10 Essentials for the Perfect Industrial Dining Room
Industrial decor is having a moment. if you haven’t yet caught up with the trend, it’s high time you did. Perfect for introducing a fresh, contemporary look to your home, industrial interior design is all about raw, factory-like sensibilities, utilitarian materials like wood, metal, and cement, and cool, urban vibes. While it’s naturally suited to big, unfinished rooms and spacious lofts, it can be easily reworked to suit just about any space. If your dining room is in need of a fresh new look, it’s well worth considering going the industrial route. Done in the right way, the industrial dining room isn’t the stark empty space we think of when we imagine modern interiors. It’s warm, inviting, and just as family-friendly as you want it to be. If you need some inspiration to start building your industrial dining room from scratch (or maybe just need a helping hand to finish the look to perfection), then you’re in luck. Without further ado, here are the 10 essentials you need for the perfect industrial dining room.
1. The Right Color Palette
If you want to nail the industrial look, choosing the right color palette is crucial. White walls are the natural choice but don’t feel they’re the only option. Weathered, organic shades with earthy undertones will set the tone perfectly, as will metallic greys and steely blues. A few red accents will inject some warmth while whites will soften things up.
2. An Exposed Brick Wall
Brick walls don’t need a layer of plaster and paint over them to look amazing – not in an industrial dining room, in any case. Exposed brick walls give an edgy backdrop that sets the perfect tone for the rest of your furnishings and furniture. It’s a little bit hard, a little bit cozy, and 100% on point. Don’t worry if the bricks aren’t in perfect condition: broken bricks and cracked concrete are all part and parcel of the industrial experience.
3. Chic Lighting
Despite what some people think, the industrial look isn’t completely devoid of glam. You do, however, need to be strategic about where you introduce it. Too much glitz in the wrong places can turn into overkill. As decoholic.org writes, one of the best places to introduce a hint of chic to the room is on the ceiling – or more specifically, the light fixture. A pendant light or dramatic chandelier with enough angles and intrigue to make a statement will look stunning hanging above a dining room table. Otherwise, the ‘bare bulb’ look can look equally eye-catching.
4. An Abundance of Metal Work
Few other interior design themes embrace metal quite so heartily as the industrial look does. Wrought iron will deliver exactly the right kind of ornamentation and structure you need, lending a fashionable, contemporary aspect that’s gorgeously in keeping with the theme. But remember, the more metal (and the more types of metal) you add, the better. Introduce some variety with brass, copper, and brushed nickel.
5. A Statement Industrial Table
The dining room table is the focus of any dining room. Get it wrong, and the look will never come together in the way you imagine. As the industrial look is all about exploiting natural materials to the max (think rough-hewn cotton, soft leather, exposed brick, and plenty of metal), a wooden table is going to fit the look to a tee. You can either go all-wood or combine the best of two worlds by looking for an option with a wooden top and steel legs. Steer away from dark or polished woods and stick to untreated material – the industrial theme is about celebrating the raw beauty of natural materials, not concealing them.
6. A Salvaged Piece of Furniture
Upcycling/ salvaging items doesn’t just save the Earth, it ticks every box on the industrial style checklist. If you’ve got an old trunk hanging around doing nothing, a lick of paint will give it a new lease of life as a dining room sideboard. A vintage vase filled with blooms and placed on top of the table can look stunning. Feel free to get creative – the industrial look is about way more than just bare walls and exposed lightbulbs, after all.
7. A Handy Campaign Dresser for Storage
Clutter is the enemy of the industrial dining room. The problem is, who uses their dining room just for eating these days? Office work, arts and crafts, schoolwork, family games… the dining room table gets a lot of action. And action comes with paper, pens, boxes, and more besides. If you want to nail the trend, you’re going to need to find somewhere to stow all those modern-day accruements out of sight. And where better than a campaign dresser, a unique, practical solution to your dining room storage needs that as modsy.com (https://www.modsy.com/design-ideas/dining-room/industrial) writes, is the perfect place to stash dining room extras.
8. A Leather Accent or Two
If you’re not careful, the industrial look can become cold and impersonal. To keep things just the right side of homely, look for ways to introduce some leather into the dining space. Where it’s battered and worn or sleek and new, leather will add that touch of warmth and softness you need, acting as the perfect counterfoil to the hard-edged, utilitarian nature of the rest of the furnishings.
9. A Touch of Vintage
Inject some warmth into your dining room with some vintage flourishes. Take the advice of hunker.com and scour your local thrift store or neighborhood garage sale for accessories made from repurposed wood, retro posters and signage, antique light fixtures, and vintage-inspired chandeliers. And don’t forget to use your imagination – that old pile of suitcases could be easily converted into a great storage solution.
10. A Bold Take on Wall Art
The industrial dining room is all about big, open spaces. While that’s great and everything, there’s a short, slippery slope between a spacious, welcoming space and an empty, cold one. The trick to managing the style is getting savvy with decoration. Clutter is obviously a no-go, while kitschy ornaments and traditional accessories will kill the theme faster than you can count to three. Some well-placed wall art, on the other hand, will bring some life to your room without losing the industrial vibe. Think outside the box by introducing some scaled up blueprints, 3-D graphics, and open-faced wall clocks.