Furniture Design Styles

Exploring Furniture Design Styles and Pick the Most Suitable For Your Home

You see furniture in the living room. They have distinct style that is capable to blend with room decoration. 

Material is wood with dark accent, but entire surface is clean and no visible pattern. This style is usually you find in modern or minimalist decoration. It is the example of furniture design styles.

Knowing the style is necessary when you are interior design. Imagine the industrial room with traditional or art deco furniture. 

If you only think about practical and functionality, there is no issue at all. You even put anything as long as furniture can fulfill the basic needs. On the contrary, designers concern about balance and compatibility. 

It is necessary for rustic or farmhouse furniture to be in the room. To know more about styles in the furniture design, check the following sections.

1. Art deco

Art deco is style and visual art from French. It started before the World War I when people emphasized the pattern and fancy decoration. 

Today, you mostly find this kind of furniture in vintage shore. Designers combine art and functional. Some of them do not have much pattern but contain iconic emblem as attention getter.

During that time, material was mostly wood such as maple, oak, and vine. Anything growth in French and Europe became the solely component of this style. 

Even though metal and iron were available, people still picked furniture with natural compound. Moreover, the style seems compatible with this option.

2. Asian

One of furniture design styles is Asian. This term has several definitions. Asian style is also called oriental to refer the product that comes from Asia, usually China and Japan. 

You recognize immediately because furniture has distinct carved and pattern that resemble the culture in that region. It is mostly traditional product not mass production.

Another definition is furniture with Asian accent. It does not specify the region but most people call as Asian. 

The production is from anywhere even in Europe and USA. Materials are wooden, bamboo, and metal. Usually, it has pattern with nature design such as tree, flower, bird, cloud, and other animals.

3. Bohemian

Bohemian furniture style is the top choice when you want something different, unique, and unconventional. The term becomes popular after it is incorporated into lifestyle. People also this style as boho.

You see sofa with unique pattern that everyone will point their sight immediately after entering the room. 

The cover has bright red with yellow, blue, and white stripes. The interesting thing is those composition does not follow the balance. It means decoration is random. This is the example of furniture with Bohemian style.

You can make your own based on the wild idea you have. In general, this style does not have rule. 

One thing you should understand is to make the furniture has vintage accent. Combination between old and unique will show your creativity and artistic side. 

This is the principle of bohemian. People are free to do anything including decorating their room with something unfamiliar.

4. Coastal

Coastal style is design you find in beach house or home with ocean view. The style focuses on two things, free-spirited and practical. 

The furniture is place where you can be in the room while enjoying the view. If you live in the city or no nearby coast area, the style is mostly suitable in the room next to your pool.

Furniture utilizes bright and clean color such as white, grey, and blue. The color is the most important thing in this style. You may use any material as long as it can create the simple shape. 

White seems the best one due to the coastal represents the place where you enjoy the nature. As alternative, you choose the blue sofa and simple coffee table in the living room.  

5. Contemporary

People use the word modern and contemporary, as both are the same meaning. In fact, designers have strict rule to make obvious different. 

When asking designers to choose contemporary style, it means you use the one that becomes trend today. Even though you know the definition, the implementation is more difficult.

Furniture style is quite similar to fashion. You wear something today and the next year will be no longer available. 

The only different is long period because furniture trend may last three years before you find the new contemporary. People do not change their chairs and table quickly unless in the great needs.

Due to constant change, you can tell the room has the contemporary style from simplicity and practical. 

As you know, it is the style that most people choose. That’s mean they mostly rely on simplicity and practical aspect then consider design.

6. French

Exploring the French style will takes long time. It does not have fixed rule. Some products have excessive ornaments and heavy construction. On the other side, you also find this style with simple design.

From historical perspective, this style was started in 18th century. The palace ordered the luxury furniture. Tin that time, owning furniture was extremely expensive. Moreover, production was limited and handmade.

This situation created the opportunity to apply the luxury design into product that people could buy. 

The style was more practical but still had artistic aspect. The product had high quality and well finished. In general, it combines luxury and practical to develop furniture for everyone.

7. Farmhouse

Farmhouse style emerges when people want decoration with nature atmosphere. It represents the house you own next to the farm. You see the nature directly. Another idea about this style is a place where you feel free to enjoy the surrounding.

To make furniture with this style, you need to pick the right colors. In general, designers often choose gray, beige, and cream. As alternative, you may pick white, light blue, and brown. The style keeps the pattern as minimum as possible.

When seeing furniture with dark brown, you may assume the style is either rustic or farmhouse. 

Both have the same concept but rustic tends to be the nature related with the forest, soil, and wooded. On the other hand, farmhouse is something with bright and cheerful atmosphere.

8. Industrial

Furniture with industrial style is the right option is you want more practical. The idea comes from the situation inside the factory. 

As you know, the engineers always put the practical and functionality at the top list. Artistic is out of option unless can increase the productivity.

Some factories can survive and continue producing the product. Others are no longer in production stage. The empty storage and building are transformed into the housing. In this situation, designers try to develop the suitable furniture.

Material for this design is mostly metal but some designers try wooden. Design looks like unfinished product. 

For example, the table uses metal frame and tabletop still has rough side. Keep in mind that it is only the appearance. The product itself is definitely the complete production.

