Styles & Movements
36 styles & movements terms used in interior design, each with a clear definition and how to use it.
Art Deco
Art Deco is an early-20th-century decorative arts movement that defined interior design between roughly 1920 and 1940, known for geometric patterns, luxurious materials (marble, brass, lacquer, ebony), bold ornamentation and a glamorous, machine-age aesthetic.
Belgian farmhouse
Belgian farmhouse is an interior design style developed by Belgian designers in the late 20th century, combining the warm patina of old European farmhouses with restrained modern minimalism. Identified by neutral palettes (cream, oat, warm grey), antique wood furniture, raw plaster walls, and an emphasis on materials and time over decoration.
Biophilic design
Biophilic design is the practice of designing interior spaces around the human need for connection with nature, through plants, natural light, organic materials, water features and views of the outdoors.
Bohemian (Boho)
Bohemian style, often shortened to "boho", is an eclectic, layered interior aesthetic celebrating global pattern, vintage finds, warm earth tones, abundant plants, handmade craft, and a relaxed disregard for design rules. Rooted in 19th-century Parisian artistic counterculture, the modern boho aesthetic ranges from earthy "boho minimalist" to densely layered traditional bohemian.
Brutalism
Brutalism is a mid-20th-century architectural movement defined by raw, exposed concrete construction, massive geometric forms, and a deliberate rejection of decorative ornament. Originally applied to public buildings (universities, parking garages, government complexes), brutalism is increasingly visible in residential interior design as concrete walls, raw textures, and minimalist sculptural furniture.
California modern
California modern is an interior design and architectural style developed in mid-20th-century California, emphasizing indoor-outdoor flow, large glass walls, natural materials, casual sophistication, and an embrace of the Pacific climate. Often used interchangeably with "mid-century modern" but with specific regional flavor.
Chinoiserie
Chinoiserie is a European decorative style that emerged in the 17th and 18th centuries, characterized by fanciful interpretations of Chinese and East Asian motifs, pagodas, blossoming trees, exotic birds, willow patterns, lacquered surfaces, and hand-painted scenes. Distinct from authentic Chinese design, chinoiserie reflects European imagination of "the Orient."
Cluttercore
Cluttercore is a Gen Z interior aesthetic that celebrates densely-decorated, deliberately maximalist rooms full of personal objects, collections, vintage finds, and a "lived-in to the maximum" feel, explicitly rejecting minimalism's emptiness in favor of rooms that show the inhabitant's entire personality.
Coastal grandmother
Coastal grandmother is an interior aesthetic and broader lifestyle trend, popularized on TikTok in 2022, that romanticizes the idea of an elegant older woman living year-round in a Nancy Meyers-style New England coastal home, soft neutrals, linen everywhere, white kitchens, fresh flowers, bookshelves, fireplace, sweater weather.
Contemporary style
Contemporary style is an interior aesthetic that reflects the current moment in design, characterized by clean lines, neutral palettes, mixed natural and synthetic materials, restrained ornament, and an openness to changing trends. Unlike "modern" (which refers to a specific historical movement), contemporary is intentionally fluid and updates as design culture evolves.
Cottagecore
Cottagecore is an interior aesthetic, and broader cultural movement, that romanticizes rural, pre-industrial domestic life through floral patterns, vintage furniture, natural materials, gardens, baking, and a deliberately nostalgic, "country pastoral" feel.
Dark academia
Dark academia is an interior aesthetic, and broader cultural movement, built around the romance of old universities, libraries and Gothic study spaces. Identified by deep moody colors (oxblood, forest green, navy, charcoal), book-lined walls, vintage leather furniture, brass and worn-wood accents, candlelight and a serious, scholarly mood.
French country
French country (style provençal / French farmhouse) is an interior style inspired by the rural homes of Provence and southern France, warm cream and ochre palettes, hand-painted toile or floral fabrics, antique distressed wood furniture, wrought iron accents, and a casually elegant, lived-in feel.
Grandmillennial style
Grandmillennial is an interior design style that mixes traditional decorative elements, chintz, ruffled lampshades, china collections, needlepoint, skirted upholstery, favored by previous generations with the personal scale and curation of millennial taste, producing maximalist-leaning, deeply layered rooms that read both nostalgic and contemporary.
Hamptons style
Hamptons style is a coastal interior aesthetic originating from the upscale homes of the Hamptons (eastern Long Island), characterized by crisp white walls, navy blue accents, natural materials, shingle-style architecture, and a refined casual elegance suited to summer-house living.
Hygge
Hygge is a Danish concept describing a feeling of cozy, intimate well-being, applied to interior design through warm lighting, soft textiles, natural materials and spaces designed for slow, comfortable living.
Industrial style
Industrial style is an interior aesthetic that originated in late-20th-century conversions of factory and warehouse spaces into residential lofts. The style celebrates exposed structural elements, brick walls, concrete floors, steel beams, ductwork, factory windows, combined with reclaimed wood, leather, and Edison bulb lighting.
Japandi
Japandi is a hybrid interior design style that combines Japanese minimalism and craftsmanship with Scandinavian functionality and warmth, producing calm, restrained rooms anchored in natural materials.
