Top 10 Most Popular Interior Design Styles

In this blog I’ll be going over 10 different interior design styles so you can figure out which design style would you like. It’s really hard to figure out what your style is if you don’t know the differences between them. I’m going to be breaking everything down, explaining different color schemes, elements, characteristics, and furniture pieces you can look for to achieve the design style you’re going after. Let’s go ahead and jump right into it.

1 – Boho – Bohemian Interior Design Style

Let’s start with the boho style. It’s actually short for bohemian and it is very on trend right now. This style is all about layers, plants, textures, collecting different pieces, and displaying everything. Boho style can be very neutral – a lot of rattan, natural woven textures, whites, creams. Or it can go the other way and be bright and bold and colorful. The boho style always comes off as very artistic and full of life and cozy, but it’s inspired by the traveling gypsy lifestyle of getting things from all over the world and kind of layering it all together. You’ll notice a ton of floor cushions, tassels, pom poms, macramé, hanging plants – all of that just screams boho.

It really embraces thrifting and vintage shopping and DIY projects. It doesn’t have to be expensive; nothing really has to match, but as long as you bring those textures and colors in, you can definitely achieve that boho look.

Related:10 interior design styling secrets you should know design hacks

2 – Mid-Century Interior Modern Design Style

Alright, now let’s jump into the mid-century modern style, which is very trendy, full of life and color, comes very youthful still but it actually originated in the 1940s to the 1970s so it gives off that retro look. For that reason, it’s all inspired from pieces and looks from back then. You can usually spot this style instantly. It has very distinct features. Furniture pieces have nice tapered legs, usually made of walnut or darker wood or even hairpin legs. Those are very mid-century as well. You’ll see a lot of blues and greens and orange, and you’ll actually notice a lot of furniture is made of plastic. You’ll notice some plastic chairs, and that usually points out the mid-century modern style instantly as well. When it comes to mid-century modern lighting, think Sputnik light.

That is very mid-century – large bulbs, gold, silver, and chrome features always scream mid-century. Mid-century design and décor don’t have a lot of ornate detail, so it’s very sparse, very minimal, and it’s all about the clean line. So, if mid-century modern is your style and you really want to achieve that look in your home, you can easily shop for mid-century modern pieces at CB2, West Elm, Article, Structube, and really achieve that look.

3 – Farmhouse Interior Design Style

Alright, now into a style that some people love and some people hate, and that is the farmhouse and modern farmhouse style. So, this style is very easy to achieve if you bring in shiplap, black windows, wood beams, axes on furniture, chalk-painted distressed furniture pieces, apron sinks, rustic décor elements. So, the farmhouse style is very easy to achieve if you bring in those different elements. You’ll probably instantly get a farmhouse look.

But I think the farmhouse style and even the modern farmhouse style looks best in a home that already is the farmhouse style. Also, if you’re living in a farmhouse or country home or the builder has created that style already, it will definitely work. If you’re looking for affordable décor to add to your farmhouse home, a good place to start is Hobby Lobby. Hobby Lobby has a ton of farmhouse-inspired pieces, so if you want to get little décor pieces, small furniture pieces, you could definitely start there.

4 – Scandinavian Interior Design Style

The Scandinavian style, which is definitely one of my favorites. It is all inspired by the lifestyle in Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Iceland. I just dream about those countries, so I think that’s why I really love their design style. It’s all about simplicity, coziness, a homey feeling, but a lot of minimalism. The main color palettes you’ll see are white, even whitewashed floors, black. There’s that high contrast there, and then a lot of natural light woods. As soon as you see those colors together, it usually screams Scandinavian.

I love that the Scandinavian style has a big focus on coziness because they care about textures and warmth and bringing in those folk furs and draping them over wood benches and chairs and laying them out on the floor. It’s just so cozy to me, and I love it. So, there’s minimal décor. It’s actually a lot more about space and natural light. And since there’s a big focus on functionality, they use their functional pieces to be very decorative. So, a really cool statement lighting fixture goes well with the Scandinavian design. Obviously, a big store that is very Scandinavian inspired is IKEA. Since they are from Sweden, they have a lot of those folk furs that you can throw over things. So, if you love that design style, you’ll probably love a lot of pieces from IKEA as well.

