Choosing Your Interior Design Style - The Ultimate Guide

Nowadays, it’s totally possible to enjoy a chic and stylish home even without enlisting the help of a professional designer. It’s a more practical option, especially if you want to exercise full control over the all processes involved.

However, as in the case with any other DIY project, succeeding in decorating and accessorising your home can be an overwhelming task.

It will require a small time investment to learn and understand the basic concepts and processes.

After all, you can’t just add in new bed linens, pillowcases, decors, and fixtures or come up with a random interior motif without considering the whole picture. 

You can start your DIY interior design project by learning how to choose an interior design style that works well for the available space so you can pick the best items for your home improvement project. 

In this guide, you’ll learn about the different interior design styles industry leaders lean on today. We’ll outline the tips, key features and other essential details to help you decide which style fits your preference and personality.

Before we deep dive into the nitty-gritty parts of the design styles, it’s best to have an overview of home interior designing as a whole.  

A brief look on interior design styles

Many people think that the art of accesorising and designing homes is fairly modern. However, in truth, the concept and processes involved are quite ancient. The art of decorating and accessorising homes traces its humble beginnings to the ancient Egyptian civilisation.

Back then, the elite members of the Egyptian society decorated their homes with furnishings, textiles, animal hide, sculptures, murals and hand painted vases as a way of depicting their beliefs and customs to their guests.

Fast forward to modern day, interior design is mostly used to increase the aesthetic value of the space and to improve the quality of life of the dwellers.

To succeed in creating a design that can accommodate your needs and demands, you need to consider the six elements of interior designing:

• Space - Interior design is used to maximise the available space in a house. To create a practical and logical plan, one must measure the dimensions of the house. There are two space dimensions that you need to consider
  • 2D space - covers the dimension of the floor
  • 3D space - which takes into account the area used in a room.
• Line - To establish a harmonious and organised design, you must consider the lines, forms and shapes present in a room. You can find these lines in structures such as beds, chairs, tables, doorways, windows and stairs.
• Forms - These are the shapes formed by combining patterns, colours, and textures. They can either be classified as natural/organic or man-made/geometric depending on their appearance.
• Light - Without light, colours, textures, patterns and lines become insignificant. It's a crucial element of interior design that can either come from natural sources such as sunlight or man-made inventions such as lamps and bulbs.
• Colour - It sets the mood and influences how you perceive a certain design used in a room. If you want to create the perfect colour palette for your home, you must take into consideration your mindset and the type of mood that you want to elicit.
• Texture - Texture can easily add depth and charm to a room. It also affects how you feel or perceive the consistency and appearance of a surface. It is classified into two:
  • Visual - Pertains to the texture that you can see such as:
    • Printed wallpapers
    • Patterns on vases.
  • Actual - It’s the type of texture that you can feel such as the patterns on a quilted bed cover and the woven thread of a decorative tapestry. 

By mixing and matching the elements above, you can create various interior design styles.

What are the different home interior styles?

Before you can start improving your home interior, it’s better to have a working concept in mind.

By doing so, you can easily pick the colours, furnishings, decors, and other things you need to complete the look. 

To help you decide, try to consider the following factors:

• Home’s architectural structure
• Personal preferences
• Available budget

Below are the 10 most popular home interior styles today.

Minimalist

Minimalist style celebrates the creation of comfortable and clean spaces. It’s a trendy design style that celebrities like Rachel Ray and Meg Ryan follow to a tee.

To create a minimalist interior, you need to fully embrace the use of geometric shapes, clean lines, functional furniture, and no more than two basic colours.

Do’s

• Focus on creating large spaces in the room.
• Large windows are a must for this type of design style.
• Use materials such as natural stone, ceramics, textured wood and chrome steel.
• If you want to accessorise, go for simple and highly functional decors such as wall clocks.

Don’ts

• Never use anything with spiralled patterns.
• Avoid adding random items. Instead you must focus on achieving cohesiveness and balance.

Contemporary

If your goal is to keep your interiors modern and current, you will most likely love the contemporary style.

The contemporary style focuses on the deliberate use of lines and textures and emphasizes the need for subtle sophistication. It works incredibly well for homes that have bare windows and high ceilings. <tweet me>

Do’s

• Stick with neutral colours like white and black for your palette.
• Maximise the available structural elements in your house such as exposed plumbing pipes and broken bricks by painting them in striking colours.
• Feel free to add cushions to make your sofa stand out.

Don’ts

• Avoid using floral linens or wallpapers. 
• Don’t use a carpet unless it’s commercial grade.

Modern

A lot of people often mistaken contemporary and modern as the same interior design styles.However, they are quite different from each other. Instead of staying current, modern style interiors only make use of 20th-century inspired designs.

Expect to find a lot of assembled or repurposed furniture, graphic arts, integrated kitchen equipment, and home automation systems.

Do’s

• Use materials with reflective surfaces such as chrome, steel and glass.
• Go for decors made from natural materials like wood, natural fibre and leather.
• Choose an earthy or neutral colour palette.

Don’ts

• Avoid unnecessary detailing.
• Don’t use too much curves.

