Popular furniture styles in the interior
“The simpler, the better,” say the trends of recent years. This principle has been established in many areas of life, including design. People no longer tend to fill their homes with bulky and awkward furniture. The priority is ergonomics, ecology, simple chic.
All modern trends mix well with each other, and the boundaries between them are very arbitrary.
“Rustic”, ethnic styles (Provence, country, Scandinavian), minimalist modern (high-tech, constructivism, loft) have stood the test of new trends. The good old classics are not forgotten, but with one amendment: they are rethought and retooled to integrate new technologies. So which design styles are more likely to end up in furniture articles and become homeowners' choices?
Nowadays, there are hundreds of interior design styles. And the variety of subtypes of interior styles is simply amazing.
Loft style furniture
Simple, “brutal” loft style furniture captivates with its clear forms. This style does not tolerate unnecessary “smoothness” and ornateness. A large sofa, ottomans, benches, shelving made of textured wood - all this will fit perfectly into the loft. The interior should not consist of items from the same set: all the beauty of the style is in the combination of things that are dissimilar in appearance, united by the idea of practicality.
Loft is a trend in interior design, with the help of which abandoned industrial buildings are adapted into expensive, elite housing: workshops, hangars, garages.
The loft does not tolerate pressed chips: cabinet furniture is made only from solid wood. Objects should not be massive or obscure the space. The priority is ergonomics, simplicity of design and shape.
Provence
Weightless, “warm” Provence allows you to combine natural textures and light fabrics. The “ideal” furniture in the Provence style is light, with carved decorations or cross beams, covered with pastel paint. A small, necessarily soft sofa, upholstered in simple fabric with a floral pattern, a glass cabinet for household or decorative items, and a dining set will harmoniously fit into the interior.
The secret of Provence is in amazing harmony, combining rustic simplicity and gallant grace.
A traditional feature of the style is the upholstery of all upholstered furniture with the same fabric. This is the unifying element of the design.
Modern
At the beginning of the 20th century, the “heavy” classics were replaced by ornate modernity. The concept of the style is the rejection of straight and strict angles. Everything from the head of the bed to the shape of the nightstand will have rounded lines. Elegant frames and fittings remind of the connection with nature: the outlines of plants and insects can be guessed in the lines.
Style details: a lot of hard and valuable wood, plasticity and curvaceous lines, more curved staircases like swan necks, rounded openings.
The predominant material is wood, but furniture in the Art Nouveau style can also be forged. The main thing is to preserve the principle of “streamlining”
Scandinavian
At some point, the world went crazy about the Scandinavian style: many articles about furniture and interior design were dedicated only to it. This is the epitome of comfort and functionality. The interior is based on simple furniture made of wood, plywood or metal without architectural frills or unnecessary decor. Racks, coffee tables, spacious wardrobes harmoniously combine with cozy upholstered furniture, upholstered in textiles that are pleasant to the touch.
Its features are an abundance of daylight thanks to panoramic windows, natural, environmentally friendly materials, comfortable light wood furniture, and optimistic colors.
Typically, a Scandinavian-style interior is designed in light colors - white, turquoise - but there are also bright spots. For example, a favorite chair or a cozy guest sofa could become an accent piece.
Classical
There is always a place for classics. Proportional forms without useless decorative elements, an emphasis on quality and materials are the hallmarks of the style. Furniture can be massive, but it must be functional and “well-made.” Classics love strict features and familiar solutions: large wardrobes, dining tables of impressive size, sets of upholstered furniture.
General properties - natural building materials, correct geometry, symmetry, composition, interconnectedness of all pieces of furniture and decor.
The traditional range is considered light: noble beige, olive, coffee shades. The materials used are wood, glass, a minimum of metal and a complete absence of plastic.
Shabby chic
Soft romance with a touch of antiquity - this is how the style can be described. Openwork chests of drawers with an aged effect, simple, rough shapes characteristic of country styles are harmoniously combined with refined items a la Baroque. The shabby chic interior looks like an aristocratic antique. Furniture can be either antique or stylized, and especially stylized.
An apartment in the shabby chic style is: white and pastel colors, authentic pieces of furniture from different eras.
The preferred style is a pastel palette, on which traces of aging are clearly visible.
