A Guide to Classic Interior Design Styles

21 Oct, 2021

Designing your home can be a daunting task. It’s hard to know where to start, what colors to use, and how you want everything laid out.

This guide will help you navigate the classic styles and find the perfect one for you. We’ll cover everything from Victorian style homes, which have elaborate woodwork and crown molding, to Art Deco-inspired interiors with geometric patterns and bold colors. You’ll also learn about other classic styles like Mid-Century Modernism or Scandinavian design that might suit your needs better than what you’re used to seeing in magazines or on TV shows. With this guide as your go-to resource, you’ll be able to confidently.

Contemporary

We’ve all probably confused modern interior design with contemporary style at some point, and while they share similarities, contemporary home decor stands on its own. 

Contemporary decorating style is classic yet thoroughly modern and timeless, thanks to a light-handed, spare approach to decorating that ensures it never feels dated. 

Simplicity, clean lines, texture plays, and quiet drama are essential in creating a perfectly balanced contemporary style home.

Here’s a quick the architectural details you’ll want to highlight in order to effortlessly inject your home with contemporary interior design: 

  • Keep flooring simple in a contemporary living room by using a classic wooden floor and sourcing rugs with simple patterns and carpets with a low pile and geometric shapes. 
  • Lighting that is simple yet effective in highlighting contemporary home decor and architectural features should be used. 
  • Metal, stone, and opaque or clear glass are combined. 
  • Make use of structural elements such as molding and exposed brick walls and pipes to add character to a plain room.

Traditional

Traditional interior design is an effective way to kit out a home with brilliant style while paying homage and celebrating highlights of past eras and design movements. It is one of the most popular and enduring yet frequently dismissed interior style design of them all. 

Interior designers for their perspectives on defining American traditional style interior design, as well as effective strategies for getting the look right with confidence, to help inspire you in bringing traditional design into your home.

Here’s a quick the specifics to get you started on easily mastering traditional interior design for your home: 

  • Traditional interior design is all about putting together a serious mix of unusual finds, so have fun and be adventurous. 
  • The best traditional style homes aren’t wed to a specific style because no era or design should take precedence over another. 
  • In order to create a vibrant, somewhat maximal tableau, symmetry is essential. 
  • Patience is required because no home can be decorated overnight, and sometimes finding the right pieces can be more difficult than going to a showroom and sourcing everything from a single brand.

Transitional

Transitional style refers to a mix of traditional and modern furnishings, fabrications, and decorative features that give you more freedom when looking to decorate your home with ease because the design style can go in any direction you want. Transitional home decor is essentially the combination of various design styles brought together at the same time to create a cohesive design in one room. 

Though the mix of furnishings may appear disjointed at first, the key to mastering transitional decorating style is to find a way to make everything appear to work together while representing you and your lifestyle.

Here’s everything you need to know to effortlessly master transitional interior design for your home: 

  • Transitional home decor is all about a rich balance of design styles and elements brought together by classic lines juxtaposed with more modern hues and furnishings. 
  • Bring in decorative extras that are full of life and history to create an off-kilter assortment of surprises and talking points to emphasize the mix. 
  • In a transitional living room, combine traditional and contemporary furnishings, finishes, materials, and fabrications to focus on simple yet sophisticated, classic, and timeless elements.

Rustic

Rustic decor is the ideal combination of comforting, fuss-free design and practical, functional decor, resulting in a warm rustic interior. Natural materials serve as the foundation and starting point for enviable rustic home decor that celebrates the authentic beauty of natural materials to create a cozy, beautiful space. Consider open fires, oak beams, and comfortable furnishings; rustic farmhouse decor is all about creating a relaxed and organic atmosphere, where rustic decor ideas serve a dual purpose.

Minimalist

Through and through, the main mantra of minimalist home decor is simplicity. Keep it simple, tone down the decor, simplify everything, and live by the mantras “less is more” and “everything has a place and a reason.” 

Minimalist interior designer consider clean, modern lines, a tight edit, a limited color palette, and pared-down silhouettes, but don’t be afraid to create a layered, warm, rich, and inviting minimalist home with a gallery-like setting from room to room, as this is, after all, a place of comfort and refuge.

Scandinavian

Minimalism, simplicity, and functionality are hallmarks of Scandinavian interior design. Despite the fact that Scandinavian design has been around since the 1950s, it is still a popular trend in interior design today. 

Scandinavian design is a design movement that belongs to the school of modernism and is distinguished by a focus on functionalism and simplicity. Natural materials, such as leather, wood, and hemp, are also used. Furthermore, a connection to nature often influences Scandinavian interior design, which combines natural shapes, abstraction, and the use of natural elements.

