Make Your House a Home: Home Design Styles to Play With

Published on Wednesday January 23, 2019

At Long Home Products, it’s our job to make sure the exterior of your home is sturdy, safe, and reliable — but once you have that foundation, it’s time to tackle how you want the inside of your home to look.

It can be difficult to decide which style you want to go with. You could go minimalist, purge half of your belongings, and pull out the white paint — or, you could go boho, hit up garage sales for vintage pillows and throws and decorate with old family heirlooms.

If you can’t make up your mind, you’re certainly not alone. Take a look at some of these popular home styles to get your creativity flowing for your redesign project.

Farmhouse

Above all else, a farmhouse-style home is practical. Historically speaking, farmhouses were, well, farmhouses. They had a job to do, as did the people who lived in them.

Across the country, people who ran farms set their homes up as simple and practical as possible — oftentimes, they couldn’t afford to make their home fussy anyway. Because of its natural emergence across the country, the farmhouse style has developed a wide range of substyles, but overall, there are a few things that stick out with this general style.

Wood, exposed brick, and other natural materials are key features of farmhouse style. Exposed beams, raw wood dining tables, and a plethora of plants help create a no-fuss, practical design, while warm, earthy pallets and industrial finishes make your home seem traditional without being old-fashioned.

In your kitchen, where the farmhouse style truly shines with its focus on practicality, experiment with bench seating at tables, overhead track lighting, a large butcher’s block island, and a deep, apron-front sink.

Modern 

Born from the Bauhaus movement and Scandinavian design pioneers, modern homes started appearing with their white and flat roofs in the 1940s — having their heyday in the 50s and 60s — and have lasted all the way to today.

The style favors simplicity, form, and function in order to make rooms feel more open, airy, and expansive.

Big on white interiors with a splash of color, geometric shapes with sharp lines, and bold, dramatic art, modern style focuses on making certain elements stand out so they can capture the attention of your room.

Often criticized as being cold and unwelcoming, done right, modern interiors can still be inviting.

Contrasting open spaces and paired down furniture can make your modern home elicit a sense of community and be the ultimate gathering place.

Contemporary

Often confused with modernism due to a few shared elements, contemporary has loose standards compared to modernism’s strict guidelines, and slanted roofs compared to modernism’s flat. Through a playful combination of color and design, contemporary homes borrow ideas from other styles in order to match a specific personal style while still feeling “with the times.”

Despite incorporating new and old furniture and decor, contemporary home designs are overwhelmingly unified and deliberate.

Though not matchy-matchy, this style layers neutral shades with a mix of complementary colors, mixes natural and artificial light, and follows the natural architecture of the space.

Furniture is bold but comforting, while smooth and geometric shapes block out open spaces into practical sections. Overall, contemporary style is simple, subtle, and sophisticated.

Minimalist

More than a design movement, minimalism embraces the idea that less is more. This style will always favor quality over quantity when it comes to your life and your home, opting for clean, open spaces free from clutter and crowding.

Like modern home designs, minimalist homes often get accused of lacking character and warmth — but, like modern homes, done right, they can be a mentally soothing and relaxing space.

With less stuff in your home, there’s less to clean, less to distract, and more room for you to live and entertain.

Empty spaces, loads of natural light, curated choices of accents and decorations, and minimal furniture are the key features of minimalist homes.

Playing with a few different textures and experimenting with varying, subtle colors, can still show off your personality and give life to your home, while keeping the calm and clean that minimalists strive for.

So long as you decorate with restraint, pair your belongings back to the basics, and prevent anything loud from dominating a space, your home will naturally be minimalist.

Rustic

If you’ve got wooden beams, show them off. If your furniture seems a little distressed, put it front and center. If you have brick hidden behind a bookcase, move it aside and show off that stone.

Rustic home designs embrace the rugged and the natural. While farmhouse favors white and blue and shiplap, rustic gravitates towards brick and stone.

Big leather chairs, exposed stone and brick, wood-burning fireplaces, and industrial-style lighting are key elements in this nature-driven style. Earthy colors and natural textures should create a comfortable, cozy atmosphere that breathes organic warmth.

Finding raw materials, like a slab of stone and turning it into a bathroom sink, can add sophistication to your home while still embracing that woodsy, natural feeling.

Boho

Bohemian (boho) style emerged in the 1960s alongside beat culture and has since been a movement that embraces free spirits, individualism, and being unconventional. Often associated with eclectic design, boho is the opposite of minimalist, as it’s carefree, cluttered, bright, and busy.

Boho style embraces warm pallets, vibrant colors, multiple patterns, and vintage accessories that show off your unique personality with gusto.

Though this style can often seem overbearing, pairing the right patterns, colors, and textures together is key to achieving the well-curated bohemian look. By filling up every available space with unique pieces that showcase your style, you can create a home that is one hundred percent, undoubtedly yours.

A good roof never goes out of style.

Even as the times change and your house goes through its phases, Long roofs stand the test of time. Our 50-year warranty guarantees your roof will last season after season. Contact Long Home Products online to request an estimate.

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