Pop Art
If everyday objects are elevated to the level of art, this is pop art. One of the most striking styles that allows you to combine incongruous things. Colorful furniture upholstery, bizarre shapes of coffee tables, bright plastic facades of cabinet furniture. And, of course, references to pop culture objects and phenomena.
Pop art is characterized by a glossy texture, contrasting color combinations, the presence of acid “flashes”, concert posters, portraits and autographs of idols in prominent places.
Upholstered furniture in the pop art style can be decorated with prints of portraits of stars of the past, movie posters and designs in the style of Andy Warhol paintings.
High tech
Minimalism, functionality and strict lines define the high-tech style. Furniture of laconic geometric shapes with shiny facades in black and white, small sofas, ottomans covered in leather or eco-leather will fit into the interior. The rooms contain only useful items, no frills. Mounted and built-in structures are a priority.
Space, convenience and the dictates of the latest technology are the code to which this style obeys unconditionally.
The peculiarity of high-tech is the ideal combination of furniture and appliances, complete integration. Interior items and electronics exist on an equal basis and complement each other.
Country
Rough wood, covered only with varnish, geometric lines and an abundance of textiles are combined in a country style. This is the personification of the coziness of a country house with massive open cabinets, simple tables, chairs, voluminous sofas and armchairs. Wicker furniture will be an interesting accent. The predominant material is wood. Plastic, pressed board and metal are not suitable for classic country music.
Country style is multinational and diverse. After all, every country has its own villages and customs.
As in other “rustic” styles, plant motifs (textiles, upholstery), natural colors and, of course, classic checks are used here.
Constructivism
Another rebel style comes from the 20th century. This is a contrast to openwork chic and ornate forms. Constructivist furniture is laconic and massive. Carved motifs are present, but they are geometric, without grace. The interior items are light, contrasting against the dark walls.
Its parent is considered to be the avant-garde movement, which separated the art of the 19th century from the 20th century. “Nothing superfluous”, with this slogan the constructivism style came and established itself.
The name of the direction reflects the essence: strict lines, an abundance of open, easy-to-use furniture. Style does not tolerate details. The emphasis is on overall form and functional meaning.
Vanguard
Bold and extraordinary avant-garde is one step ahead of classical art. While other styles do not allow the use of plastic, the avant-garde welcomes such a “simple” furniture material. The result is bright furniture with bizarre shapes, lightness and a departure from tradition. A bright green guest sofa and red chairs - why not. A coffee table in the shape of a blot is perfect.
This innovative direction involves the use of the most modern materials and household appliances, unusual furniture and skillful use of a color palette to style rooms.
In the avant-garde there are no restrictions on the combination of shades and shapes. The style is beautiful in their diversity and combinations.
Other furniture styles
Some styles - Empire, Baroque, Rococo - have become rare and elite. Designers turn to them in exceptional cases, and homeowners choose them less and less due to the predominance of decor over functionality. These styles are characterized by elaborate ornate lines, massive furniture with an abundance of decor.
The style is tailored for nobles, so chairs, sofas and beds dominate among the furniture items.
Eclecticism deserves special mention. This is a combination of different styles in one interior. Many modern styles (kitsch, avant-garde, shabby chic) in one way or another resort to the principle of eclecticism, combining elements of their predecessors.
Furniture salon advertising
A furniture store, of course, needs a bright sign. Just don’t regard it as the main advertising tool. The salon only serves as a showroom. The client can come, touch the sofa, table or chair with his own hands, and evaluate the quality of workmanship.
Other tools are responsible for attracting visitors:
- leaflets;
- brochures;
- social media;
- website, etc.
It is important to remember the target audience here (return to the beginning of the article). Flyers in the subway are unlikely to attract buyers of luxury sofas. Printing sales brochures is not always justified when selling cheap chairs. I tell you about my experience in preparing brochures here.
Sale of furniture through non-standard showrooms
I picked up this idea from Western marketers.
Furniture companies enter into contracts with residential building developers. They provide complete furnishings for a new building. The result is a kind of showroom. A buyer comes to choose an apartment and sees not empty “concrete boxes”, but cozy, comfortable housing. Everyone benefits from such a partnership:
- The developer sells housing faster.
- The company sells not just one sofa, but a batch.
