and feminine.

Key Points:

•       Soft, feminine and chic space
•       Furnishings to soften harsh elements like tiles
•       Cutting edge furniture
•       Abstract paintings
•       House plants

Contemporary

(Contemporary Living room with dining space by Foto Miki / CC 1.0)

An offshoot of the modern design style, the contemporary interior design style is all about being up-to-date in your design choices. It’s a style appropriate for those who love being trendy.

Here’s how:

To accomplish this look, you want to keep abreast of the latest design trends in home décor magazines and online, so you can achieve them in your space. The style also borrows from existing designs, such as art deco and modern interior design.

Contemporary interior design calls for simple elegance, achieved with open flexible layouts, a feeling of space, and light tones. Select a neutral colour palette and purchase airy furniture that promotes that spacious feeling. You want clean curving lives offsetting right angles.

Decorate with metal and glass, and sparingly decorate with antiques. You can create texture with fabrics for visual interest.

Lighting can become a statement piece in the contemporary style.

The most important thing to know about contemporary is that it’s constantly changing, so you need to stay on top of that fresh vibe.

Key points

•       Keep abreast of the looks in home magazines and online
•       Simple elegance
•       Airy furniture
•       Metal and glass
•       Lighting as a statement piece

Modern

(Modern interiors with plants by design milk / CC BY-SA 2.0)

Here’s how:

With the modern style, you want a clean and fresh look in your space. Avoid decorating with accessories; instead, have a few pieces of art on display. However, if you do style décor be subtle with it, strive for simplicity.

You want to select functional furniture and arrange it to promote symmetry in the lines of the room. Geometric forms are encouraged.

Paint in either monochromatic or neutral colour palette, with accents of primary colours or block contrasts. Chrome outfits are popular.

You can draw inspiration from Scandinavian and mid-century modern interior design styles, but be careful of the coldness of the modern style. Try to add warmth to your design choices.

Key points:

•       Clean and fresh space
•       Avoid accessories
•       Functional furniture
•       Symmetry in the lines of the room
•       Monochromatic or neutral colour palette

Tropical

(Tropical interior by piqsels / CC.0)

Create an oasis in your own home, channeling a Bali beach resort, with the tropical interior design style.

Here’s how:

Tropical design style is all bringing the outdoors indoors, with natural textures in the rugs and hangings, potted tropical plants, and furniture made from tropical woods such as bamboo, rattan, and wicker.

You want a light and airy space, so consider installing rooftop fans to keep airflow circulating and open windows with shutters to let the breeze in.

For the colour palette, take inspiration from the jungle and ocean, with army greens, turquoises, and golden yellows.

Furnish with animal and plant motifs, and consider installing draping white mosquito nets over your beds.

You can mix tropical with other interior design styles to avoid overload, and it can be refined with some elegant touches.

Key Points:

•       Natural textiles
•       Potted tropical plants
•       Tropical woods
•       Rooftop fan and open windows with shutters
•       Colour palette inspired by jungle and ocean

Traditional 

(Koviashuvik in temple Maine by Danjo Paluska / CC BY 2.0)

A room in the traditional interior design style

Inspired by 18th and 19th century Europe, traditional interior design is a classic style that is overwhelmingly popular and influential with a lot of people.

Here’s how:

You want to select heavy European furniture made in dark wood and find similarities between your furniture and accessories. This is a style that lets you accessorize to your heart’s content, ideally with ornate décor and antiques that conjure classical luxury. See if you can match your accessories in pairs.

Select a neutral colour palette, and add pops of sophisticated colour in your furnishings.

For flooring, you want either tiles or heavy wood floors. In-built cabinetry is also popular.

Floral displays, old world oil paintings, fine fabrics, and classic detailing finish the look.

For inspiration in decorating in the traditional style look to old world Europe and the neoclassical period.

Key points:

•       Heavy dark wood furniture
•       Match your accessories in pairs
•       Neutral colour palette
•       Tiles or heavy wood floors
•       Floral displays and oil paintings