Contemporary home design is something that has become popular and well-known over the past couple of decades. However, with time, every interior design style must shift into something else to better reflect the preferences of the new generation. So, let’s take a moment to look at the ways you can achieve a contemporary home while breaking conventional contemporary standards.
Introducing Other Styles as Accents
One of the most fun ways to break any interior design style’s conventions is by crossing it with other design styles. A contemporary home has a very recognizable look. But, what if you took something with a very recognizable look of a different style and used it as an accent?
Have you ever seen some of the bright, color-saturated light fixtures from the 70s? Stick one of those above your table in a contemporary dining room and it’s sure to catch the eye of anyone visiting.
Break expectations by serving dinner on antique ceramicware with painted designs. Love it or hate it, outdated dinnerware contrasted on a modern, black table will get the attention and opinion of anyone who sees it.
Contemporary Maximalism
Contemporary home design is known for its minimalist appearance. Homes with this style usually display spaced-out decor of single colors. Glass shelving proves to make the space feel even more open. What if you turned that convention on its head and maintained the contemporary design of all of your home’s contents, but quadrupled the quantity?
Imagine glass shelves crowded with glass sculptures of varying sizes. Imagine abstract canvas art that fills the whole wall in a beautiful, asymmetrical pattern. Decorate your dining table with a runner, candle holders, glass flowers, ceramic shakers, and anything else you can fit on it between the settings.
Colored Glass
If you enjoy the contemporary convention but want something about your home to stand out, you can achieve that with colored glass. Contemporary home design is famous for its use of glass to improve lighting and make a room appear more spacious. Shelving, tables, light fixtures, and more are all made with transparent glass. What if you kept all of that the same but used colored glass?
A coffee table with a glass top is classy, but it isn’t a focus piece. A top pane of translucent, blue glass would make it a focus piece. Add on a piece of decor with the same color in it and it will make it pop. A glass bowl with blue stones and a candle in it resting in the center would make the table stand out so much more than if it was completely clear.
Fabrics Galore
Finally, you can break contemporary convention with lots and lots of fabric. Contemporary home design doesn’t have a lot of fabric in it. Outside of upholstered furniture and long drapes, contemporary design prefers hard materials over soft.
Challenge this convention with contemporary home design that uses as much fabric as possible. You don’t have to buy expensive curtains to do this. Even buying lengths of your favorite fabric from a craft store can give you everything you need. No sewing skill is necessary. Just fold it in creative places to hide raw edges and no one will even notice.
Go for layered curtains. Tie fabric across the backs of dining chairs. Fix fabric to the wall near the ceiling and let it drape along the side of artwork, like curtains do a window. Put down more rugs. Put out more throw blankets. Bring a touch of warmth and softness to an otherwise hard and cold interior design style.
