About

Stone Age 6000 to 2000 BC

The first sign of an approach to interior design was noted in prehistoric dwellings featuring flora and fauna. Those dwellings were made of mud, animal skins, and sticks.

Neolithic Europe 2000 to 1700 BC

In comes the first defined handmade pottery that was used for both practical and decorative reasons.

Ancient Egypt 2700

The rise of royal families saw for the first time people living in structures besides mud huts. The new structures boasted murals that portrayed their history and beliefs. And they had basic furnishings and decorative objects like vases and sculptures – seen for the first time.

Greek Empire 1200 to 31 BC

Advancements in civilization and lifestyles saw citizens decorating their homes in their own unique style for the first time ever with wealthier Greeks possessing furnishings inlaid with ornate ivory and silver details. Iconic and statement-making pillars and columns were key motifs during this era and the Greeks also created standard rules and procedures for building construction.

Roman Empire 753 BC to 480 AD

An austere age when royals weren’t able to evoke their wealth simply through their homes. The Romans decorated their homes with murals and mosaics, and furnishings featured clawed feet.

The Dark Ages 900 to 1500

The Dark Ages saw disinterest in interior design with people opting for simple paneled wood walls, minimal furnishings, and stone slab floors.

The Byzantine Empire 500 to 1500

During this period grande domes and decadent décor took center stage.

The Renaissance Period 1400 to 1600

The beauty of interior design was a major feature during the Renaissance period with grand furnishings and art realized in vibrant hues and luxurious textiles like silk and velvet along with marble surfaces. And since carpets were too precious and expensive for even the wealthiest of patrons, they were used as wall art when possible.

Gothic 1140 to 1400

In response to the dark ages, decorative ornamentation and bold colors were once again prominent interior design features. Two hallmarks of the era carried over through to today are more windows for brighter homes along with open floor plans.

Baroque 1590 to 1725

Ostentatious and ultra-rich artistic elements made for a recipe of sumptuous interior designs featuring stained glass, twisted columns, colored marble, painted ceilings, and gilt mirrors and oversized chandeliers.

Traditional 1700 to Today

Embodied by a formal spirit, traditional interior design is still a mainstay to this day. Traditional interior design is a broad term that highlighting varied design styles and movement’s that aren’t nailed down to one locked direction or spirit.

Traditional design celebrates the illustrious, rich history of the past by contrasting it with decidedly modern elements for an elegant spin on beautiful design while highlighting 18th and 19th-century European decor. It’s a timeless design style that evokes easy glamor and comfort and is a great direction for those who appreciate antiques, classic art, symmetry, and design rich with history.

Rococo 1700

A hyper elegant and lavishly detailed design style taking cues from botanical silhouettes, Rococo interior design featured unique elements like tortoise shell and pearl embellishments alongside Asian porcelain.

The Industrial Revolution 1760 to 1820

Throughout the Industrial Revolution interior design was available for a wider audience and was easier to access for the general population than ever before. This is in large part due to easier printing processes creating a wide distribution of fashion and lifestyle publications and the fact that luxury items became increasingly attainable.

Neoclassical Style 1780 to 1880

Taking inspiration from ancient Greek and Roman cultures for architectural details and motifs, this era saw furnishings rely heavily on the use of bronze and gold metals, and soft furnishings featuring silk, velvet, and satin. The trend of matching wallpaper and furnishings also took hold.

Tropical 1880’s to Today

As the British empire swept through countries like India and territories like the West Indies, they combined interior design elements from their home country and the regions they were occupying to create a heady mix of the traditional and the extoic.

Aesthetic Movement 1800’s to Today

With ‘art for art’s sake’ in mind, the Aesthetic Movement was a way for radicals to express their dislike of current, tired interior design. The key here was in practicality and function taking importance before beauty.

Tuscan 1840’s to Today

Taking a cue from the charming and calming nature of Tuscany in Italy, the focus of interior design during this period was of straightforward simplicity with hints of luxury for good measure.

Arts & Crafts 1860 to 1910

In order to highlight their opposition to mass-produced ordinary items due to the innovations of the Industrial Revolution, people turned to traditional crafts and classic elements to produce furnishings.

Rustic 1870’s to Today

Rustic interior design features handmade furnishings and large, open rooms boasting wooden beams and columns.

Rustic decor provides the perfect combination of comforting, fuss-free design and practical, functional decor, put together to create a warm rustic interior. Natural materials work as the foundation and starting point for creating enviable rustic home decor celebrating the authentic beauty of natural materials to create a cozy, beautiful space.

Modernism 1880 – 1940

The modernist movement stressed simplicity, clarity of form, and rejected noise in design. Some of the movement’s leading figures in include Mies van der Rohe, Le Corbusier, and Eero Saarinen, whose signatures seen in his forever popular Saarinen table and Saarinen chair are the epitome of the design style.

Art Nouveau 1890 to 1920

The enthusiasm behind the Art Nouveau movement was in bringing in natural silhouettes derived by botanical elements that lent the era its signature curved lines and organic shapes.

Colonial Revival 1905 to Today

Popular in the U.S and spurred by the centennial, the Colonial Revival found inspiration from the Neoclassical and Georgian historical styles. By far the most popular style of the time up til WWII, some believe that the launch of the automobile helped to spark people’s interest in historical references as they were able to freely visit documented landmarks.

