47 Industrial Living Room Ideas to Bring a City Loft to Your Home

Industrial design highlights raw, unfinished spaces with modern design elements that emphasize the beauty of exposed materials and structural elements, Diana George, the founder of DG Design Group, says.

"The style is all about reclaiming objects, architecture, and furniture that have their roots in commercial design—especially factories and offices—for residential purposes," Adnan Anwar, the founder of Adnan Anwar Design, says.

Below, learn more about the key elements of industrial design while gathering tips from professional designers for embracing the look in your own home. You'll also find 47 examples of well-designed industrial style living rooms of all shapes and sizes.

Multiple Materials

This repurposed loft space features many key characteristics of industrial style living rooms, including oversized windows, metallic accents and furnishings, track lighting, and plenty of green friends. These elements work seamlessly together to create an industrial living space that is still warm and welcoming.

Funky Light Fixture

Designers agree that funky light fixtures are a key element of industrial style spaces. Say goodbye to the builder-grade lighting in your living room and install a dramatic, neutral-colored piece instead—something made out of metal is an excellent pick.

Simple Neutrals

Most industrial style living rooms are neutral in color. Pare down and focus on decorating with just the essential pieces to create a streamlined look. You can still weave in personality in the form of lighting and small accents.

Mixed Metals

Reclaimed wood and mixed metals shine in this living room nook. Don't be afraid to mix various finishes within one vignette. If the space starts to become too neutral, bring in a favorite plant for a pop of greenery or some colorful books to style.

Industrial Lighting

Track lighting and exposed ductwork set the tone in this industrial style space, which features clean lines and is free of clutter.

Comfortable Seating

You can still make comfort a priority when decorating in an industrial style. Here, a large, neutral sectional serves as a plush place to plop down and relax. Opt for a similar palette when choosing furnishings, so everything looks cohesive.

Luxe Lamp

Don't solely focus on your overhead lighting; select cool table and floor lamps as well for your industrial space. This brass mushroom-shaped lamp exudes major sophistication.

Ribbed Walls

Wooden walls with fluted detailing make a stylish, industrial-like statement in this living room, as does the addition of a statement-making modern light fixture hanging over the bar area.

Green Touches

Supplement reclaimed wood furniture with plenty of plants. You can also go the faux route since there are so many convincing-looking options to pick up these days—no one will be able to tell the difference.

Stylish Shelves

Make use of industrial style metal shelving to stay organized, particularly if your living room doubles as a home office. Layer decorative pieces with another to create more depth throughout the space.

Clean Lines

Here's another example of shelving at play in an industrial style living room; opt for pieces with a minimal profile and clean lines to stick to the aesthetic at hand.

Farmhouse Accents

This industrial style living room has some elements of farmhouse style design and other mid-century modern touches. Don't be afraid to mix and match various aesthetics to curate a space that's all your own.

Sweet Sconces

Industrial style sconces free up space beside this sofa and add another layer of dimension to the living room. Aim for a metallic or matte finish whether you want a soft or contrasted look.

Textural Mix

Warm up your industrial style living room with all kinds of textures—boucle, sheepskin, you name it—to soften the space a bit, as designers recommend.

Neutrals and Metals

Metallic furniture pieces add a contemporary feel to this neutral living room, which also contains an industrial style fireplace. The lighting fixture in the center of the room refocuses the space with its textural lines.

Leather, Marble, and More

Leather, marble, fluted wood, and more come together to create an industrial living room full of a wide range of materials.

Stairway Seating

Carve out a seating nook away from the crowd by pushing leather chairs up against wood and wrought iron railing at the edge of your living room.

Cozy Nook

Alternatively, designate a reading nook like the one seen here, which features a sculptural lamp and a few potted plants beside a plush accent chair.

Neon Lights

Neon lighting will spice up your industrial style living room; choose any phrase that speaks to you and enjoy basking in the glow of the sign.

Two-Toned Feel

Don't be afraid to try a cool, two-toned look in your industrial living room. This blue-gray combo is moody and mod, not to mention majorly eye-catching.

Wooden Elements

Wooden floating shelves hung at an angle along with a natural looking wooden side table add some edge to this industrial living room/office hybrid.

Cool Curves

Play to a loft-like space's natural curves by opting for curvy furniture, like the wood and glass coffee table shown here. Bring in a large planter for additional liveliness.

Soft Sheepskin

Use a column in a loft-like space to carve out a small nook. Warm up the area with a sheepskin throw, a favorite of industrial designers.

Oversized Windows

Rather than covering loft windows with curtains, leave them bare for maximum impact (and so as not to obstruct a beautiful view outside).

Wow Worthy Walls

Even if your space isn't actually a loft, you can bring such a look into your home by adding wooden panels, ribbed detailing, and plenty of marble.

Splash of Glass

The addition of a metal and glass coffee table and a telescope that's both decorative and functional brings industrial flair into this otherwise transitional living room.

Subtle Shapes

While clean lines are a prime characteristic of industrial style spaces don't be afraid to go geometric in some instances, such as when it comes to accent pieces, to mix things up a bit.

