Modern Interior Design Styles: How to Get the Look?

To set up your room in a certain way, first, you need to understand what you want it to look like. But drawing a line between different modern interior design styles is difficult. Especially, if you have little to no knowledge about different styles and what makes them unique.

And if choosing the right interior design has been your goal — here we are. We have already talked about interior decoration in the past but it was all about practice. Now, we will give you a bit of theory.

From our new blog, you will learn about the most popular interior design today and understand how you can get the look.

Let’s dive right into it.

Mid-Century Modern

We will start with the most popular modern interior design style. While quite some time has passed since it was originally used, its popularity has done anything but decreased.

The sophisticated, chic, clean, and universal style has been many people’s go-to choice for interior design for almost a century. It has withstood the test of time thanks to its versatility and comfort.

You can recognize it by its refined lines, natural geometric shapes, and creative usage of then-new materials. In its purest form, it might be a little too stiff and old-fashioned. But in combination with new decorative elements and shapes, you can get just the vibe you are looking for.

Our suggestion:

Since it’s the period between 1930 and 1965 we are talking about, your decorations should be mostly minimal with touch. And we will be honest here — nothing says something is a Mid-Century better than a clever pattern.

While most of the time, the design is minimal and simple; it is very playful decorations wise. If you are looking for an accent, stick to one or two elements with bright colors and patterns to keep the overall look balanced.

For wallpapers, you would want to go for something that feels a little ‘washed’ and ‘toned down.’ Pastel colors are a great place to start. Mid-Century Modern wallpapers often have repetitive patterns with simple retro shapes and predictable geometric figures.

The interior design style is also famous for its imaginative and creative rugs, so don’t shy away from them. Go for the rugs that have asymmetrical geometric patterns and bright colors.

Painting and photo canvases are not rare for the style. Most of the time, you will see abstract patterns and — again — geometric shapes. You see a pattern here, can’t you?

Bohemian

Just as the artists that have established the style, the bohemian interior needs to have a lot of personalities. The essence of the bohemian style is creating a room that feels ‘yours.’ It should give off a chill vibe and your understanding of what relaxation means should be the guiding principle.

It is an interior style that often also feels a little messy. The messiness is however not random. It is well thought out and purposeful. Layer textiles, choose creative, ethnic patterns, add greens. Since the style itself represents free-spiritedness, the decor elements give off a similar vibe. Natural materials, metallic accents, and wood are all in.

Our suggestion:

Use decor elements that have memories to them. Collect your interior piece by piece, looking for things that would add to your unique environment every time you travel or shop. Essentially a bohemian home is the one that looks like a memory box and is full of stories.

When furnishing your room, look for things in pinkish and red tones. You can go wild with the artworks — go for ethnic paintings, bright patterns, thematic paintings. A bohemian style is the one that welcomes thoughtful excessive.

You also have a lot of freedom with rugs and their patterns. Anything bright, traditional, and Oriental will do the job. You can choose natural materials, such as animal hide, or replace them with artificial alternatives.

For the walls, you can choose bright colors if you want to but most of the time they are purposefully left relatively blank. It allows the bright statement pieces and memorable accessories to not come off as too overwhelming.

Scandinavian

Contrary to many people’s beliefs, minimalism is not an interior design style. What it is is an approach to interior design. Any of the styles can be minimal if you want it to be. But perhaps no style conveys the spirit better than the Scandinavian.

The style was made popular in the middle of the last century by (you guessed it) Scandinavian countries. The emphasis is on simplicity and functionality over extravagance. What you will see in the houses done with this design in mind is a simple, clean pallet with rare pops of color.

It is the ideal Marie Kondo method home in our imagination, where everything has a place. You cannot help but want to be productive being in that kind of environment.

Our suggestion:

It will not take you long to notice that interior design done in the Scandinavian style often have white or grey walls. It allows the rooms to feel more spacious, turning it into a clean canvas that can be used to put more elaborate accents at.

When trying to get the look, you would probably want to keep the walls minimal and clean, but you can let your imagination with the art. Use artworks to add color and spice up the room.

Print posters with patterns and modern works of art. The simplicity of the overall design should allow you to experiment with the paintings. The best thing about them? You can replace them whenever you want, easily transform the room if it needs ‘a breath of fresh air.’

Shabby chic

Do you love vintage? Do you want your home to look like a modern alternative to the classic castle? Then Shabby chic is what you have thought about.

Shabby chic style’s furniture often looks antique and worn out. While you can take your grandma’s coffee table to get the right vibe and find an old mirror in your basement, you should not resort to only your own stocks. You can find furniture that has been purposefully aged and colored with milk paint to show signs of wear and tear in any online shop.

Overall, the Shabby chic interior should look chic and elegant, with considerable softness to it. It is a distinctive style with a rural vibe that has considerably refreshed the harsh looking and clean, modern interior design styles. In its essence, the style is the marriage between bohemian style and farmhouse.

Our suggestion:

The go-to colors for Shabby chic are pastel and white, but occasional bright accents can look equally elegant. For the wallpaper, you can use French country house inspired patterns and ornamentations.

For the floor, consider getting a stylish rug. If no, a modern-looking pattern can be the refreshing touch you have needed to breathe in life into your room.

Classic paintings printed on canvases would make a great addition to the interior, helping to it to give off a classy vibe. Grotesque furniture, gold mirrors, and wood accessories are all necessary elements of the Shabby chic.

Industrial

If the softness and calmness of many modern interior design styles are not for you, Industrial design might be what you have been looking for.

Confident, classy, and direct the industrial interior design associates with security. Inspired by the industrial era, the style often heavily uses darker tones, rougher materials, and metallic accents.

But even here you are anything but limited creativity wise. You can go with something chic or focus on getting antiquity. The direction you choose will depend on your preferences.

Our suggestion:

To get the industrial look, go for darker colors. Exposed brick walls are also considered an integral element of the style. Alternatively, you can print a map instead of wallpapers — it is a trick we have seen many interior designers pull off well.

Wood and metallic accents are also often used in the design. Leather furniture is not a rare thing either. Larger leather sofas in darker tones are often what comes to mind when you think about the style.

For carpets and rugs, it is better to keep things simple. Simple patterns or even one-colors rugs often look the best with the interior, soothing the overall look and giving it a softer feel.

Simple posters or artworks are often the best. Black and white photography inside the acrylic plates are not a bad choice either if you want something a little fancier.

Modern interior design styles do not have rules

If you have always felt like some modern interior design styles are too constraining, we feel you. We did not title all our suggestions that and not rules for no reason.

The best thing about modern interior design styles is that in masterful hands they can be transformed into something majestic. There is no such thing as a pure style in interior design. Each of the ones we have talked about has taken something from the other one and that is the beauty of it.

Experiment with the styles. Add something that says something is about you and only you. Tastefully twist formulas, combining bohemian with mid-century chic and classical designs. Learn the rules and then break them.

And if someone is surprised, confidently refer them to this article… We have your back covered.