Eclectic 1900’s to Today

Some historians point to the rise of needing interior designers who understood how to mix different design styles with authority for the sharp increase of designers in the industry as eclectic style took over aesthetic inspiration.

Eclectic style is all about harmony and the coming together of disparate styles, juxtaposing textures, and contrasting colors to create a cohesive, beautifully realized room that wouldn’t be out of place in a home décor magazine as this is one design style that takes verve and a great eye. And since eclectic interior design is all about experimentation and play, do have fun with the freedom it allows.

Modern 1918 to 1950

With a focus on sparse interiors and bold primary colors, Modern interior design eschewed the typically ornate and over decorated design aesthetic trending at the time.

Bauhaus 1920 – 1934

Celebrated to this day for its grand yet minimal and beautifully executed gestures, and founded by German architect Walter Bauhaus, who also created the Bauhaus school of art and design in Weimar Germany, the movement quickly produced some of the most influential architects, sculptors, graphic designers, furniture makers, and design mavericks of the mid to late 20th century.

Country 1920 to 1970

With notes lifted from traditional farmhouse settings, country style was practical but with quality, vintage inspired furnishings.

Today’s take on the modern country style of interior design is an idyllic classic. Stepping away from a purely traditional country design style; modern country allows for more playful and nuanced aspects along with minimal notes.

Art Deco 1920’s to 1960

This movement features an intoxicating blend of early 20th century design styles including Constructivism, Cubism, Modernism, Bauhaus, Art Nouveau, and Futurism. One of the most well-known interior design styles, Art Deco represented modernity, everyday glamor, and elegance. The era relied heavily on clean lines, fuss-free angular shapes, bold color, and stylized patterns like zig-zags and optical figures. For added glamor, ornate embellishments and metallic surfaces were also hallmarks of the era.

Materials used in art deco interior design are slick and reflective for everyday glamor in the home. Plenty of metallics are present in this style; from gold to silver, stainless steel, and chrome. They lend any room an elegant and luxurious feel, and they can be used everywhere. Imagine a modern art deco living room with a glass topped gold coffee table, chrome lamps, and a bold geometric patterned rug in black, gold, and white. Glass is also a frequently used material in art deco design; whether that’s through mirrors, glass-topped tables, sculptural elements or an art deco vase or lamp, as glass adds to the elegant feel of an art deco room.

Mediterranean 1920’s to Today

To evoke the feel of coastal European countries, textures from terra cotta, stone, and patterned tiles were heavily featured along with wrought iron, and aquatic hues.

Surrealism 1925 to 1930

Surrealists like famous artists included Salvador Dali, André Breton, and Max Ernst used this avant-garde movement to free people from their associations of what was normal and ultimately predictable in design, music, art, and even interior design.

Mid-Century Modern 1930’s to Today

Though the term mid century modern wasn’t coined until the mid-80’s, and though no one really knows it’s true timeline, the era represents a combination of post World War II practicality, 50’s era optimism, 60’s era earthiness, and 70’s era tones and textures neatly wrapped up in a stylish ode to Scandinavian simplicity.

Call it a reaction to the decadence and gilt adorned stuffiness of interior design and architecture through to the 40’s if you will, as at the time of its inception, mid century modern decor was a complete rebuttal and restart for the senses.

The vibe is fresh and poppy, retro-tinged, and completely alluring with its dedication to comfort and practicality wrapped up in beautiful design that never goes out of style. Unlike other aesthetic movements, mid century modern decor is streamlined in design, as form follows function while highlighting the materials used, rather than making them something they aren’t.

Scandinavian Modern 1930’s to Today

This movement highlights the virtues of beautiful designed, practical objects that are both easily affordable and accessible, which is why the movement remains popular to this day.

Belonging to the school of modernism, Scandinavian interior design is a design movement characterized by a focus on functionalism and simplicity. It also includes the use of natural materials, such as leather, wood, and hemp. Furthermore, a Scandinavian interior design is often influenced by a connection to nature, which combines natural shapes, abstraction, and the use of natural elements.

Transitional 1950’s to Today

With the invention of the television and its prominence throughout most homes across the U.S, the interior design of sets helped feed the masses appetite for décor more than ever.

Transitional style refers to a mix of traditional and modern furnishings, fabrications, and decorative features that lend you more freedom when looking to decorate your home with ease as there’s no end to the directions you can take the design style. In essence, transitional interior design is the combination of various design styles brought together simultaneously to create a cohesive design in one room.

Postmodernism 1978 – Today

This movement born as a challenge to what people saw to be the generic blandness of the Modernist movement. One of its main figures was Italian architect and designer Ettore Sottsass, with his signature playful shapes, abstract prints, and powerful color stories.

Contemporary 1980’s to Today

Contemporary interior design is classic yet thoroughly of the moment and timeless thanks to a light-handed, spare take on decorating to ensure it will never feel dated.

While modern decor can feel cold, limiting, and overtly minimal, contemporary style is calming and serene, and is peppered with a focus on architectural elements, decorative details, attention to bold scales, and a concise color palette to create a warm space with easy sophistication.

Simplicity, clean lines, plays on texture, and quiet drama are fundamental in achieving a perfectly balanced contemporary style home.