Structural elements, a neutral color palette, and a streamlined aesthetic characterize industrial decor. Even if you don’t live in a downtown loft with an open floor plan, tall ceilings, and large windows, you can incorporate industrial decor into your home. Browse this collection of industrial-style-inspired designs and learn how to add its timeless flair to your space.
What is Industrial Decor?
The industrial look in interiors has become increasingly popular in recent years. It adds a modern edge to kitchens and infuses spaces with character through salvaged decor and reclaimed materials. Instead of concealing architectural features once regarded as strictly functional, industrial decor embraces them and makes them design focal points. Inspired by utilitarian spaces such as warehouses and factories, industrial design highlights exposed brick walls, wood beams, ceiling pipes, and concrete floors and uses them as integral room features.
Butcher-Block Island
Adam Albright
A galvanized metal and butcher block-topped island adds a touch of industrial decor to this modern farmhouse kitchen. The metal’s rustic look contrasts the shiny stainless steel appliances and relaxes the space, while its gray color and warm wood surface tie in the cabinetry and floating shelves to create a cohesive space.
Black Metal Accents
Industrial decor, such as these black metal counter stools, adds an edge and depth of color contrast to this modern farmhouse kitchen. Black window frames and oversized conical pendant lights above the island help tie in the dark metal and distribute it evenly throughout the space.
Exposed Wood Ceiling
John Granen
True to the style, an exposed painted wood ceiling and rustic plank floors set a casual tone in this white dining room. Industrial white metal chairs contrast an ornately carved antique-style armoire, while a rectangular pendant light adds color contrast and clean lines that modernize and dress up the space.
Industrial Farmhouse Bathroom
Nathan Schroder
Modern and industrial farmhouse styles complement each other beautifully, as both are raw and rustic and use a limited color palette. The two come together in this charming farmhouse bathroom, which features a black wall-mounted sink, plain white subway tile, warm wood flooring, and a collection of antique-style gilded gold mirrors.
Industrial Decor Shelving
Laurey Glenn
Two wood and metal shelves bracket a metal cabinet with wire-front doors for a symmetrical dining room wall. The furniture provides lots of exposed storage for everyday dishes, making them easily accessible and turning functional items into industrial decor.
Floating Pipe Shelf
TRIA GIOVAN
Give traditional white wainscoting an industrial makeover with a floating pipe shelf. Its raw, utilitarian appearance packs a design punch, and in this bathroom, the wood surface is perfect for displaying seasonal flowers and storing small items. The pipe mounting frame doubles as a unique towel bar.
Industrial Kitchen Lighting
Tria Giovan
Warm brass pendants dress up this modern rustic kitchen and give an elegant update to a classic industrial light fixture. A trio of swivel stools, a wood island, and a white subway tile backsplash continue the style, filling this heart of the home with a welcome warmth.
Industrial Bathroom Decor
David A. Land
Add industrial decor to your bathroom through a reclaimed wood vanity, black metal hardware and lighting, and a repurposed glass cabinet. This unusual storage piece brings in visual interest while floor-to-ceiling white subway tile brightens the room, and an unexpected black-painted ceiling is a chic touch that echoes the charcoal gray floor tile.
Industrial Decor Shelving
John Granen
If you don’t want to go as far as installing permanent fixtures or buying furniture, bring in industrial-style touches through decorative accents on bookshelves. These built-ins are styled with a mix of galvanized containers, textured wicker baskets, and rustic wood crates for genuine industrial decor, repurposing salvaged materials into design pieces.
Exposed Materials
John Granen
This kitchen’s open floor plan, rustic wood beams, tall windows, and minimalist color palette scream industrial design. Warehouse-style brass pendant lights make a bold statement and emphasize the island as the room’s center of activity. At the same time, a limewashed brick backsplash extends to the ceiling and is a nod to the exposed brick that’s a quintessential part of the industrial aesthetic.
Industrial Bar Cart
KRITSADA PANICHGUL
Instead of a permanent fixture, why not add a touch of industrial style with an easy-to-move item such as a bar cart? Use trays and bowls to corral bottles and bar accessories, adding another layer of texture and keeping the bar cart organized.
Modern Industrial Kitchen
Edmund Barr
Whatever the style of your kitchen, incorporating a few pieces of industrial decor is enough to bring in a cool aesthetic. Here, metal counter stools, leather dining chairs, and a trio of distressed metal pendant lights above the island add interest to basic white shaker-style cabinets and create a more interesting textured effect without veering from a neutral color scheme.
Raw Wood Materials
Jason Donnelly
Black metal and raw wood are classic pairings in industrial decor, and open shelving is a great way to incorporate the two into your kitchen. Square-shaped white and gray tile provides a neutral backdrop for these pipe shelves, while a bold black and white star-adorned tile adds graphic pattern.
Industrial Decor Lighting
Robert Brinson
Black picture lighting tops a gallery wall of family photos and stands out against warm white shiplap walls in this rustic living room. Wood ceiling beams finished off with a rich stain add warmth, and layered window treatments cozy up the space. Black metal rods tie in the accent wall lights.
Shiplap Walls
Brie Williams
Swing-arm wall sconces, metal chairs, and a built-in reclaimed wood desk are industrial decor staples that instantly inject the room with charm and character. Hardwood floors provide a warm base, while the white shiplap walls and ceiling bounce light around to brighten and soften the space.
Reclaimed Design
Anne D. Schlechter
Primary colors, reclaimed materials, and unique furniture fill this kids’ bedroom with cool industrial flair. A wood-paneled wall creates depth and dimension behind a pipe-frame bunk bed, and a set of black wall sconces with exposed bulbs introduce another layer of material, color, and quintessential industrial design.
