Industrial Chic - Is It For You?

Kim {Tidbits&Twine}
by Kim {Tidbits&Twine}
For many years, my husband and I have included a few industrial items in our home because it’s my husband’s favorite style. (Although, his love of this style didn’t start with home decor, but rather from his love of Steampunk toys!) We have a beautiful iron and wood industrial drafting table, an adjustable wood and steel stool and even a weathered metal mirror. It used to be difficult for me to find industrial items, but now they are everywhere as the trend toward Industrial Chic continues to rise.
SO JUST WHAT IS INDUSTRIAL CHIC?
Industrial is a design style that finds beauty in aged, utilitarian design. It’s aged woods and worn textures mixed with forged or welded metal. Tin, aluminum, iron, steel are all used in Industrial design so long as they have a matte finish and little hint of patina. The look is simple and clean with a focus on function, which lends it to looking a bit more masculine than other design styles. And as Lisa Frederick, a contributor at Houzz, points out, Industrial didn’t originally start as a “style” but rather, was a reflection of workday life!
I refer to my use of Industrial as Industrial Chic because I typically add some feminine elements to this otherwise more masculine style. See below for tips on how you can mix Industrial items with other pieces.
WHY IT WORKS?
Industrial Chic works as either an all-encompassing design style or just a small design element mixed with another style. Even if you’re not 100% committed to Industrial Chic as a design style, you can still incorporate a bit of this look through a few individual Industrial items. Plus, Industrial items never have to be used in the manner they were intended, so any individual piece can have many, many uses! The beauty of Industrial is that it’s timeless, neutral, simple and natural.
HOW TO USE IT?
How to incorporate Industrial Chic really depends on whether you use it as a Style or as an Element.
To learn how to decorate with Industrial as either a STYLE or as just an ELEMENT mixed with other pieces, please see my blog post below. The post also includes links to retailers that sell some of my favorite industrial pieces.
This is my desk area in my bedroom. It's an adjustable drafting table and I've added a touch of femininity with jewelry cloches and a trumeau mirror.
A close-up of the drafting table/desk
My vintage dress form. We jokingly refer to her as "Stephanie"
Kim {Tidbits&Twine}
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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2 of 4 comments
  • Marcy Marcy on Jun 24, 2013
    Not really my personal style but I still think what you've done looks very nice!
  • Patricia Cleveland Patricia Cleveland on Nov 29, 2013
    I guess we follow this pattern in that we have two treadle sewing machines in beautiful tables set at different points in the house? Old, useful wood has such a lasting beauty!
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