Industrial-Style Interior Design

Creating a space where you feel comfortable that reflects your personality and covers your needs has no comparison, which could ultimately transform your living area. Interior design has many different phases, and throughout history, new movements appear to transform simple decorations into a lifestyle.

If you are planning a remodel or want to try something new, you need to know about industrial interior design to expand your knowledge and possibilities. People relate industrial to warehouses, but for home design, some elements like metals and colors could create a completely different experience.

Historical Background

Industrial décor made its first appearance in empty warehouses that had to deal with a need for space and housing. After the Industrial Revolution, many buildings were left empty, with plenty of room to transform these empty industrial giants into apartments. Not a lot changed, except for installing interior walls to divide up the space and fitting the space with utilities and services to make it functional.

Industrial design stayed, and people gradually learned to live with it and love it, which soon became a part of their personal design style. Gaining popularity because of the uniqueness of the details, the industrial design kept growing and taking over more spaces and attracting new fans.

Main Characteristics

There are specific details that are common to industrial design; by adding some of these, you can transform a space into an industrial showcase with a mix of characteristics. Some of the basic design elements include color choices, textures, materials, and accessories.

Colors reflect the history of an era and the materials involved. The colors representing industrial characteristics are brown, gray, black, and white. Neutral colors found in nature can easily match and complement each other without changing them.

Textured walls hearken back to nature as well, featuring natural elements like wood or stone, which offer a soothing contrast to industrial fixtures. Metal, wood, stone, and their attendant colors harmonize perfectly. Stone boasts different shades of gray, gold, and tan that will add depth and light to a wall, while wood’s deep brown shades echo the forest.

Materials like metals and wood define functionality with quality. These materials were in common use during the Industrial Revolution because they provided reliable quality, ideal for heavy-duty work. Characteristics like rust and holes inherent in these materials are not flaws but rather desirable nuances.

Incorporating Details

Introducing new details into an existing style is simple when the details complement the existing ones. If you have a modern-style home, you can add details to existing elements to change the look or enhance function. Features like dining room tables or desks will benefit from custom metal table legs because they will add smart details that are noticeable but not overpowering.

Metal details are important to bring an industrial vision and feel to life because it’s a component that defines the industrial era. You don’t have to turn your home into a warehouse; you simply need to incorporate details like metal linings or metal light fixtures to add an elegant touch without transforming the whole space.

Other elements that are more subtle and versatile are metal headboards and bed frames. You can go for a traditional look with rounded shapes painted white, but you can expand wherever your imagination takes you. Custom metal bed frames and headboards give you a wide range of options when working on your vision, easily attainable with the help of professionals.

Use of Wood

Using wood in strategic places like ceilings and walls will optimize your space’s look without tearing down walls. You can add elements like beams that do not necessarily need to support anything; they serve only as decoration but will create the illusion of support.

Wooden furniture is common across many design styles, but when added to the other elements mentioned here, wood will elevate the industrial look you are trying to achieve. Using woods with different shades of brown and gray is also popular. You don’t need to have every tone match; leave the natural wood color for a more rustic look.

Exposed Pipes

For some, this might seem like an unfinished job, but the truth is that it will give your home a unique look as long as those pipes are strategically placed. Depending on what you want, you can paint the pipes black to keep them all uniform, or you can also keep the pipes unfinished to create an eye-catching highly industrialized look. You can find different sizes and styles of pipes and play with their proportions and locations.

Light Fixtures

Hanging metal light fixtures are the best elements to achieve an industrial look. Think of mining lanterns and the type of lights used in warehouses and translate them into elegant items by keeping the essence and colors but playing around with unusual finishes and bulb choices. This is an important detail to know about industrial interior design if you want to maintain subtle but characteristic elements.

If you want to make a bigger statement, you can find big metal chandeliers with pendant lights that deliver illumination that is both modern and sophisticated.

Concrete Floors

Concrete floors can look sleek and mod or practical and functional, depending on whether you opt for neutral colors, glazed effects, flecks of reflective zinc, or a thousand other elements that make a home look inspiring. This type of floor will not only give you an industrial look, but they are also easy to clean, resistant to damage, and versatile. It is an inexpensive option, unlike wooden floors, which also require much maintenance.

You can pair concrete flooring with bamboo floor coverings or soft rugs; they will protect the floor from metal table legs.

Open Space

Warehouses are big open spaces, especially industrial ones. An open floor plan or loft-style setup makes it easy to incorporate many different elements to achieve that wide-open look. Colors, textures, and furnishings really pop and draw the eye in an open floor plan. If you want to transform your space completely, you must knock down some walls, but this is not for everyone!

Having an already open space will allow you to enhance your home with chic, modern, industrial décor. An industrial style presents a big personality, and you need to make sure that it is what speaks to you.

You can add different touches to your house and gradually incorporate more, depending on how you feel and react to what you already have. Industrial interior design gives you a playground to experiment with, and having the right elements will enhance your own personal style. If you’re looking for more help with your industrial interior design, give ECon Welding a call.