Your Ultimate Guide to Industrial-style Decor
Wrestling with the idea of industrial furniture and decor, but aren't quite sure what the whole thing entails or whether it would suit you and your living space? This ultimate guide to industrial decor can help you figure it all out. Picture exposed pipes and ducts, open cabinets and shelves, stainless steel appliances, and worn-out wood flooring. With the right industrial furniture and decor, you can transform your living space into an urban industrial sanctuary.
One of the biggest benefits of industrial-style decor is that you have the ability to customize it to your liking. Industrial-style decor also opens up the floor so you can use your rooms for whatever you want. Let's take a closer look at what industrial-style interior design is and how you can capture it for your home.
What Is Industrial Style Interior Design?
While not much is known about the origin of industrial-chic style, most can agree it was born out of a necessity for safety and efficiency. It stemmed from the style of the first industrial buildings, which were constructed around the late 1700s. As you can image, buildings back then weren't necessarily the prettiest to look at, but they were designed to facilitate work, so it didn't matter.
Industrial-chic style has become popular in recent years due to the simple, rustic appeal and open floor plans — not to mention that it can often be combined with modern style in an almost effortless fashion to provide quite the contrast and great visual appeal. These days, industrial spaces have become popular places to host events like weddings, parties, and other celebrations because of the big, open spaces and large windows that provide plenty of natural light.
Key Elements that Define Industrial Style
There are a few key elements that any industrial space must have:
- Vintage furniture and accessories. Vintage furniture and accessories can help you complete your urban industrial look. Find pieces made with metal and wood, such as cabinets made from hand-welded stainless steel, and pair them with antique light fixtures. You can also opt for items like a queen metal bed, vintage cocktail tables, end tables, sofa tables, metal and wood dining chairs, or chairs made of iron, steel, aluminum, stone, or copper.
- Wood and metal surfaces. The urban industrial style encompasses metal and wood surfaces in things like kitchen islands or countertops. You may also want to add brass, aluminum, stainless steel, copper, or wrought iron fixtures to your cabinets. Common metal finishes are polished, satin, hammered, brushed, and antiqued. Weathered gray walls can also complement your decor and give off a steely unfinished look.
- Exposed pipes and ducts. Exposed pipes and ducts are usually concealed, but they work well for industrial design's unfinished look. They also work great for all-white spaces and provide a bold contrast to the metal piping in most cases. Metal tubes and brackets finished in polished nickel can also help you complete your urban industrial decor.
How You Can Get Started
Ready to take the plunge and turn your home into an industrial oasis? Here are some of the steps you can take.
Open Floor Plan
An open floor plan is one of the key elements of industrial design, and it works well for a lot of people because you can do so much with the space. Often resembling old farmhouses and old factories, the open floor plan improves real estate value, helps traffic flow better, and provides layout flexibility, meaning you have more options when it comes to arranging your furniture or what the room can be used for.
Use Neutral Colors
Bright colors don't really work well in industrial spaces, so it's best to stick to neutral colors, such as shades of black, white, gray, brown, and anything in between.
If you're not feeling the whole neutral color vibe, feel free to spice things up with a dash of bright color here and there. But if you want the authentic industrial-style look, you'll probably want to keep it to a minimum.
Install Open Shelves, Stainless Steel Appliances, and Furniture with Clean Lines
Open shelves, stainless steel appliances, and furniture with clean lines can all help contribute to an amazing overall industrial feel.
Furniture with clean lines has smooth, crisp edges that don't blend with other colors or surfaces. Think minimalistic. Stainless steel appliances are easy to coordinate, they match any decor, and they're easy to clean. Not to mention they last longer and they're germ-resistant.
So find ways to celebrate the rawness of your space and keep the clutter to a minimum.
Go Industrial With Jerome's
One of the key benefits of industrial style is its versatility. So it's okay to add furniture and other decorative items and slowly build that decor up as you go. If you're ready to transform your living space and fill it with old world, urban industrial charm, get online and search Jerome's Furniture for industrial furniture and decor to put the finishing touches on your new rustic home decor.