10 Essential Design Styles Everyone Should Know
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When it comes to interior design, in recent years we haven’t crafted homes to be perfect representations of a specific style. In fact, it’s very usual to mix and match styles to suit our spaces and personal taste. That said, you can’t pull from the huge variety of design styles at your fingertips without knowing what they are. Check out this useful guide to the 10 essential design styles everyone should know about!
01. Modern
Modern décor may be one of the broadest and most adaptable essential design styles. Elements of this style can be found in many others, including midcentury, Scandinavian, art deco and transitional. Still, modern design has a few basic elements that define it. Modern spaces are typically streamlined, with crisp lines and edges. They’re often understated and use color palettes of either complementary hues or shades of gray, black, and white. Both natural materials and metals have a space in modern décor, depending on how they’re applied.
02. Midcentury Modern
Furniture channeling this style tends to be low to the ground and compact, and the overall look features futuristic tendencies and solid colors. This style prizes functionality, is hyper adaptable, and plays well with elements of other styles, which allows midcentury modern features to be incorporated easily into nearly any space. Midcentury modern design is set apart from modern design by its broader use of color (particularly pastel pinks, earth tones, and primary colors) and softer, more rounded silhouettes.
03. Art Deco
Popularized in the 1920s, ’30s, and ’40s, this essential design style is characterized by geometric patterns, symmetry, bold colors, and metallic finishes. Though often pared down a bit to appeal to modern sensibilities, Art Deco feels retro, playful, and visually interesting.
04. Transitional
Transitional style is a blend of traditional and modern or contemporary design elements. It capitalizes on the beauty and familiarity of traditional design—using traditional layouts, materials, or silhouettes—and then incorporates modern features to keep spaces feeling fresh and casual. Think a classic, mantled fireplace balanced out by a contemporary curved sofa. While it’s technically a balance of the two styles, transitional style can lean more traditional or modern, depending on the space and the owners’ tastes.
05. Minimalist
While the style is technically rooted in the 1960s art movement of the same name, modern takes on minimalist style are all about simplicity, neutral color palettes, and straight, clean lines. Minimalist design spurns clutter and excessive tchotchkes and prioritizes functionality. Minimalist homes are not infrequently all-white, though plenty of minimalist spaces now include the careful inclusion of color and natural finishes.
06. Wabi-Sabi
Inspired by the Japanese philosophy of the same name, this design style is more about an attitude or overall approach than specific décor features. It celebrates slow living, the beauty of nature, and imperfect but aesthetically pleasing items. Spaces following the wabi-sabi approach are uncluttered, soothing, and unassuming, with clean lines, natural materials, and restrained color schemes.
07. Scandinavian
Carter Rectangular Suspension Lamp
Scandinavian design is closely related to minimalist design, though it’s set apart by plush textures and a dedication to coziness. Spaces decorated in this style are often layered and full of natural light. Color palettes tend to be monochromatic, with plenty of shades of black, white, and gray and wood textures to keep the atmosphere warm.
08. Maximalist
This style celebrates abundance, boldness, and the mixing of colors, patterns, and textures. Common maximalist features include busy wallpaper prints, bold floor coverings, full gallery walls, and displayed collections. Maximalism draws on many different design styles, but applies any design rules or features as loudly and boldly as possible.
09. Eclectic
With its mixing, matching, and layering mentality, eclectic design is very similar to maximalism—except eclectic spaces typically balance out their signature blend of multiple design styles with neutral bases. Eclectic design celebrates that more is more—and then tempers that mentality with neutral walls or unobtrusive flooring.
10. Modern Rustic
Modern rustic décor relies on raw and natural materials to create spaces that are spare without feeling cold. More subtle than the much-loved farmhouse style, modern rustic design melds distressed, textured, reclaimed, or refurbished surfaces and items with the clean and simple lines of modern design. Spaces decorated in this style will typically have neutral color palettes, original and/or exposed architectural details, and a careful balance of rustic and modern features.