Statement Shower Door
Stacey Brandford
A black grid shower door with frosted glass is a stylish and practical way to incorporate modern industrial decor into your bathroom. The door’s clean lines, softened with light wood floors and a brass rain showerhead, break up the white walls and tiled walk-in shower interior and add a contemporary edge.
Warehouse-Inspired Accents
Greg Scheidemann
An industrial warehouse-inspired metal sconce adds curb appeal and illuminates this home’s exterior. Along with the rustic stone, the outdoor gooseneck fixture adds character and style, showing the transformative power of a small decorative accent such as a beautiful light.
Industrial Decor Entryway
Christopher Shane
A wood-and-metal hall tree fuses form and function for a stylish welcome in this modern entryway. Multiple hooks and a shelf add practical storage and keep shoes and coats easy to grab, while a wooden bench seat provides a spot to sit and tie your shoes. The industrial materials are softened with a striped blue area rug that adds a whimsical tone and brightens the otherwise neutral space.
Dark and Moody
Kim Cornelison
Glossy black tile, a black window frame, and a rustic wood ceiling and vanity set a moody tone in this stunning powder room. The industrial features are accented with a statement pendant light whose oversized exposed bulb perfectly fits the style and lightens the other darker and visually heavier materials and finishes.
Unique Industrial Decor
Choose pieces that rise to artwork status and display them with equally distinctive objects. A great find, this painted cart-turned-table contributes vivid color and a striking silhouette. It also displays a rusty metal spring that takes on the role of sculpture. A time-tarnished ship lantern introduces another finish into the mix.
Artful Exhibit
When you want just a touch of industrial, display a machine part or two. Rusty cogs, cutting wheels, and toothsome gears (like the oversized one displayed atop the mantel) add unexpected shapes, interesting patinas, and captivating colors that warm up monochromatic interiors. Look for mechanical parts at architectural salvage stores, junk yards, and flea markets.
Repurposed Furniture
Opt for utilitarian furnishings supplying vintage forms that function for today. Steel lockers, whether previously used to stow laborers’ lunches, lifeguards’ togs, or teenagers’ gym clothes, make an industrial-chic statement in mudrooms, offices, and bedrooms. This horizontal configuration of lockers within an iron cart offers storage below and display space up top.
Salvaged Furniture
Goods that had to be moved from one area to another during the Industrial Age were often transported via wood, steel, and wire carts. Today, innovative artisans have converted these conveyances into way-cool coffee tables and other furnishings. Type vintage industrial cart into your search engine, and all sorts of salvage suppliers (in case you want to build your own table) and furniture-maker sites will pop up.
Expanded Horizons
Industrial decor doesn’t only rely on things found in factories. Farm equipment, shipyard building materials, laboratory gear, schoolhouse fixtures, and commercial restaurant supplies add hardworking character to every room in the house. In this living room, a refinished railroad cart complete with its original iron wheels that now work as legs takes center stage as a coffee table.
Newly-Engineered Lighting
Be an innovator! Use lighting kits (or call on an electrician) to convert vintage fan cases, protective light cases, metal baskets, and wire bins into pendant fixtures that captivate the eye and capture the industrial spirit. Bring the period look home by outfitting the fixtures with antique-style tubular light bulbs, available at home centers and through specialty lighting companies.
Industrial Decor Seating
Compact and fetchingly formed, wood-and-steel stools (like those used by assembly-line workers, switchboard operators, and laboratory researchers) make for nostalgic breakfast bar seats. Vintage versions can be found on sites like eBay, while newly manufactured stools, some made with reclaimed wood, are available through artisans and retailers specializing in reproduction furnishings.
Creative Illumination
Industrial objects work beautifully in eclectically styled rooms where every piece should stand out. Look for reproduction or vintage task lights that you can use to light a vanity or install as reading lights in a bedroom. Adjustable scissor-arm extension wall lamps in this bathroom add delightfully unexpected profiles and patinas.
Industrial Bath Fixtures
Even the humblest trappings contribute to how modern convenience spaces look and work. In this vintage-styled bathroom, a beat-up factory stool provides storage; a bright yellow work light pops against era-apt white subway tile.
Vintage-Industrial Kitchen
Create the streamlined appearance of a test kitchen or the spic-and-span appeal of a lab at home. Hang high-shine stainless-steel shelves (available through restaurant supply retailers) on white subway tile walls; bring in chrome-framed workplace stools that can be adjusted to different heights.
Industrial Entryway Decor
When shopping for workbenches or factory tables, take note of their width and depth before hauling them home. This shallow, weathered workbench works nicely as an entryway console. The bench bears a cheerful message composed of industrial-style letters and provides a rustic counterpoint for modern artworks.
Repurposed and Reused
Crafted of wood, galvanized steel, or a bit of both, vintage factory tables effortlessly function in workspaces as computer desks, kitchen islands, potting benches, and crafting stations. In this den, shop-style lights, bookcases crafted from reclaimed wood, and an old swivel desk chair round out the industrial look.
Industrial Decor Storage
Essential documents, craft materials, or DVDs are cataloged in industrial card catalogs or filing cabinets. These two large storage units may have once organized machine parts, printers’ blocks, apothecary supplies, or even time cards and personnel records.
Barely-There Industrial Decor
No matter your style, adding just one or two industrial items packs a powerful visual punch. Industrial chrome-shaded lights (like these pendant lights modeled after vintage warehouse fixtures) are well-suited to kitchens equipped with stainless-steel appliances and chrome fittings.
Vintage Clocks
Factory, ship, and schoolhouse clocks create timeless exhibits with oversized numerals and distinctive cases, especially when partnered with period-apt companions. In this bedroom, clocks cover different international time zones, making the most of the slanted walls.
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