Bright Hues

Modern and minimal is the name of the game in this living room, which is industrial in style but still contains pops of bright color.

Sleek Lighting

How cool is the sleek floor lamp in this living room? It looks like something you'd find styled in a warehouse; which is exactly the look you're seeking to replicate.

Barely There Furnishings

If you have to weave a desk or table into your industrial living room, go with a glass option—it'll take up minimal visual space while still being functional and contributing to the overall style of your room.

Nice and Tall

This loft-like industrial living room boasts incredibly high ceilings that are majorly swoon-worthy.

Functional Features

Make tall industrial style shelving work for you by adding a ladder made out of reclaimed wood—it's on trend and functional.

Shiny Sconces

Say hello to dazzling sconces like these. There's no reason to settle for unoriginal lighting in your industrial style space.

Black Beams

"I love using exposed bold black beams in my modern industrial projects," George says.

Here, she also incorporated aluminum black doors and windows.

Low Profile Feel

Keep furniture low profile to allow your industrial living room to feel airy and fresh, not stuffy.

Concrete and Shiplap

To add to this room's industrial look, George opted for a concrete spackle fireplace, a raw shiplap wooden island, and pendant lighting with exposed bulbs.

Industrial Farmhouse Fusion

This living room contains elements of both industrial and farmhouse styles, proving that you can indeed enjoy the best of both worlds. Many components of the two looks naturally complement each other.

Touch of Jute

As designers suggest, laying down a jute rug can help to warm up an industrial living room and ensure that it still feels nice and comfortable.

Soft and Sharp

Soft seating will also counteract the sharp corners characteristic of many pieces of industrial style furniture.

Classic Beams

You may choose to paint your exposed beams or leave them natural—either way, they're such a special feature of industrial spaces and deserve to command attention.

A Bit of Contrast

These exposed beams are left unpainted and therefore provide a nice contrast to the black cabinetry present throughout this living room.

Artful Accents

While minimalistic, this industrial style living room is full of textural and artful touches that will make heads turn.

Abstract Work

While industrial style living rooms aren't covered with art from head to toe, abstract works fit right into such spaces, especially when they're rooted in neutral shades.

Pretty Pillar

Don't let a sizable pillar interfere with your design plan—just decorate around it; it's a key element of any loft room, after all.

Repurposed Finds

Repurposing furniture is key in industrial spaces. For example, go ahead and turn a traditional stool into a plant stand or side table.

Pattern Play

When mixing patterns in an industrial living room, keep colors consistent among pieces so that the space doesn't appear too busy.

Hidden TV

This television has a function that allows it to look like artwork when it's powered off, ensuring it doesn't detract from the room's design.

Industrial Style Design Elements and Tips

Adapt Your Home

Oftentimes, people decorate in industrial style when they live in traditionally industrial-looking space, such as a loft apartment with exposed beams and ductwork. However, you can still adapt the style to your home even if this isn't the case.

"If the building doesn’t have the industrial bones, I recommend focusing on the walls, ceiling, and floor to work towards your desired look," Kathy Corbet, the founder of Kathy Corbet Interiors, says.

To help achieve this aesthetic, Corbet recommends bringing in lightweight faux industrial beams made of PVC as well as faux concrete wall blocks.

"As the design develops from there, you can get creative with different wall finishes, considering that an industrial building will have more than one type of wall finish in a room," she adds.

When it comes to selecting your furnishings, Corbet recommends selecting pieces made of reclaimed materials or repurposing old furniture in your home. Anwar echoes Corbet's comment regarding reclaimed wood, noting that it is a great element to integrate if you want an industrial look, especially on floors, mantels, or coffee tables.

Mix and Match Materials

Other materials that are prevalent in industrial spaces include steel, concrete, metal, iron, brick, bronze, and piping. Many industrial style spaces are neutral in color, so George recommends maximum natural light and incorporating greenery.

Designers agree that textiles and fabrics are key elements of industrial style spaces. Corbet explains how faded or distressed wall coverings and fabrics work well including light fixtures that look like they came from an old factory. Edison bulbs can also add a perfect finishing touch.

"You need to soften the industrial elements with textiles and some strategic pops of color or print," Anwar recommends.

Decorate With Intent

When it comes to sofas, Anwar is a proponent of larger pieces.

"Bulky and deep sofas lend themselves more to industrial interior design than delicate tufted ones," Anwar says. However, he warns against overusing leather since that's often a huge mistake he sees people making with industrial design.

Anwar also suggests keeping an eye out for industrial furnishings and decorative items when retail stores host closing sales.

The direction one chooses to go with industrial style design may mean that their home looks more modern—with newer materials and lots of glass—or more farmhouse in style, with textural wood aplenty, Amanda Wyatt, the founder of Design Insider, says.

Be mindful to steer clear of too many small, decorative pieces in your industrial space.

"You don’t want a lot of ornamentation, clutter, or delicate things," Anwar says.

Wyatt agrees and highlights the importance of keeping it simple and letting the materials really shine within the space.

"Those finishes will provide most of the interest and inspiration in the space," Wyatt says.

Read the original article on The Spruce.