Maybe there’s another way to look at old spaces?

Industrial Decor comes from the '90s as many City centers in North America started transitioning their shut-down warehouses and manufacturing plants into condos or apartment buildings. Instead of trying to pretend that the building hadn't previously been a warehouse, they would feature the details. Industrial Decor became known for preserving that grungy open and exposed feeling. This type of design is mostly about obtaining a cold, eerie look. Rather than something to gentrify, this became the selling point for many of these new homes.

The great thing about industrial decor is that you don't need to have purchased a warehouse to achieve the look. With a bit of outside-of-the-box thinking, you can manage this even in the middle of suburbia. 

 The key elements of industrial interior design include:

A Mix Of Grays, Neutrals, And Rustic Colors 

As is with many different styles, you'll want to start by building up your color palette. While heading straight to Black or White might seem the obvious choice, more natural and worn colors are really what you should look at. If your space has a lot of room, go ahead and utilize an accent wall in some of the darker tones like charcoal gray, or a deep brick, or umber. If on the other hand your space is a little smaller or maybe the ceiling isn't particularly high, go ahead and use something like a light gray rather than straight white. This will give it the open effect, but it won't detract from the look you're trying to gain. You would also be surprised by the amount of blues, charcoals, and brick tones that you can bring in with this decor style.

A Raw And Unfinished Look 

Now that you've got your color decided on, let's make the room look unfinished in order to eventually give it a finished cohesive look (haha). What we mean by this is if your room has molding or baseboards? Get rid of them. If you've got a brick or stone fireplace that maybe was painted at some point, strip it down. If you've got wall to wall carpeting and you know you've got wood floors underneath it, rip it out and it was a little bit of oil you'll have an amazing floor. As with many things in our Decor series, these are options. All of these add to the look of a piece being unfinished, but it's up to you decide what you want to go with.

 Concrete Flooring 

Given how many of the original industrial buildings would have been floored in concrete, this is a staple of the look. However if you cannot or do not want to rip your house down to concrete floors, there are other ways to achieve the look without having to destroy your house. You can instead get tiles that look like concrete. You can get peel-and-stick flooring for the same look. You can even lay down a vinyl wrap to achieve what you want. Each of these gives you different amounts of flexibility and ingenuity based on your budget and needs.

 Utilitarian Objects 

   Utilitarian objects are ones which serve their purpose without a lot of extraneous detail or ‘fluff’. There is still a sort of austere beauty to pieces that are simple. They bring joy in their simplicity or in how well they do their job. You can balance this by bringing in pop or abstract art and plant life to bring color and detail to a room. 

 A Use Of Old Vintage Factory And Lab Pieces

 If you want to bring in something special, you might look at incorporating antique or vintage factory and lab pieces. You can often pick them up from sales or thrift stores if you happen to live in the city.  Additionally, you can often find some of the classic fixtures and "Edison bulbs" at hardware stores that carry interior lighting. Cogs and gears are often thought of, but you should look beyond that. Look for pieces that can serve a purpose in your home now, such as repurposing an old chain to hold plants or a table top to act as the backing for a mirror. (Of course there are many more options that we could come up with right now, but these are ones we’ve seen.) 

 Large Sectionals 

Because of the large amounts of space within many transformed warehouses, bigger furniture was better. Being a sectional just means that you can easily take it apart and move it how you want, whether that’s several small seats or one giant couch for everyone to pile onto. 

 Wood And Metal Surfaces 

Just like the floors and walls were often left bare, you might want to bring in very simple furniture to reflect the same. This is also a good choice if you’re not living in a converted warehouse and want to get the look anyway. Using reclaimed or recycled wood paired with metal piping to construct tables and shelving is a good example of how this can be achieved.  Using antique light fixtures with metal finishes is also something that is very common and fits well with the look. 

As always, we hope that you enjoyed our take on this aspect of home decor. Will you take on an industrial design at some point? Let us know why or why not over on our Facebook page.

If it is not your love of decor but instead your hatred of your malfunctioning dishwasher that has brought you to us today, you're still in the right place. At Appliance Rescue Service, we take care of all major appliances and work with you to get your home running smoothly again. When you reach out to us via our contact page or by giving us a call at ((214) 599-0055), we'll work with you to set up a time and date that works with your schedule to send out one of our experienced technicians. Whether you live in Plano, Carrollton, or Garland, we want to help.