The industrial look aims to create a more stripped back approach to interior design, with exposed brickwork, visible pipes and ducting, and concrete floors. Sometimes this reflects the raw construction materials of the building, or it may be deliberately recreated for a rustic effect.
The industrial interior can work really well in public spaces such as shops and offices, but it is being increasingly adopted by home owners too. You can probably think of at least one place you have visited lately that has this deliberately functional and distressed design.
It may seem like a very modern aesthetic, but it has been around for a few decades, since disused factories, warehouses and lofts in inner city areas began to be converted into offices and apartments during the 1990s and 2000s. Instead of trying to create a bland or cosy interior, designers worked with the existing space to make it livable and modern.
Even before the idea became mainstream, artists in the 1950s in American and European cities frequently took up residence in old warehouses and mills. These former industrial spaces tended to have large windows that flooded them with light, and a ready-made open plan layout that was ideally suited to creative and collaborative work.
It is an elegant and practical solution to create a design that fits in with the surroundings, and makes use of existing features such as beams, lighting fixtures, and weathered wood and concrete. The neutral backdrop of steel greys and muted browns allows for some scope to add pops of colour with furnishings and accessories.
The raw beauty of the industrial look is a natural fit for loft apartments and offices or retail units in old converted mills. It still retains some of the bohemian street cred associated with countercultural artists who colonise a former industrial area with low rents and ample creative space.
As the area becomes gentrified, the artists move on, but the aesthetic leaves a lasting impact. These days, the clean and paired back look can be recreated in any space thanks to modern manufacturing techniques such as microcement plaster, which can give a pleasingly textured and aged feel to floors, walls, and worktops.
The technique can be applied successfully to homes, whether just for a bathroom or kitchen, or as a consistent theme throughout the whole house. After all, most of us don’t live in a converted warehouse apartment with charmingly exposed red brick walls and steel grey pipework.
When it comes to furnishings and fixtures, choose metal and leather for statement pieces such as bedheads, sofas, and chairs. Raw timber benches and tables can help to complete the look. Keep ornaments to a minimum but soften up the look with some greenery and splashes of colour with rugs, cushions, or bedding.
It’s a chic versatile look that can be mixed and matched with other styles, or can simply be used as a blank canvas to provide a neutral backdrop for statement wall art or sculptural pieces.
