TL;DR: Many people think Minimalism is an interior design style, but it isn’t. It’s a characteristic of many modern interior design styles, like Scandinavian and Industrial.
To call something a style, we need to define it using the seven elements of interior design.
Intro
In interior design, what’s a style and what’s a theme? What about a design approach?
What’s the difference between these terms? When and how do we use them?
These are questions that people have, but have found no satisfying answer even after hours of Googling. Some people use these terms interchangeably, while others use them incorrectly. It doesn’t help that there are no official definitions or breakdowns of these terms.
We’ve come up with our definitions to help everyone better understand the three terms. More importantly, we also describe how we use these concepts when we design our clients’ homes.
- A style guides our design choices. It determines what we can or cannot use for the space.
- A theme is a motif that pervades the space. It can be inspired by a cartoon character, a TV show, an item, or even just a color.
- An approach is the way we choose to bring out the chosen style or theme. It guides how we bring the style or theme to life when designing a space.
Styles
Every style should comprise the seven elements of interior design. You’ll find the same seven elements in any interior design textbook. The existence of these seven elements perhaps define whether something is really a style.
Space
Space planning is the foundation of interior design. Since the amount of space within a room is fixed, good use of space is crucial.
There are two types of spaces: positive and negative spaces. Positive spaces focus on objects, while negative spaces emphasize on the lack of objects.
For example, Scandinavian, Industrial, and Contemporary are styles that apply negative space. These styles focus on functionality — having large spaces with few objects is their signature.
On the other hand, Retro, Victorian, and Eclectic are styles that apply positive space. These styles fill the space with more objects, such as art pieces and plants, to assert their distinctive look and feel.
Line
There are three types of lines: horizontal, vertical, and dynamic (diagonal, zigzag, or curved).
Tables and other surfaces are the main sources of horizontal lines, which give a sense of stability, formality, and efficiency.
Doors and windows provide vertical lines, which signal freedom and strength.
Staircases, artwork, or ornate furniture add dynamic lines, which indicate energy and movement.
Having the right balance of the line types is crucial. For example, many modern styles (like Scandinavian and Industrial) use mostly clean horizontal and vertical lines, with curved lines used sparingly. This accentuates the clean minimalistic look characteristic of these modern styles.
Form
Form refers to shapes used in a space.
Forms can be geometric or organic. Geometric forms usually feature hard lines and clean edges; organic forms often reflect the imperfections of nature and appear non-uniform. In any space, the most common geometric forms are usually furniture, while most organic forms come from plants and artwork.
The various styles use forms differently to evoke different feelings.
Pattern
Patterns are created by the use of repetitive designs, such as stripes, geometric shapes, animal prints, and motifs.
Patterns should be used with the style in mind. For example, floral patterns are mostly used in Bohemian and Victorian styles.
While patterns are typically used to complement the other elements of interior design, they can also be the standout feature of a space. For example, the right use of floral-patterned tiles can give a space a distinctive Peranakan feel.
Light
Choosing the right light source can completely change the mood of a space. For example, using natural light as the main light source makes the space feel bright and lively.
Since it’s difficult to control natural light, designers use artificial lights to create their desired ambience.
Both natural and artificial lighting can be used for various functions. There are three types: ambient, task, and accent.
- Ambient lighting provides overall illumination.
- Task lighting focuses on a particular area where work is done, e.g., preparing food.
- Accent lighting enhances the aesthetics of a space.
The use of light varies between the different styles.
- For Scandinavian and MCM homes, natural ambient lighting is used often.
- The Industrial style uses lots of task lighting. Track lights and floor lamps are used as ambient lighting.
- In Contemporary homes, ambient cove lights are common. Accent lights are usually used to showcase the artwork and decor.
Color
Colors impact a person’s emotions. For example, blue brings calmness to an environment while red generates warmth. Muted color tones are perfect for cozy spaces.
Light colors can make a space appear larger than it would, while dark colors tend to shrink spaces visually.
Texture
Texture refers to the surface of an object or finish. It can come in two forms — visual texture and actual texture.
Visual textures are illusions of physical textures. They are meant to be seen, not touched. Examples are patterned, matte, and shiny finishes.
Actual texture, or physical texture, refers to the tactile feeling you get from touching a material surface. Woodgrain, metal, and leather have 3D variations that can be both seen and felt.
Texture is a crucial element when defining a particular style. For example, the roughness of linen fabric gives a Bohemian home its unique look and feel.
The Industrial style uses raw wood, untreated metal, and exposed brick. These actual textures help to bring out the rugged vibe of early 20th century urban dwelling.
Taxonomy of Styles
We can classify styles into three main groups: Traditional, Transitional, and Modern.
- Traditional styles were established in the 18th and 19th centuries.
- Modern styles were established during the 20th century.
- Transitional styles combined elements from both Traditional and Modern to create a unique blend.
Traditional styles can be further split into two groups, Eastern and Western, based on their origin.
When the concept of Minimalism became popular during the 20th century, it was applied across multiple art forms, including Interior Design. Modern styles established during this period can be split into two groups: those that ascribe to Minimalism and those that don’t.
Contemporary can’t be categorized due to its ever-changing nature; it takes inspiration from the latest design trends.
For a comprehensive explanation of each style, check out our definitive guides:
- Contemporary
- Industrial
- Mid-Century Modern
- Oriental Chinese
- Retro
- Scandinavian
- Victorian
- Bohemian (Coming soon)
- Eclectic (Coming soon)
- Zen (Coming soon)
Themes
Unlike styles, which must be defined by the seven elements of interior design, almost anything can be a theme.
A theme is a motif — a story, item, or color that pervades the space. A room can be Star Wars-themed, purple-themed, or anime-themed. These motifs are almost immediately recognizable throughout the space.
The same motif can be used in two rooms with different styles. Take, for instance, a Pokemon theme — it could fit into a Japandi as well as a Bohemian room.
While a style dictates the choice of elements in a space, a theme unifies the appearance of these elements.
Of course, some themes would naturally work better with a particular style. So you probably shouldn’t fit a Star Wars theme into an Oriental Chinese style. Instead, try Retro.
Approaches
There are many approaches to design a home for any given style and theme.
Emphasis
One approach is to emphasize certain furniture, fixtures, or features to create a focal point. Everything around the focal point can be used to enhance it.
In the photo above, the focal point is the feature wall. What’s special about this wall is that the shelves can be adjusted to different positions. The furniture around the wall is also simple enough that it doesn't take attention away from the feature wall.
Structures such as large doors and windows can also be used as the focal point in a space.
Unity
Another approach is to apply a color, pattern, texture, or material in every room of the home. This creates cohesion across the rooms. While any of the seven elements of interior design can be used, colors and textures are the most popular.
Of course, the unifying element you choose should fit the base style. So you might not want bright pink as a unifying color for your new Industrial BTO.
Functionality
Designs that focus on functionality revolve around the intended purpose of a space.
For instance, a bedroom can be both a place to sleep in and a place to store belongings. To achieve the two purposes, we can build a platform bed with plenty of hidden storage underneath.
Rachel’s Hello Kitty paradise
We can apply the concepts of style, theme, and approach in any space.
Take Rachel, for example. She wants a Scandinavian style for her home with a Hello Kitty theme.
To design this home, we would first start with the Scandinavian style as the base, using a neutral color palette that consists of whites and browns. To incorporate the Hello Kitty theme, we would then add splashes of light pink and hello kitty merchandise such as wall art and cushions.
In this home, the designer used the emphasis approach — the Hello Kitty TV console was a focal point in the home.
The result was a Scandinavian home that clearly belonged to a Hello Kitty lover.