- Clients do not waste time traveling to stores and are not tormented by the question “how will this look in my apartment?”
Buyers do not see empty rooms, but a furnished new building. The probability of a transaction and the average check are much higher.
Furniture in the interior depending on the type of room
The interior of the entire house in the same style is a classic approach, but not a mandatory principle. Designers do not encourage you to follow it at all: it is enough to correctly combine directions. Articles about furniture and interior will help you understand the nuances of combining styles in an apartment or house.
Bedroom
An abode of comfort and peace, a reflection of the character of the owners of the house. It would be optimal to arrange a bedroom in the spirit of Provence, Art Nouveau or Scandinavian style. After all, each of them requires the presence of a large and maximum comfortable bed. These combine functionality and maximum comfort. At the request of the owners, the bedroom can be decorated in a loft style, but it is worth considering that in the traditional sense, this option does not imply the presence of a spacious and comfortable wardrobe.
Without clear standards and strict restrictions on the use of certain materials, such an interior is always unusual and interesting.
Living room
The most “important” room in the house: guests will judge the owners of the house by it. To create an atmosphere of hospitality, you should pay attention to “village” groups - Provence, country. Furniture in the style of shabby chic, classic, pop art or avant-garde will help emphasize authenticity. And it’s not difficult to emphasize progressive views without mentioning them in conversation by furnishing the living room in a high-tech or loft style.
High-tech has many common features with minimalism and loft - it is also designed to meet the needs of modern people.
Kitchen
The heart of the house and the abode of homely owners. The main thing for a kitchen is a combination of functionality and comfort, especially if it is combined with a dining area. For a kitchen that is regularly used for its intended purpose, high-tech with its laconic and 100% practical furniture is ideal. If the owners of the house more often use the kitchen for cozy gatherings over tea than for cooking, then the answer will be Scandinavian-style furniture, as well as an interior in the spirit of Provence, classic or modern.
Characteristic features are lightness and simplicity of forms and a variety of space design options depending on the needs of residents.
Hallway or corridor
Without knowing it, many people choose the hallway as the place where constructivism reigns. Only laconic forms, a minimum of furniture and maximum utility are the main features of the style and functional needs of the hallway. But who said that the hallway, which is usually devoid of natural light, cannot be diluted with a “bright spot” of the avant-garde?
Color is an integral part of avant-garde style. Muted shades have no place in this design.
Children's
The interior of a nursery directly depends on the age of the child. Scandinavian-style furniture is ideal for the youngest children. Children are not so pretentious in choosing interior items, so they are unlikely to appreciate the ornate lines of modernism. And they will certainly like the simple designs of cabinets, beds and desks. Bright pop art or avant-garde may be suitable for decorating a teenager’s room - these directions will be the most interesting. Furniture in these styles will help express individuality and add bright colors to student everyday life.
A children's room in the pop art style fully reveals the features of one of the most vibrant, provocative and extravagant movements in the art of the 20th century.
Distinctive features
A few centuries ago, beautiful furniture was a luxury that only a wealthy owner could afford. Today it is a mandatory attribute of any room. You can distinguish furniture in a modern style by several criteria:
- Materials. In addition to wood, artificial and synthetic raw materials are used. It is durable, easy to maintain, and resistant to stains. It is characterized by a rich color palette and imitation of various textures.
- Appearance. Since furniture was previously available only to a select few, its status was emphasized by lush decor. Nowadays, laconic forms and finishes are a priority.
- Design and dimensions. Items are created taking into account ergonomics. They are more comfortable and compact, easy to place and rearrange.
- Functionality. Unlike traditional ones, modern models perform several tasks. This saves usable space without sacrificing comfort.
Modern furniture uses various devices and mechanisms necessary for transformation and operation. It is distinguished by a wide variety of forms. In addition to traditional models, triangular, oval and products without clear outlines are popular.
As for the shortcomings, there are not many of them. A relative disadvantage is that there is too much variety of options; a person who does not understand modern designs may get confused. Furniture made from inexpensive materials can wear out and become deformed over time.
How the right choice of furniture affects the environment
A cozy, stylish abode or an inexpressive, gray “dwelling”: what impression the house creates depends directly on the choice of furniture. Perhaps, competent interior design, taking into account your own preferences and character, is the best way to emphasize individuality. Every guest entering the house will immediately draw a conclusion about its owners.