Industrial

Industrial design style proudly displays building materials that are often concealed by most people. Followers of the industrial design prefer a raw and unfinished style.

Nowadays, you can find plenty of apartments, lofts and newly renovated buildings that follow an industrial interior style.

Do’s

• Highlight the exposed pipes by creating an all-white space.
• Add furnishings like tables and chairs that come with metal frames
• Choose colours often associated with warehouses like grey, brown, red, and black.

Don’ts

• Don’t be afraid to use old timber and pipes most especially when you create DIY home decors
• Stay away from bold and printed patterns.

Scandinavian

The Scandinavian home interior style is slightly similar to the minimalist type. Both styles strongly emphasises the need to highlight simplicity and functionality.

The only difference between them is that the Scandinavian style promotes the use of textures, soft hues, and contrasts to create a warm and cosy space.

Do’s

• Add Nordic art pieces all over the house
• Make the sofa more inviting by adding a kilim rug or a faux fur throw rug
• Go for warm sepia tones to create a bright and warm ambiance in the house.

Don’ts

• Don’t use thick drapes. You need to maximise the use of natural light.
• Don’t use dark-coloured wood furnishings.

Classic

The classical interior style is heavily influenced by the home design and style used by Ancient Greece and Rome.

Some of the most iconic elements you can find in a classical home include klismos chairs, busts, columns, laurel wreaths and drapery. 

Do’s

• If you wish to add new furnishings, go for chairs and tables made from dark wood.
• Fill your palette with colours like ivory, pale malachite, vivid magentas, golds, mist blues and scarlet.
• Select classical and elegant fibre such as canvas, velvet and cotton for the drapes or decorative textile.

Don’ts

• Don’t place decors and furnishings randomly. Strive to find balance and symmetry in all the furnishings and decors you will use.
• Don’t be afraid to add large paintings on the walls of your home.

French Country

In styling a house that takes inspiration from the French countryside, you need to incorporate a lot of bright and happy colours.

The design also calls for finesse and elegance. This type of home interior style is best used for old cottages, chateaux or country houses.

Do’s

• Use colours like soft gold, burnt rush, cobalt blue and dark hunter green.
• Opt for delicately carved wood furniture, natural stone flooring, wool rugs, woven chairs and clay hearth.
• Be generous in adding hand-crafted decors such as baskets, copper pots and ceramic figurines.

Don’ts

• Avoid using decors and furnishings made from synthetic materials like plastic, PVC, nylon and polyester.
• Don’t forget to apply polishing wax on your wooden furnishings.

Hollywood Glam

Thanks to the popularity of Hollywood stars, the American TV show ”Cribs”, a lot of people have grown quite attached to the glitz and glam of Hollywood's design hub.

It’s mostly luxurious and over the top but it’s perfect for individuals who love making a bold statement.

Do’s

• Embrace glitz and glamour by welcoming polished metals into your home.
• Upgrade your bedroom by adding a tufted upholstery.
• Add furnishings with a velvety texture. If possible, buy ones that come in rich and dark shades.

Don’ts

• Don’t settle for simple decors. Instead you should hang striking pieces on the wall.
• Dial down on using floral curtains. Switch to thick, heavy and dark-coloured drapes instead.

Art Deco

Art Deco was first introduced by France back in 1925. It was the most fashionable and iconic international art movement back in the 1920s to 1940s.

The Art Deco interior style draws inspiration from striking geometric designs of architectural wonders like the Chrysler building.

Do’s

• Decorate your homes with prints like chevrons, zigzags, sunbursts, feathers or jagged prints.
• Select striking and contrasting colours like dark yellow, red, blue, green and pink.

Don’ts

• Avoid adding furniture with frills. You should choose furnishings and fixtures with streamlined shapes.
• Say no to plaids and florals when you add any textile decor.

Country

Country-style homes are widely known for their rustic and rural charm.

They're mostly used by homeowners who want to adhere to their traditions and customs.

You can find plenty of natural materials like wood and stone as well as rough and organic surfaces in a country-inspired home. 

Do’s

• Conceal your modern appliances to maintain the rustic charm of your interiors
• Use decorations made from natural fabrics such as cotton and flax
• You may use dark-coloured furniture and fixtures to add contrast to a room

Don’ts

• Don't focus too much on the symmetry and balance of the furnishings and decors. Be as laid back as possible.
• Avoid using too much contrasting colours and tones.

We’ve gathered all the best home interior styles in this article and outlined the key features plus the do’s and don’ts that you must remember. Knowing what you do now, which of the 10 interior design styles do you like the most?

Quick wrap up on how to choose your interior design style

Because each interior decoration styles offers something different, it can be quite challenging to determine which option will work best for your situation.

The easiest way to narrow down your choices is to outline your goals, style preferences, budget and even your style inspirations. Don’t forget to consider your home’s architectural structure.

Once you have a clear picture of what you want to achieve, you can start planning your home improvement project.

Looking for a few special items to bring your desired interior design style to life? Check out our home decor product catalogue for inspiration and a helping hand.