Industrial style: what it is and what its characteristics are

Industrial style: have you ever heard of this modern furnishing style? The industrial or industrial style, according to the English-speaking wording, was born and developed during the 1950s in New York, thanks to the recovery and reuse of disused spaces, used in the past as offices, management and executive or industrial centres.

With the advent of this new concept of style, many work and professional spaces have become real homes. The industrial style has reached notoriety in the Old Continent thanks to the countless Hollywood films and American TV series set in the context of these spaces. An extremely important role for the diffusion of industrial style in the world is also to be attributed to the advent of Pop Art: in this regard how not to mention Andy Warhol and his famous Factory.

It is thanks to Pop Art that the industrial style spread like wildfire in all the main metropolises of the world, and later conquered even the smallest centres. Let's see together the main characteristics of this style of furnishing.

Industrial style features

Industrial style furniture cannot ignore the choice of a specific living space: open spaces and lofts are certainly particularly suitable for industrial furnishings. These environments are in fact characterised by large spaces, in imitation of professional spaces converted to homes.

The main feature of the industrial style are the particularly sober, clean and essential lines. The furnishings of an environment furnished according to the dictates of industrial style must therefore be absolutely basic and functional. We will see below the peculiarities of this style of furnishing:

Industrial style: raw and unfinished materials

The industrial style favours the use of materials such as unfinished or unprocessed raw wood, with which the dining table, for example, is made. The raw surfaces give us all their beauty and essentiality, precisely in their imperfections, which add value to the furnishing objects.

Wood is a material that plays a fundamental role in the creation of furniture inspired by industrial style: we find this material on the ground, in the furniture, and not least in the details.

Industrial style: floors

The floors of a space furnished according to the dictates of industrial style, in addition to being made with the aid of wood, can also be designed:

• In resin
• In cement

Resin and cement are also two materials that can be left raw and thus express the charm of their simplicity.

Industrial style walls colour: contrasting elements and colours

An extremely important element in industrial style is the play of contrasts obtained with the use of colours: for example the contrast of a brick red wall and the black of a bookcase.

In general we can say that for the industrial style there is a greater combination of wood, leather and metal and the relative colours. The presence of accessories in spaces must be limited to a minimum. Finally, colours and colours must be able to integrate with the colour of leathers, which are used a lot in industrial style for the finishing of sofas and chairs.

Lighting in a room furnished in industrial style

For the lighting of a room furnished with industrial style it is advisable to proceed as follows:

• Try to prefer a lighting scheme that uses vintage features inspired by the early 1900s.
• Alternatively opt for more modern lighting elements, characterized by a geometric design and made of brushed or granular steel.

Still on the subject of lighting spaces furnished with the help of industrial style, it is good to underline how sometimes the latter is associated with cold environments. To dampen and lighten the rather hard and masculine effect given by the black metal used in these environments, it is useful to opt for wooden furniture characterized by softer and warmer tones, adding textiles (curtains and cushions) in linen and plants.

Industrial style living room

The living room or living area of modern houses is often characterized by the presence of the open kitchen, with peninsula and worktop. The table can be made by recovering an old wooden floor, to which you can add seats characterized by an essential and stylized design.

It is better to opt for leather sofas characterized by particularly soft shapes. For example, they can be placed around an old cast iron stove: the latter represents one of the typical and most significant elements of a living room realized following the patterns of an industrial furnishing.

Industrial style kitchen

Furnishing a kitchen in industrial style is not absolutely simple: this is the desire of all those who love lived-in things and old and vintage furniture lines. Nowadays kitchens designed following the industrial style are very popular and trendy.

The key to success in furnishing an industrial style kitchen is the following: wood, wood and more wood. Dark, light, new or even better aged, the important thing is that in an industrial space wood is always left as natural as possible.

It will be possible to use wood for the floor, tables, and again for furniture and wall units. This natural material is able to give your spaces the right warmth and interrupt the coldness that characterises the use of cement and metal.

Another important device for the furnishing of a kitchen in industrial style concerns the walls: these should be rough and if possible characterized by many imperfections. For this purpose you can use resins or paints specially treated to give your walls a very special cement effect. The walls of a kitchen furnished in industrial style are almost always characterized by a marked opacity.

Industrial bathroom style

The bathroom and service rooms should have a classic look, with the addition of an extra touch of cement and glass in the choice of materials.

A truly industrial service bathroom should also have its typical furnishing accessories, such as old industrial clocks, ferrous cabinets, or even a small, unspecified machine positioned on one side of the room, as if it were temporary and without a real location.

Industrial bar style

In addition to homes, in large European and American cities, bars furnished in industrial style are very trendy. There are many wine bars inspired by this style of furnishing, but also lounges and American bars or simply breakfast bars. The industrial style is really transversal and able to adapt in a coherent way to many bar activities.

We could define the industrial furnishing of a bar as a sophisticated concentration of vintage suggestions and classic proportions. It is precisely the blend of traditional spaces and that industrial touch that gives great personality and visual impact to this style.

In a certain sense, industrial style is able to give rooms a sort of lived-in but at the same time reassuring air: this is precisely the emotion you will have to look for when you are preparing to furnish the spaces of your bar, inspired by industrial style.

A categorical imperative in furnishing your spaces will be to play with colour effects and colours, choosing apparently unusable objects and accessories that can instead become an integral part of your furnishings. Never forget that the furnishing of a bar in industrial style must be characterized by a strong vintage appeal: therefore choose furniture and furnishing accessories that in a certain sense reveal all the signs of time.

For example, you can opt for the choice of coffee tables in raw wood and hammered leather seats. Obviously also the iron furnishing elements, characterized by essential lines, are absolutely compatible with this style.