9. Modern

One of furniture design styles is modern. The term refers to era in the early 20 century. It started from 1900 and extended until today. 

As you know, the modern design is completely different from contemporary. However, you may say it is contemporary when the trend today is modern.

In that era, industry and factory were at the high peak. The design focused on practical and functional so that the furniture could be produce efficiently. 

That’s why you can get this style anywhere. The product is available in the market where people buy and use in their house.

Modern design utilizes material such as metal, iron, aluminum, stainless steel, plastic, vinyl, and wooden. 

Metal and stainless steel are the most common ones because less cost so that manufacturers may produce. 

In general, anything called modern is something practical you often see at home. This is the best furniture in most of decoration.

10. Mid-century modern

Practical and simple are the things you see in mid-century modern style. It combines simplicity and practical while still looking good artistically. Designers avoid excessive curves and ornament. Furniture is clean with plain color, usually neutral.

As one of furniture design styles, it is practically possible to implement in many areas and period. 

It started after World War II in America. It is another variation of modern design that continues to extend until today.

11. Rustic

Rustic decoration is the style that incorporates nature as the main theme. Material is mostly wooden whether the finishing one or leftover that carpenter redesign. You may use vintage or old product. 

One thing you need to understand is this style still looks simple even though more pattern on the furniture. 

As reference, you should see the farmhouse and cabin. Both often have this decoration to adjust with the nature and surrounding.

To distinguish rust with other styles is color. Most designers use dark brown and black are the primary colors. 

They use them as dominant one alongside some minors such as white, yellow, blue, green, and red. Sofa with full dark brown is considered the rustic. 

It will blend perfectly when you put in the room where entire wall is made from timber.

12. Shabby chic

You decorate room with old style and require the right furniture. Usually, this kind of decoration will match with vintage. 

The furniture has distressed outer or surface as it has been around for decades. Keep in mind that anything in that room does not have to be old production. 

You can have cabinet or table with distressed paint. They are dedicated to create old atmosphere. This idea is called shabby chic.

Designers use the idea of this style to adjust with several decorations. You may put furniture with shabby chic style in the cottage. 

Moreover, it is also compatible with rustic and farmhouse. For material, you many have anything because appearance is the most important thing in this style. 

Make sure the color is completely torn apart. Some paint methods and compounds are capable to deliver this appearance.

13. Scandinavian

The next style is Scandinavian. The name is from the region in the North Europe. In that area, you find vast forest as the source of timber and wooden industry. 

Based on such situation, the main material is definitely wood. For your information, that region is known as the place where the furniture business come.

The basis of this design is simplicity, functionality, and minimalism. Design is dedicated to fulfill specific purpose. 

For example, chair is more practical that everyone can sit. The design does not have too much fancy accent or pattern. 

On the contrary, this style focuses on minimalism where you can combine the furniture with other.

In general, you see the similar principle from modern and the Scandinavian. The latter emerged into prominent era in 1950s. Before that time, there was no this term because most designer still called modern. 

After the exhibition stated that the products were from the Nordic countries, the word Scandinavian was applied on design and style including furniture.

14. Traditional

Another interesting idea for furniture design styles is traditional. It has two meanings. Firstly, the style is from something that your find in rural where people do not see much the technology. 

Carpenters and productions are still with the old method. The result is unique and uncommon furniture.

Next, this style is for the concept from era since renaissance until the late of 19th century. After that, the design evolved into the modern era. The concept of traditional is the opposite of modern idea. 

In that time, people saw furniture as the luxury. Only rich and noble could spare the money to purchase. Of course, they liked elegant, unique, and interesting appearance.

15. Transitional

You like traditional style but lack of practical. Design is too much ornament and pattern. 

On the other hand, you do not pick modern or contemporary even though the style is more practical. One issue is too much simplicity. This situation requires the best solution. The answer is transitional style.

This term has meaning to balance two sides. It mixes modern and traditional so that the furniture still has something interesting in the way. 

Designers try to create furniture that looks luxury but not much ornament. You can recognize furniture with this style from curve and straight. 

The traditional style tends to be more curve and modern one is more straight line. Therefore, transitional will put both into single design.

This style uses neutral color. White and black are preferable option with alternative such as gray or beige. Moreover, materials are wooden and metal. Some products even have luxury ones to make more comfortable.

16. Urban modern

You can use urban modern as one of furniture design styles. The term refers to style that is implemented in urban area where space is not much. 

People want elegant decoration and interior design with more practical but still has artistic. 

The idea is the middle ground between contemporary and industrial. As you know, the industrial is too rigid due to furniture is only for what it supposed to be. 

You do not see much fancy ornament. Contemporary style has artistic accent to create the overwhelm atmosphere.

The furniture must be compatible with the room such as warehouse and loft apartment. You can use metal frame and wood as component to produce practical table. 

Moreover, furniture may have more than one function. For example, bedroom has bunk bud with storage and desk. In general, color is neutral but you may add some interesting palette.

You find many furniture design styles. Each has unique and distinct characteristics. Some styles are quite similar due to come from the same sources and roots. 

Which one is the best? The question should adjust with the purpose, function, situation, and more aspects before you choose one or more styles.