How to Incorporate Industrial Style into Your Home

Industrial home décor is a fashionable trend since it exudes strength, confidence, and maturity. It’s open to various interpretations, from ultra-modern to ultra-chic. This style, which takes its cues from warehouses and other industrial structures, is a great way to give your home a rugged, modern look and feel. Furthermore, industrial design is adaptable to any style of interior. The aesthetics of the industrial era are generally described as gritty and urban. This style can provide an excellent metropolitan appearance or a cozy, rustic one. This article explores the aesthetics of industrial design and offers practical advice for bringing its elements into your own house.

What is Industrial Style?

The industrial style, often known as industrial design, is a design aesthetic with roots in the early 20th century. It is distinguished by its factory-made materials and straightforward, practical shapes. Since mass manufacture of items became possible thanks to industrialization, the industrial style emerged. The goal of industrial designers was to develop functional and aesthetically pleasing products.

Industrial decor is a type of interior design that features a lot of exposed brick, untreated steel bindings, and weathered wood items; it was inspired by the aesthetics of urban warehouses and the steampunk era. This design is more suited to a fierce, masculine aesthetic due to its primarily monochromatic color palette and emphasis on heavy materials. 

The rise in popularity of the industrial style led to its adaptation in various fields, from home furnishings to buildings. In today’s more aesthetically minded world, the industrial look is frequently employed for its own sake rather than out of any functional requirement. However, the standards of the industrial style’s founders—that utility should always precede ornament—live on. Industrial design emphasizes the simple elegance of artificial objects.

Essential Elements of Industrial Style 

Today, more individuals than simply those who live in lofts are drawn to the industrial design that evolved from these unconventional dwellings. Whether your style leans more toward the modern or the retro, industrial accents are always a welcome addition. In this article, you’ll become familiar with the fundamentals of this design aesthetic and how to work them into your home.

  1. Used wood-  Floors and furniture made of wood in old factories took a beating from the environment. The aged wood in many converted industrial lofts is highly sought after because of the deep patina it has developed.
  2. Building systems – In many of these abandoned factories, the HVAC, electrical, and plumbing systems were left open to the elements. There was no need to conceal the building’s skeleton as the rooms served no other purpose.
  3. Uncovered brick – In the United States, fired clay bricks have been used for construction for centuries. Many of the first industries in the country were decorated with this structural feature because of its reputation for toughness and longevity.
  4. Lighting – One common form of lighting in the historic factories was industrial pendant fixtures with shades made of porcelain enamel, bulb cages made of cast aluminum, and shades made of steel or ribbed glass.
  5. Concrete – In the past, concrete was used for flooring and structural purposes in factories, mills, and workshops. This material was used in industrial enterprises of the 19th century because of its strength, low cost, and longevity.
  6. Steel was commonly used to construct the pillars, beams, and trusses of industrial plants and mills. Similarly to the uncovered construction systems, there was little need to hide these fundamental components.
  7. Repurposed furniture. Factory non-structural elements include mechanical devices, workpieces, valves, gears, tiling, and hardware. There are countless unique ways to decorate with them because of their sturdy build.

Industrial Home Décor Guide and Styling Ideas

1. Use raw wood, concrete, steel, and leather. 

Raw wood, concrete, steel, and leather are the four primary materials used in manufacturing industrial furniture. The wood needs to have a rough, unpolished aspect; it ought to be very basic and grained. Concrete furniture is on the rise because it is trendy yet tough. Galvanized, wrought, distressed, and brushed steel are just a few examples of the types of steel utilized to create pieces of furniture in industrial design. If the steel has a rough appearance and mechanical details, it should be functional. Finally, the leather might have a distressed, worn look or a sleek, modern one.

2. Pick up three pieces of industrial furniture for each space.

Pick out three pieces of furniture in the chic industrial design for a room that seems to come straight out of a fashion spread. There may be a maximum of four people in the family room. Minimizing the number of pieces of furniture in a room is recommended because pieces with an industrial feel tend to be bulky and distracting. It may feel cold and heavy if you furnish an entire room with these pieces. The sofa, coffee table, bed, and dining table you select as examples of industrial furniture should serve as focal points in the room. Suppose you’re looking for other pieces of furniture to go with it. In that case, minimalist and sophisticated styles are great options. This can soften the look of the more dominant parts of furniture in your space, giving your home a more eclectic and up-to-date vibe.

