Types of Interior Design

A house won’t feel like a home unless you get the design right. But how do you pick the right interior design style? There’s no right answer. Just keep two things in check - match the exterior and interior, and keep it consistent.

For example, if you built a house from scratch with a new home builder and it was modern, it makes sense to design the interior modern, too. Fortunately, you can mix-and-match with two styles. You can add traditional furniture and elements to ensure cosiness. Or add a twist with industrial features. But remember, continue the combination throughout the entire house.

Here, let’s look at design styles you could pick.

Scandanavian

The success of IKEA spread the word of the scandinavian design. The scandinavian interior came into prominence in the 1950’s and sports a minimal, clean look with bright, airy spaces.

How do you achieve this look? Scandinavian styles tend to include light wood furniture and suit light wood floors, however, if you have carpet, there’s no need to worry. You’ll notice this interior style usually has prints framed by a simple black or white rectangle frame. Faux fur and chunk knit additions add to the look. Let’s talk colours - scandi colours are neutral but sometimes include splashes of sage green, mustard, blues and greys.

Bohemian

Bohemian has become common in recent years. A lot of people also refer to it as a Balinese style. What exactly is it? Bright, light spaces with splashes of crochet and rattan. The downfall to this design is the fact it came into fashion fast so will most likely follow suit by going out of fashion fast. For this reason, this interior design suits you if you like switching up designs. Be careful not to make permanent changes to the interior.

To create a bohemian design throughout your house, opt for wall hangings, textured rugs, low-lying seating, light, fresh colours, and loads of texture.

English Country

Here’s my top pic, simply due to the fact English country is cosy, warm and inviting. Is this exactly what you’re looking for? You’ve found your perfect interior design style. What began as simply English farmhouse purposeful design, has now become a timeless interior style. In fact, decor stores now have many items that specifically replicate a worn-in farm style, such as the popular white wooden furniture sandpapered or damaged to look pre-loved. Or, you can save an arm and a leg by thrifting traditional wood items and achieve the same look by painting and sandpapering them back.

Start off with a large, slouchy couch. Lay some cushions across it, followed by one or two throws. The next step is to add rugs, and antique or replica antique wooden furniture throughout the house. Tartan is the perfect English country print - you can’t go wrong with it. It doesn’t matter whether you go with lighter or darker colours, unless your house is small. If this is the case, brighten it with lighter colours. Complete the look with a classic fireplace, if possible.

Modern

Modern essentially means new. Think of the new developments in town, or the epitome of modern - new rich list houses. Containing neutral colours, mostly black or white, combined with clean, sleep lines and metal, glass lacquer and steel.

Modern is minimalism at its finest. However, be aware, if you go too extreme with your modern styling, it can look sterile, and not one ounce of cosy. To avoid this, there needs to be some balance at play. Create feature walls, introduce warm paint colours, textured rugs and cushions, and hang art or photo frames at eye level.

To sum it up, go with your gut every single time. Psychologically, we are drawn to an interior style fitting our personal taste. Whether you’ve always liked English farmhouse, or you’re going into unchartered waters, the correct design that will serve you for a long time will trigger a positive emotion in the here and now. If you can envision living with your design for 10 or 20 years and enjoy it along the way, then it’s the right style for you.