When decorating your home, you need functional yet stylish furniture pieces. Understanding the different furniture styles allows you to find an aesthetic that suits your lifestyle and personal taste.
While numerous interior design buzzwords are trending, like bohemian, contemporary, and mid-century modern, many more furniture styles are available, each with unique nuances and qualities.
Here is an overview of furniture styles and their characteristics to help create an inviting home.
Most Popular Furniture Styles
Furniture design is constantly evolving in response to current architectural, art, literature, and fashion trends. Some of the most popular furniture styles throughout history include:
Victorian
The Victorian style can best be described as ornate and luxurious and is one of the most easily recognizable traditional furniture styles. It became popular around the mid-19th century during Queen Victoria’s reign. Victorian style typically means dark-paneled walls with high-backed plushly upholstered chairs.
Because Victorian furniture overlapped with the Industrial era, it was the first to be mass-produced, making it available to the middle class and reducing its uniqueness.
Key features:
- Curved lines
- Large proportions
- Elaborate fabrics like brocade, damask, and velvet
- Detailed embellishments reflecting nature like vines, flowers, and birds, often gilded or highly polished
Modern
The late 19th century ushered in the modern furniture movement influenced by the Bauhaus school of design. Modern furniture designers rejected the Victorian furniture style that favored embellishment and luxury. Modern furniture styles feature clean lines, sleek finishes, and simple shapes.
Key features:
- Industrial materials like glass, metal, and concrete
- Simple geometric lines
- Minimal adornments and sparing use of color
- Focus on functionality
Rustic
Rustic furniture is easy to identify thanks to its rugged, natural appeal, perfect for creating an inviting and warm atmosphere in your home. The often wood-based pieces are simple yet elegant, with their rough edges blending into curves to create the charming look you love.
The style originated in England in the late 19th century. By the 20th century, it was adopted by wealthy New Yorkers as well as the National Park Service in the United States. The most famous example of rustic furniture is the Adirondack chair.
Key features:
- Natural textures
- Unfinished lines and raw finishes
- Natural colors
- Inspiration from nature
Bohemian
Bohemian style, or boho, has a unique and eclectic design. Originating in Central Europe, it gained popularity in the 19th century in Paris, where writers and artists believed creativity was more valuable than money.
Typically made of colorful materials such as wood, fabric, and glass, bohemian furniture creates a fun and whimsical look in a home. Bohemian-style rooms are carefree and unconventional by combining objects, colors, and patterns from all over the world.
Key features:
- Bold colors
- Unique styles
- Mixed textiles
- Whimsical lines
Art Deco
Art Deco gets its name from the 1925 Exposition internationale des arts décoratifs et industriels modernes, where the style grew from a celebration of technological and social progress. The Great Gatsby movie with gold accents, polished metals, bold patterns, and velvet finishes might be the best way to picture Art Deco furniture’s opulent and extravagant style.
Key features:
- Lacquered and mirrored surfaces
- Luxurious materials, including exotic woods like zebra or mahogany and metallic accents
- Contrasting jewel tone colors and patterns
- Intricate detailing
Mid-Century Modern
The mid-century modern style evolved from the modernist style in response to the post-WWII environment. It has many of the same characteristics as the modern style, focusing on functionality and using mass production technology developed in the first half of the century. However, the style had a sense of optimism seen in the bolder color palette.
It became prominent in the mid-20th century and is still popular with much of the interior design world and vintage markets full of retro furniture in the mid-century modern style.
Key features:
- Crisp lines
- Organic shapes
- Combining rich natural materials like teak with man-made materials such as plexiglass and vinyl
- Modern geometric upholstery prints
Scandinavian
The Scandinavian style is the embodiment of natural minimalism. Emerging in the 1930s and finding international popularity in the ‘50s, it aims to bring nature into the home while limiting clutter and focusing on functionality. IKEA is the best example of large-scale Scandinavian furniture.
Because Scandinavia gets few hours of sunlight in winter, there is also an emphasis on lighting by adding lamps, white walls, and large windows in the home.
Key features:
- Focus on materials and designs that reflect the natural world
- Functional design
- Sparse ornamentation
- Neutral colors
- Minimal soft textures
Contemporary
The contemporary style rose to popularity in the 1970s with furniture that had crisp lines, muted colors, and geometric shapes. It borrowed elements from modernism and postmodernism while getting ideas from art deco, deconstructivism, futurism, and more.
But, unlike the other styles on this list, the contemporary style is constantly changing. It’s not tied to one time period like the modern style, so it continuously evolves.
Key features:
- Glossy Surfaces
- Crisp lines
- Muted colors
- Geometric shapes
Postmodern
Postmodern style drastically departed from the modern and mid-century styles, focusing on form over function. It is loud and bright, typically made of plastic with unconventional proportions. It grew to prominence in the 1980s when designers found their inspiration in pop culture, magazines, and comic books instead of the art and architecture used as inspiration for modern furniture.
Key features:
- Lightweight materials
- Unique shapes
- Bright colors
- Loud patterns
- Unconventional proportions
Industrial
Drawing inspiration from the Industrial Revolution of the 19th century, industrial furniture is known for its raw and unfinished design. Furniture is typically made of rough materials like natural wood, metal, and concrete.
It is common in industrial furniture to repurpose tools or other furniture into new pieces. This style honors history and creates furniture built to last.
Key features:
- Natural color schemes
- Minimal details
- Clean lines
- Exposed fasteners
Transitional
Transitional furniture combines contemporary and modern styles that create a unique look. It’s characterized by simple and clean lines, often made of neutral materials like wood, metal, and glass. But it also uses a mix of textures and patterns to give it a surprising flair and add a sense of balance in all areas of your home, from the living room to the dining room.
Key features:
- Emphasis on empty space
- Neutral colors
- Minimal embellishments
- Mixed patterns
Additional Furniture Styles
There are numerous other furniture styles to draw from to curate an elegant and inviting home interior. Some less well-known but equally stunning style options include:
Arts-and-Crafts
Arts-and-Crafts furniture originated in the Arts and Crafts Movement as a direct rebuke of the styles of the industrial revolution and its mass production of goods. This style is often made of natural materials like wood, fabric, and glass and highlights craftsmanship, raw materials, and simple design.
Chippendale
Related to the French rococo style, Chippendale is characterized by its curved lines, claw feet, and bat-wing additions. While it’s more reserved than rococo, it is still elegant, sophisticated, and extravagant.
Jacobean
The Jacobean comes from the early to mid 17th century during the reign of Scottish and English monarch James I. It’s known for its deep wood carvings, heavy forms, and focus on more comfort than in previous eras. Jacobean furniture is often made of luxurious materials like wood, heavy fabrics, and glass and can create an elegant and sophisticated feel.
Organic Modern
The Organic Modern style blends nature and modernism to create an unrefined look. This style is often made of natural materials like wood, leather, and natural fabrics.
Tribal
Cultures around the world inspire the Tribal style. It showcases intricate patterns, rich textures, and warm colors to create a warm and inviting look in a home.
Deciding on Your Furniture Style
When deciding which furniture style is right for you, consider your lifestyle and the overall feeling you want in your home. If you’re looking for a sleek and modern look, consider furniture styles like Scandinavian.
If you’re looking for a cozy and inviting look, consider furniture styles like rustic. And if you’re looking for a unique and one-of-a-kind look, consider furniture styles like Arts and Crafts or postmodern. Whatever your style, there’s a furniture style that’s perfect for you. Explore our lifestyle and design advice blog for more tips on how to decorate your home.