Simple styles based on rustic or ethnic motifs will help emphasize simplicity and hospitality. Their concept, the abundance of upholstered furniture and handmade items, speaks of following traditions. It’s easier to loudly declare your creative nature and disregard for “outdated” canons with the help of avant-garde furniture or things in the pop art style. And exquisite interior items in the modern or classic style will become an opaque hint of an elite, sophisticated sense of beauty.
Baroque is a luxurious style whose task is to demonstrate the richness and dynamism of images.
Decor options
These days there is a trend towards minimalism, but despite this, modern furniture is produced with a variety of decor. These are elements made of transparent or frosted glass, metal (chromed or aged), natural materials (bamboo, cork), textiles or leather. It is especially fashionable to give surfaces an exclusive look. You can get stylish pieces of furniture by using partial film covering, aging, decoupage, acrylic painting, mosaic, and photo printing. Wood carving, inlay, and artistic glass matting are no less popular.
Furniture in a modern style is an original interpretation of traditional forms and functions of objects plus innovative developments. The use of new materials and mechanisms has made it better and more convenient. Furniture helps to divide space into zones, create conditions for rest and work, and provides a comfortable environment in the house.
Which social network to choose: Instagram and all the others
In the course of our research on which social networks to promote a furniture business, we made some conclusions.
Instagram is the most promising social network for furniture makers. There is maximum involvement. The same content on Instagram and other social networks with the same number of subscribers receives tens of times more responses. Moreover, these are not only likes, but also real applications. When promoting, maximum attention should be paid to Instagram. All other social networks are developing, rather, in addition to it. Our findings are identical to the Insense study.
VKontakte is the largest social network in Russia, and this must be taken into account. There are people on VKontakte who are not on Instagram, so investing here can pay off. Official information about the social network.
You need to have Facebook, if only because it is from it that your Instagram profile is managed. The Russian-speaking audience on Facebook is much smaller than on VKontakte. According to the Lead Generation Academy, as of June 2022, its number is 23 million. But this is a very high-quality audience: there are many adults, educated and wealthy people here, this must be taken into account if you are selling expensive furniture. But you shouldn’t expect a big response from Facebook. This social network successfully resists commercial activities. It artificially lowers the impression rate of content from brand pages. You can read more about this algorithm in this article.
Twitter and Odnoklassniki. Twitter never took root in Russia, and the popularity of the network is falling altogether.
The Twitter audience has stopped growing. The monthly number of active users of the microblogging service in the second quarter of this year was about 328 million. The same figure was noted in the first quarter of 2017. However, when compared with the second quarter of 2016, the increase was at the level of 5% (according to 3D news).
Odnoklassniki, on the contrary, is the second largest social network in Russia. But it does not have a high level of engagement based on our research on furniture business promotion on social networks. If you still decide to test this social network, “a complete guide to Odnoklassniki”
You can read it on the Texterra blog.
YouTube is a promising channel, but promotion there is complicated by the high cost of producing video content. It’s one thing to shoot a short video for Instagram on a smartphone, knowing that users will only watch it from the small screens of mobile phones.
Another channel is messengers. It is unknown whether the furniture theme is popular there or not, how users will react, and whether investments in promotion will pay off. If you want to try it, tell us about the results later.
So far, messengers are used by sellers to communicate with clients, clarify their requests, and send them photos with a selection of products. This also needs to be taught. It’s not enough to send a photo and ask, “How do you like it?” It is important to give the correct explanations using the techniques “Highlight of the product”, “5 steps to set the price range”, “PrePoVoz” and a number of others. We teach sellers these subtleties in a special distance learning course.
This article describes only work on Instagram, VKontakte and Facebook.
Call to action in the text for a furniture website
Cabinet or upholstered furniture is not fashionable clothing; before ordering it, every little detail is thoroughly thought through. Therefore, you should not rush a person to buy, even if you offer him a profitable promotion.
If we are not talking about a pair of chairs, but about a bedroom, living room, kitchen or office, it is better to invite him to the showroom to see samples or offer him a designer consultation. But it’s better not to let the buyer put off a call or visit until later. Because “later” may not come
