Before diving into ideas regarding industrial style home office décor, let’s find out what industrial interior design actually is and how can we go about it.
Industrial design has gained incredible popularity in recent years and it is easy to see why. The design style is based on an amalgamation of sleek modern lines juxtaposed against factory elements such as concrete, metal, and brick. The essence leads to a raw yet harmonious look.
When looking for industrial home office inspiration or design ideas, we think of exposed pipes and ductwork, bricks, and lofts with big open windows. Think industrial revolution-era factories and mills that have been converted into apartment complexes in major cities. It mainly showcases wooden and metallic surfaces, practical objects and items and lastly, neutral color palettes.
Industrial design is all about taking raw industrial materials and making them both practical and aesthetic. Its charm has slowly crept up from the living room and kitchens to bathrooms and, bedrooms. Taking a step forwards, we will be looking at how to incorporate industrial design in your home office with ideas and tips that are practical and affordable. It comes with its creativity and, adds up a unique flare within space.
Basic Essentials of Industrial Home Office Design
Highlight Exposed Architectural and Utility Features
The most signature element of industrial design is celebrating the exposed architectural and utility features in your space. In other design aesthetics, these elements would be the ones that people usually to hide like pipes and ductwork.
If you have them in your workspace, highlight large open windows with minimal or no curtains at all to take advantage of natural light in your space. Exposed beams and ductwork can be showcased with industrial style lighting or chandeliers. Think Edison bulbs on hanging from simple wires or large warehouse-style pendants.
Industrial Home Office Furniture
Industrial interior design falls under the umbrella of modern interior design. Therefore the arrangements within both industrial and modern design allow for fewer furniture items resulting in a large and open space. And the items are not just few in number, the furniture can and should be kept minimal and sleek. Take advantage of an open layout when possible by keeping pathways open to walk unhindered around in your office.
Selecting the right furniture is essential, especially if you don’t live in a space that naturally lends itself to a modern or industrial design. The simplest ways is to add wood and metal furniture throughout your design.
First your desk. Consider a simple wooden table or workbench for your writing desk. Ideally with metal legs that will contrast nicely against your wooden desk. IKEA™ has some affordable industrial home office desk ideas if thrifting or reusing something you already have isn’t an option.
Second is lighting. A simple swingarm table lamp is ideal for task lighting in order to be productive, no lamp shade desired. A metal floor lamp, possibly even with a concrete base, would provide great ambiance lighting in an office space lacking natural light. If you’re struggling to find your perfect industrial lamp, hit up a local hardware store for a lighting kit to DIY your desk lamp or floor lamp as an affordable and industrious option.
Third is storage. Open bookshelves or floating shelves are critical for your home office. Choose bookcases and shelving with metal pipes as their hardware boldly incorporates industrial design into your office space with minimal effort. Consider metal-framed baskets, magazine racks, and filing cabinets for additional paper storage.
Finally is your office chair. An all-metal chair or wooden and metal stool are practical industrial chair options. However, getting a modern office chair would be a good compromise to balance comfort while still incorporating sleek lines of the modern industrial aesthetic.
Decorating Your Industrial Office
When decorating your office, you want to keep home décor items to a minimum. Industrial office design is technically a subset of modern home office design after all. But you can bring in interesting visual and textural elements through your furnishing choices.
Do highlight the openness of your space by hanging metal-framed mirrors to bounce light, no matter how open or closed off your office space is. If you already have exposed brick walls, keep them bare whenever possible. They are their own artwork and you want to showcase them.
Industrial spaces don’t typically use bright pops of color. Pull neutral colors and tones from the architectural features around you in order to maintain a balanced look. Play with neutral shade. Go for warm and inviting tones such as browns, tans and greys. Use one as the dominant color and use a lighter neutral tone to accent it. Don’t forget to incorporate stone, concrete, wood, and metal for the industrial décor finishing touches.
Only use an area rug if you absolutely have to. If you live in a colder climate or need to delineate different spaces in an open concept living room/dining room/home office situation, consider sleek modern rugs. Use search terms like “contemporary” to find striped or geometric area rugs in neutral grey or beige tones to add texture. If you do choose to add a little bit of color, an area rug is the perfect opportunity to in an otherwise neutral space. However you want to prioritize adding texture over color to keep everything in balance.
In terms of other home décor items, you can add accessories like vintage photographs in antique frames, leather items, glass or metal sculptures. However do not go overboard with your home office décor. Decorate to add personality, but do not clutter.
Ultimately, when designing an industrial home office space, you want to evoke a sense that the space was once used for industrial manufacturing purposes, even if it wasn’t.
Benefits of an Industrial Home Office Design
Lots of Natural Light
Factories historically had large windows that allowed natural lighting all day long into the work area. This resulted in ideal work conditions. Hence, a space that is able to capture that essence also involves the right light conditions to enhance the beauty and function of that space. Naturally, any space with a rich amount of diffused natural light can increase one’s motivation to work, resulting in a better performance. For your home office, this trend can be very useful when it comes to productivity
Space
Through the arrangement of elements within the industrial design, a specific area can look more open and spacious. This effect can also be created in small rooms giving the illusion of a much larger space.
Moreover, the functional look does not involve an overload of furniture.
This can be very beneficial for a home office, as one can add storage items while also having continuity in the perception of space.
Blendable with Other Styles
Industrial design itself can be combined with a variety of other kinds of design aesthetics. It goes well with modern Scandinavian design as it is also focused on simplicity and functionality.
If you don’t live in an industrial home studio you can add industrial elements through furniture and accessories that will contrast with your home’s existing style.
Or inversely, you space can serve as an industrial backdrop against with mid-century modern or contemporary furniture.
Whichever direction you end up going, this blending of different styles will leave your home office feeling unique and distinct.
Ready For Some Industrial Design Inspiration?
Industrial-style design highlights the construction and manufacture features of a space. In a world full of continuous change, this kind of design allows you to stop and immerse in the history of the building and the space you work in. This is also one of the reasons why industrial style is attractive to the eye. It bases its aesthetics on the infrastructure of the building.
If you’re looking for more industrial home office ideas or inspiration, check out our Pinterest board for more. Comment down below if you’ve jumped on board and redone your home office with any of our industrial look ideas.