3. Place your furniture with lots of breathing room. 

The warehouse and factory spaces are enormous. The key to creating an industrial-style home worthy of a magazine spread is to provide lots of breathing room between furniture items. Since the emphasis should be on the room’s larger and more eye-catching pieces of furniture, proper spacing between them is of the utmost importance. As a reminder, giving your furniture some breathing room is a must for any decor. However, it may be the single most crucial element for modern industrial design’s open, loft-like appeal.

4. Avoid Covering up all building details. 

The unpolished nature of industrial styles often serves as a selling point. Incorporate exposed pipes, beams, and vents into your home’s interior design whenever possible. Instead of covering up visible cement or brick walls from the inside with dry walls, consider giving them a lovely finish. Exposing these architectural characteristics has the benefit of giving your home a distinct industrial vibe, giving you more options when it comes to furniture and design. The architectural elements in your home will carry the overall industrial theme so that you can get away with a smaller number of pieces of furniture with a different style. 

5. Use Natural Palette Color Base. 

It would be best if you used beige, gray, black, brown, and white variations as the primary colors of the room. Even if most of the furnishings are in a monochromatic color scheme, you may still add visual interest by including contrasting patterns and textures. Putting in antique plaster moldings in the classical period style will help define the border of your ceilings. Suppose you’re looking for examples and resources for industrial home décor. In that case, you’ll likely read that it’s best to stick to neutral hues for furniture and accessories. 

6. Put in some plants to liven things up and highlight color palettes.

Channel your creative energy towards using non-neutral colors to avoid the monotony of neutrals and bring personality to your home’s decor. Most of your home’s fixtures, including furniture, flooring, and wall color, will likely be neutral. The trick is to use colors that stand out while still fitting in with the overall aesthetic of the industrial design. Plants are a simple solution for this. The addition of green to a space with a neutral background makes it feel both more modern and more restful. You might also reduce the harshness of your industrial décor by adding plants with pink flower petals.

7. Choose a ceiling lamp in black or white with Edison bulbs.

Edison bulbs are essential in industrial interior design because of their timeless appearance. A set of wired pendant lamps with a wired cage lamp shade is an alternative to a traditional chandelier. The rough and weighty appearance of industrial furniture makes it a good candidate for sleek, contemporary ceiling light. The elegant form of the lamp will stand out, and if it’s white or black, it won’t steal the show from your other decor.

8. Choose modern canvas art with stunning colors.

Let your imagination go wild regarding wall decor for your modern industrial home. The most exciting canvas paintings will feature subjects or styles that run against the raw, industrial feel of the furniture and materials that comprise an industrial interior. Fine abstract, modern, and stimulating canvas artwork. They could be photographs or paintings. It’s essential to have the artwork stand out from the surrounding neutrals; bright colors like blue, yellow, and green are good options.

  Metal wall hangings in a farmhouse design, which you might think would fit in with the industrial decor, are something you should NOT purchase. This is the one thing that will make your home look like something out of a catalog—boring, unoriginal, and unappealing. Your wall-hanging décor should grab attention in an unexpected yet still sophisticated way.

9. Do not go overboard with expensive area rugs.

Your rug should not be a focal point for your room’s decor if you’re going for a modern industrial look. Whether you’re looking for a rug for your living room or bedroom, the rug’s primary purpose should be to unify the various furniture in the room subtly. Don’t go for a rug with garish hues or elaborate designs. You can still go with carpets of non-neutral colors; it’s only recommended that you tone down the saturation a bit. Choose an Oriental or Southwestern design or one with a solid hue that may have subtle gradients or distressed/faded markings. These carpets will do a great job unifying your living room furniture, including your couches, coffee table, and chairs. Subtly and elegantly, their textured, ethnic designs will impart a vintage aesthetic.

10. Set up steel window frames.

Steel floor-to-ceiling window frames are instantly recognizable as a hallmark of huge industrial buildings. Glass panes are held in place by thinner, narrower grids of steel due to the material’s increased strength over wood. This creates a lighter and more open feel, thanks to the increased amount of natural light, and updates the room’s overall look. Suppose you can’t get a full steel window frame. In that case, even a tiny replacement frame will do wonders for your industrial home’s aesthetic.

CONCLUSION

There is a certain endearing quality to simple, unadorned, and unrefined things. Although modernism impacted it to become the clean and no-fuss design, it is now, its practical and authentic appeal has remained since its development throughout the Industrial Period and continues to this day.

The structural features of a property, such as exposed beams, brick, metal, and other building materials, can serve as the basis for an industrial aesthetic. Massive 19th-century factories that were abandoned and renovated into studios for artists, architects, and other creative professionals gave rise to this style because of their unique design, great floor plan, and excellent acoustics.