Urban Design Is King

I’m a fan of urban, contemporary design that includes industrial inspired elements, with a little bit of vintage thrown in for good measure.  

If you’ve been unfortunate enough to read a number of my posts, then you will have cottoned onto this pretty quickly.  

I adore the raw simplicity of urban design.

How it commands attention without causing a drama.

And most of all, I love how vintage injections can add personality, character and little pockets of creative genius within a design scheme.  

But I haven’t really alluded to just how versatile industrial inspired design truly is.  Yep, today we’re going to examine how the same urban, contemporary design elements can be used for different spaces.

Come follow me, as I take you through a (3D visualisation) journey of discovery, where you’ll witness the astounding versatility of urban, contemporary design.

It all started with my Homebase challenge, where I decided to create a design scheme using nothing but Homebase products.  This type of project isn’t for the faint hearted – it takes a lot of courage and confidence in your own ability to whip up a zingy design scheme from products sourced from only one retailer.  You have to think outside the box and use a little bit of creative flair to keep things visually interesting.  

But it is achievable.    

The urban design elements (brick, untreated wood) and vintage injections (Anglepoise lamp, Popart and coffee table) are plain to see.  The colour palette of muted grey is very contemporary in style, but is the perfect backdrop for considered bursts of colour.  You can read more about this design scheme here.

However, what would happen if you poached certain elements of this design, for say, an office space?

This would happen.

Here we have a thoroughly urban, contemporary office space, utilising a number of the same design elements: the wooden floor, the Windsor chair, Anglepoise lamps and even the gorgeous Damask cushion!  The industrial injections have been further reinforced with exposed brick, Tolix stools (also a vintage nod), upcycled furniture, vintage Edison exposed bulbs and aged desks.  It looks pretty snazzy, right?  Again, you can read more about this office design here.

But is it possible to create a soothing, eye-catching living space using vintage Edison bulbs?  

The answer, quite bluntly, is yes.  YES, you bloody well can!

BOOM!

The Angleposise makes another appearance, in addition to the vintage Edison bulbs.  But to create added warmth, I’ve included shots of orange, darker wood, metallic accents and a lush throw.  The darker hue on the wall adds unparalleled atmospheric qualities but is also an utterly exquisite backdrop for metallic accents.  Even though this room utilises urban/industrial design, it is inviting, cosy and very calming.  Read more about this design scheme here.

How about a home office?  Where both practicality and comfort go hand-in-hand?

Here we have the industrial inspired desk, upcycled sideboard and Anglepoise lamp that was previously used in the commercial office design but I’ve also incorporated the sofa, coffee table and rug from the uber funky living space above.  

And guess what?  IT WORKS!  Let’s look at it from a different angle.

It has a simple, no nonsense neutral palette with considered injections of colour that help to visually lift the space, whilst shouting ‘I am gorgeous, yet functional, don’t mess with me’.

As I said, Urban design is King!