Urban Modern

At its core, spirited urban modern interior design is contemporary and industrial, but not as aggressively so as a completely ultra-modern or decidedly industrial design. Urban modern decor frequently has a softer side to it; from warmer tones to highly designed furnishings to relaxed soft furnishings, urban interior decorating prioritizes comfort as well as brilliant design.

Find one-of-a-kind and complementary design styles to tie a room together with cosmopolitan influence while keeping it warm and inviting with minimal features softened by plush fabrications and rugs. This is a tried-and-true method for making your home feel more playful, unique, and enticing in ways that ultra-modern and industrial designs cannot.

Industrial

Given that the name implies an urban vibe with warehouse and factory elements thrown in, it should come as no surprise that industrial interior design practices lend a clean, somewhat masculine, and minimal spirit to any room. Consider a neutral color palette, reclaimed machinery, moody hues, raw woods and unfinished metals, and, finally, statement-making throwbacks with a slightly steampunk vibe. 

However, we would not recommend going industrial when considering the best interior design styles for small houses because this is one aesthetic that necessitates plenty of breathing room to accommodate the often oversized machinery inspired elements.

It should come as no surprise that the name evokes an urban vibe with warehouse and factory elements thrown in for good measure. However, you can inject small doses of the design movement when looking at industrial interior design styles living room by incorporating raw metal decorative extras say on a bookshelf here, or a small nook there.

Art Deco

If you like things that are ornate and jewel-like, this 1920s design style throwback might be the best option for you. Art deco interior design immediately conjures up images of opulence; elegant, glamorous, and sleek, this style was popularized as the pinnacle of chic in the 1920s. 

The bold and sweeping geometric, symmetry, and metallic statements conjure up images of Great Gatsby-esque design, with a sleek and shiny patina providing the most sumptuous of excess. And today’s take on updated art deco style is decidedly playful and modern for a distinctive appearance. We’ve created a handy guide with everything you need to know to master the look culled from our decorators as inspiration.

Mid-Century Modern

Because mid-century modern design has its roots in architecture and its furnishings were originally designed to highlight the era’s design sensibilities, here’s a quick rundown of the architectural details you’ll want to highlight to effortlessly inject your home with mid-century modern interior design:

  • Mid-century modern design, which emerged after WWII, stripped away the superfluous in order to keep things true to their original essence. Take a similar approach and keep everything structured, functional, and long-lasting, with minor design flourishes for added interest. 
  • Use natural elements in a room to bring the outdoors in, such as exposed beams, wood panels, and untouched brick walls. 
  • Instead, add character with abstract prints, patterns, and art that are free of cultural references and can be more easily associated with the era’s arts and crafts movement.
  • One of the main reasons people continue to praise mid century modern decor is its overall casual, lounge-ready vibe, so have fun with it and keep it relaxed – just don’t overdo it.

Asian Zen

Zen is the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese term ‘Ch’an,’ which is actually the Chinese pronunciation of ‘Dhyana,’ the Sanskrit word for the concept of meditation. 

Zen is now used to describe a state of self-awareness of our place in the universe, as well as being at peace with our thoughts.

Asian Zen interior design is a style that emphasizes harmony, balance, tranquillity, and simplicity in your home. It is inspired by both the Zen concept and the importance of incorporating nature into your décor, which is common in Asian homes.

There is one critical point we want you to remember. Sure, specific colors and motifs can help you reinforce this style, but keep in mind that the essence of Zen décor is a sense of tranquillity rather than specific features. That is why, when it comes to inspiring a sense of peace and balance, we recommend prioritizing what works for you personally.

Would you like classic interior design services? SHE Interior Design can offer just that. They have many years of experience in the industry, specializing in classic designs for your home or office.

Get free estimates for your next project and we’ll match you with a designer that satisfies your taste and your budget. We would be happy to provide any consultation or guidance you need in order to make these decisions so that you can find what works best for your space. What Ideas You Might Want? Contatc Us Now!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1 North Coast Ave #04-10 Singapore 737663

enquiry@sheinterior.com.sg

+65 9484 1863

www.sheinterior.com.sg

enquiry@sheinterior.com.sg

enquiry@sheinterior.com.sg

+65 9484 1863

2018 - 2024 SHE Interior Design Pte Ltd (201801974 M)

Talk to a designer

    What is 3 x 1 ?

    Unsure of Your Home Reno Cost

    Skip the guesswork and get a cost breakdown

    Have Home Decor Problems or Need Inspirations?