Korean modern (K-design)
Korean modern (sometimes called K-design, modern Korean, or Korean apartment style) is an interior aesthetic from contemporary South Korean residential and lifestyle design, characterized by ultra-clean lines, neutral palettes, smart space-saving solutions for small apartments, integrated technology, and a calm, deliberate cohesion. Influenced both by traditional Korean Hanok houses and global minimalism.
Maximalism
Maximalism is an interior design philosophy of "more is more", layered patterns, bold colors, abundant decor, and curated personality on every surface, deliberately opposing minimalist restraint.
Mediterranean style
Mediterranean style is an interior design vocabulary drawing from the homes of the Mediterranean Basin. Spain, Italy, Greece, southern France, characterized by warm white plaster walls, terracotta tile, archways, wrought iron, exposed wood beams, and the sun-soaked color palette of those regions.
Memphis design
Memphis (or Memphis Group, Memphis Milano) is an Italian design movement founded in 1981 by Ettore Sottsass, producing furniture and objects in bright colors, bold geometric patterns, and unexpected material combinations. Memphis defined 1980s avant-garde design and is now experiencing a sophisticated revival as part of broader postmodern interest.
Mid-century modern (MCM)
Mid-century modern (MCM) is an interior design and architectural movement spanning roughly 1945-1969, characterized by clean lines, organic and geometric shapes, integration with nature, mixed materials, and a fundamental optimism about modern life. Born from post-WWII abundance, MCM remains one of the most enduring and revival-friendly aesthetics in modern design history.
Minimalism
Minimalism is an interior design movement defined by extreme restraint, reducing rooms to essential elements, eliminating ornament and decoration, embracing empty space, and using a limited palette of neutral colors and a small number of carefully-chosen objects. Born from 1960s minimalist art and 1980s Japanese-influenced design, minimalism remains one of the most influential 20th-century design philosophies.
Modern farmhouse
Modern farmhouse is an interior style that combines the bones of traditional American farmhouse architecture (white walls, exposed wood, simple practical forms) with clean modern materials and palettes, particularly high-contrast white walls with black hardware, warm wood and minimal decoration.
Organic modern
Organic modern is an interior design style that combines clean modern silhouettes with curved, natural and biomorphic shapes, softening minimalist architecture with the visual warmth of organic forms, natural materials and earth-toned palettes.
Postmodernism
Postmodernism is an architectural and design movement that emerged in reaction to mid-20th-century modernism, embracing ornament, historical references, irony, vivid color, and decorative complexity. In interior design, postmodernism produced bold pattern, mixed historical motifs, and a deliberate rejection of modernist restraint.
Quiet luxury
Quiet luxury is an interior design aesthetic defined by understated, high-quality materials and craftsmanship, no logos, no branding, no flash, only restraint and texture that signals wealth to those who recognize it.
Rustic style
Rustic style is an interior aesthetic that celebrates rural and natural materials, raw wood, stone, leather, wool, used in their unrefined or aged state. Drawing from European and American agricultural and cabin traditions, rustic design favors substance over polish, embraces visible craft and natural imperfection, and produces interiors that feel grounded, warm, and connected to landscape.
Scandinavian (Nordic)
Scandinavian style is the interior aesthetic developed in the Nordic countries, characterized by white walls, pale wood floors, functional furniture, abundant light, cozy textiles, and a deeply restrained palette. Born from cold dark winters and limited resources, the style emphasizes simplicity, craftsmanship, and warmth without ornament.
Spanish Revival
Spanish Revival is an architectural and interior design style that emerged in early-20th-century California and the American Southwest, drawing on Spanish Colonial and Mediterranean precedents. Recognized by stucco walls, terracotta tile roofs, archways, wrought iron, exposed wood beams, and warm earth-tone palettes.
Traditional style
Traditional style is an interior design approach rooted in 17th-19th century European decorative traditions, characterized by formal symmetry, classic silhouettes, rich textiles, layered patterns, refined craftsmanship, and historical reference. The style emphasizes timelessness, comfort, and the deliberate elegance of inherited European decorative tradition.
Transitional style
Transitional style is an interior design approach that blends traditional and contemporary elements, keeping the warmth and craftsmanship of traditional design while adopting the clean lines and restraint of modern design. The most popular residential style in America for the last 20 years, transitional represents the "neither too traditional nor too modern" middle ground.
Tropical style
Tropical style is an interior aesthetic developed in warm climates, characterized by abundant plants, natural materials (rattan, bamboo, teak), ceiling fans, breezy fabrics, indoor-outdoor flow, and a palette of whites and natural tones accented with botanical greens, ocean blues, and tropical brights. Born from Caribbean, Polynesian, and Southeast Asian residential traditions, tropical design has had multiple American revivals.
Wabi-sabi
Wabi-sabi is a Japanese aesthetic philosophy that finds beauty in imperfection, impermanence and incompleteness, and applies that worldview to interior design through aged materials, hand-made objects and quiet, restrained palettes.
Y2K interior
Y2K interior aesthetic refers to interior design from approximately 1998-2004, characterized by translucent materials (frosted glass, clear plastic), metallics (silver, chrome), pastel and acidic colors, futurist optimism, and the technology-influenced visual language of that period. Currently undergoing a millennial-nostalgia revival.