5 – Modern Interior Design Style

The modern style is all about clean lines, large windows, minimalism, black, white, gray, neutral colors, marble, steel, chrome, glass. All of that screens modern. So, if you’re trying to modernize your home, you’re going to remove the ornate details, flatten out the lines, and you will achieve that modern look. It even goes as far as having flat cabinets in your kitchen and square edges on your countertops, maybe even a waterfall countertop. So, if you’re living in a home right now that has a glass railing, very minimal detail, floor-to-ceiling windows, whether that be a home or a condo, then the modern style can easily work in your home. So, look around what you have, see if it will work, and pick a design style that works for you and your home.

6 – Traditional Interior Design Style

Okay, kind of going the opposite way of the modern style, let’s talk about the traditional style. This is all inspired from the 18th to 19th centuries. You’ll notice a lot more detail, a lot more ornate features, wingback chairs, have real legs, tufted furniture. That all screams traditional. This is absolutely a timeless style. It will last forever.

The traditional style, to me, usually comes off as pretty fancy. It’s something you can easily achieve in your dining room, in your living room. So, if you’re looking to furnish your home in a more traditional style, think tufted furniture, but the tufting that’s like a diamond, not a square because that goes mid-century. Wingback chairs, gold details, bringing in oil paintings and portrait paintings will definitely give off a traditional look as well. So, it’s all about taking inspiration from the 18th and 19th centuries and bringing it back to life in your home now.

7 – Transitional Interior Design Style

Okay, maybe the traditional style is a little too traditional for you. Maybe you want to well bring it back to life a little bit and modernize it a bit and make it look a little bit more youthful. That’s when you take on a transitional style. A transitional style is all about mixing traditional and modern together, and you end up with a more modern-day look that’s inspired by the past. So, when decorating in the transitional style, stay within the neutral color palette. Use similar tones and shades, use large artwork to make a statement.

Again, you can be using wingback chairs and tufted furniture pieces, but you can mix it in with a modern light fixture, maybe a more modern rug, and you can tie those two styles in together. You end up with this really beautiful balance, and that ends up encompassing the transitional style. So, if you have traditional furniture pieces right now and you really want to modernize your space, you can kind of move yourself into a transitional look by bringing in modern décor pieces, and it won’t switch up that style instantly.

8 – Industrial Interior Design Style

Now let’s jump into the industrial style, which I think screams loft warehouse that kind of vibe where you have huge windows with the steel mullions between the glass, you have an exposed ceiling, you can see the ducting. All of that screams industrial. When decorating in the industrial style, think leathers, textures, exposed wood, Edison bulbs. That will always take you on that path towards an industrial look.

The industrial style also encompasses the neutral color palette. You’ll see a lot of gray, black, woods, whites, and it keeps it very simple. I think that the industrial style has its time and place. If you have a brick wall, exposed ceilings, and concrete floors, then you can definitely achieve that look.

9 – French Country Interior Design Style

Alright, now switching gears into a more airy, lighter look is the French country style. So, this style is all about linen furniture, stone, large fireplaces, traditional shaped furniture, dramatic chandeliers, and a soft color palette. It’s very opposite from the farmhouse style. Farmhouse has a lot of high contrast with the black and white, but French country is very muted, pale, low-contrast décor. Places like Pottery Barn, Crate&Barrel, Restoration Hardware have a lot of beautiful linen skirted furniture pieces, and that goes a long way when trying to achieve that French country look. I love that it gives off a little bit of a European look, and it’s just so beautiful and timeless.

10 – Contemporary Interior Design Style

Lastly, let’s talk about the contemporary style because contemporary is all about what’s trending now. So, I would say that’s arches and curved round furniture, dark moody spaces, high contrast, linen furniture, oak floor, green kitchens, open shelving, French doors – all of those things that are in style right now are considered contemporary. So, if you’re going to design your space in the contemporary style, it might end up being out of style in the future, which is fine if you like to switch things up, but it’s not really a style that you can hone in on forever. It’s an ever-changing style, and it’s usually easy to shop in the contemporary style because you can find pieces everywhere that are trending now.