Industrial style – interiors, furniture, architecture.

Where does the industrial style come from in the first place? This question requires us to go back in time, to the 50s and 60s of the previous century, which made various blooming production plants slowly go bankrupt. The industrialization process was pushed out by a new thriving service sector due to the massive transitions to cheaper alternative manufacturing sources in the far East.

What has happened to the numerous abandoned brick-laid plants? Naturally, some of them were torn down with new buildings put up in their place; however, many were adapted for residential purposes. These new practices of accommodation brought to life a never-heard of before design style called industrial style.

What are the features of the industrial style?

Inspired by the old factories, the walls of the industrial style interiors are covered in raw red bricks accompanied by a large number of brackets and metal parts. The exposure of these elements is utilized to emphasise the severity of the style while pointing towards the structure of the given factories. Architecture, in general, plays a crucial role during the industrial style interior design process. High ceilings and huge tall windows are basically a standard. The tough and rough materials mixed with distressed elements are the means to extract the climate of that period of time.

Nevertheless, the industrial style is not only about brutal severity. Widely implemented wood effectively warms up the interior. Wood is especially visible on furniture and structural parts of the building itself. What is more, while designing an industrial style interior, it is important to think about comfort. Soft seating upholstered in leather is a common arrangement element. These features make this whole pursuit of recreating a certain ambience a little bit more domestic and human.

How to choose furniture for an industrial style interior?

Industrial style furniture is characterized by utter attention to detail. Instead of rich decorations and splendour, we find ourselves surrounded with rather raw but polished forms. This simplicity revolves around the idea of repeatability, which later evolved into modularity opening new arrangement possibilities.

Industrial bookcase

Such bookcases should, above all, be associated with metal structure and repeatability. Nowadays, the endless rows of shelves come in a slightly different form. Thanks to the modular structure, industrial bookcases can easily meet the expectations of the user. We are granted a chance to select the shape, size and colours that make the bookcases much more personalized. Should we be in need of a small industrial book rack, or do we wish to have multiple shelves against our wall – today, the only thing that stands between us and our goal is our imagination.

Industrial coffee table

We will not find a huge amount of furniture inside industrial interiors. Therefore, it is crucial to furnish space correctly. The right selection of materials, as well as uncanny but still rather simple form, allow for the straightforward designation of zones within the interior. Industrial coffee tables commonly mix a metal structure with wooden or plywood tops. Such a combination, together with a thoughtful choice of colours guarantees a smooth implementation of such a piece of furniture into our industrial style interior.

Industrial high stool

We notice more and more industrial style interiors being equipped with vast bar islands or high tables with wooden legs. It is a good idea to use industrial style high stools to complement such a kitchen/dining room arrangement. These come in many different variants. Industrial high stools can be upholstered though it is more probable to stumble upon those with plywood backrest and seats. It is of utmost importance that the high stools go with the interior both in terms of colours and aesthetics. Industrial high stools combine practicality with being a matching piece of the leading style of the interior.

Industrial lounge chair

As previously mentioned, the industrial style is not all about roughness and severity. The perfect argument for that is the soft seating used in this style. In this case, comfort is the main benchmark. Soft seats and the comfort of the upholstered lounge chair is oftentimes a great add-on to our industrial style interior. The industrial lounge chair can be situated in a typical relaxation zone, near our fancy industrial reading lamp, or implement around the rest of the soft seating set near the sofa.

What colours go with the industrial style?

The industrial style and monochromatic colour combination go along just fine, especially with the shades of blacks, greys, and whites. It is one of the most visible features that can be easily noticed in both the interior itself and the furniture. When it comes to accent colours, it is fairly easy to find rusty colours and all shades of wood. Vivid colours are rather uncommon, but they can be implemented in various accessories such as cushions, glass tableware, abstract art etc. Only then, we will get a chance to see reds and purples as well as greens and blues.