What Is Industrial Design? Your Ultimate Guide to Industrial Style | Wayfair (2024)

What is industrial design, exactly? Put quite simply, it is a combination of a number of materials, colors, and design elements. Mainly:
• Metal, leather, or wood furniture with hard, clean lines.
• Color palettes with cream, gray, brown, tan, and black.
• Vintage-inspired accents including retro appliances, antique-looking wall clocks, marquees, and factory-inspired light fixtures.
• Soft textiles with few or no patterns.
• Open-concept spaces with high ceilings, exposed architecture, and brick.

Shop Wood Coffee Tables

Shop Leather Accent Chairs

Shop Industrial Decorative Objects

One of the most iconic aspects of industrial style interior design is its architecture itself. Characterized by soaring lofted ceilings, brick walls, exposed pipes, and floating staircases, industrial style aims to celebrate the gritty inner workings of a space rather than hide them away. In accordance with industrial style's essence – taking something old and imbuing it with a new purpose (with little to no alteration) – an old building's original architectural features, including ceiling beams, hardwood or cement floors, steel window panes, and brick walls, ought to be exposed rather than hidden. In an industrial space, exposed ventilation, ductwork, and pipes aren't unsightly blemishes; they're unique features to be highlighted.

Shop Hardwood Flooring

Don't have high ceilings or exposed brick? No problem! Channel an industrial look with exposed-filament light bulbs, brick wallpaper, or stainless steel accents. Filament light bulbs are particularly impactful for their old-fashioned, work-in-progress vibe. Overall, industrial spaces showcase mixed materials, exposed mechanisms, and rustic yet streamlined accents.

Shop Brick Wallpaper

Shop Industrial Chandeliers

Most industrial style interior design features neutral color palettes that let their bold architectural features and dynamic textures take the stage. As the main colors of raw or varnished wood, metal, and leather (all key materials of industrial furniture), browns, black, and dark grays will comprise the base on which your accent colors will be built. Bright colors aren't always totally absent in industrial spaces; for a pop of color, you can sprinkle in some small decorative elements, such as a bright red coffee table book or a colorful wall art piece. Avoid going overboard with vivid colors, though – when it comes to the larger elements, like a dining table or sofa, it's all about natural wood finishes and neutral upholstery.

Shop Wood Dining Tables

Shop White Sofas

Though unpainted wood certainly has its place in your industrial design ideas (think kitchen islands with wooden bases, wooden entertainment centers, and wooden dressers), metal furniture and decor often act as the focal point in industrial spaces. From headboards to bar stools, metal (especially matte black or polished dark gray metal) is the material of choice. If you're putting together an industrial space, consider implementing metal light fixtures with exposed bulbs, furniture with metal legs, metal storage baskets, shelving units with metal frames, and quirky metal wall art. Ultimately, mixing materials is one of the keys to adopting an industrial design that doesn't look too sterile. Think tables with distressed wood tops and metal bases and metal chairs with leather seat covers.

Shop Industrial Kitchen Islands

Shop Industrial Bar Stools

Shop Industrial Ceiling Lights

Leather also has a prominent place in industrial style interior design, as (you guessed it) furniture upholstery. Leather embodies the essence of industrial style, which is all about taking something old and giving it new life and purpose. It's equal parts rugged and refined. Think about furnishing your industrial living space with a cozy leather club chair or leather side chairs with metal legs. If you don't want to go too crazy with leather, think about furnishing your space with a leather ottoman or pouf instead.

Shop Industrial Accent Chairs

Without any softness, an industrial space can feel a bit cold and uninviting. This is where faux fur and thick wool textiles come in. Soften the hard lines and cold metal of industrial furniture by throwing thick wool throw blankets over your sofa and side chairs. It might seem glamorously out of place in concept, but a faux sheepskin or hide rug can be one of the best additions to an industrial space, as it can add softness and texture to bare floors.

Shop Faux Fur Throw Blankets

Shop Wool Throw Blankets

Shop Sheepskin Area Rugs

Though accessories and decor aren't absolutely necessary for perfecting your industrial style ideas, they can really tie a space together and give it some personality that its rigid foundation might be lacking. Plants are especially important in ensuring that an industrial space doesn't look too dreary – they can literally breathe life into a room. Struggle to care for live plants? Go with artificial instead. You can get creative with planters – think about repurposing old cans or other vessels instead of buying new pots. If you do go with new pots, opt for matte cement pots and situate them on metal plant stands.

Shop Live Plants

Shop Faux Plants

Shop Planter Pots

Vintage-inspired home accessories, including metal candle holders, oversized game pieces, old bicycles, antique-looking clocks, globes, hourglasses, old books, and more can really give a space personality. When choosing industrial home accessories, look for items that may once have been used regularly (hourglasses and bicycles, for example) but are now preserved as pieces of unique decor.

Shop Industrial Wall Clocks

Shop Industrial Home Accessories

When it comes to wall art, industrial style favors prints of old designs over new and modern art. Blueprints, diagrams, maps, and vintage posters all have a place in industrial spaces where abstract paintings, color-blocked posters, and overly colorful photos might not. If you're looking for more texture, metal wall sculptures, well-traveled license plates, and old store signs can all be dynamic additions to your walls.

Shop Industrial Wall Art

Shop Industrial Wall Accents

SHOP ALL FURNITURE

SHOP ALL LIGHTING