Colonial-style houses have been popular for a long time. This makes it easy to find different types of interior designs to try out or become inspired by. While there are many kinds of colonial styles, such as Spanish colonial, French colonial, and more, other types combine different architectural styles into one, such as modern colonial.
Modern colonial interior designs are becoming incredibly popular nowadays because of their elegance, comfort, and upscale. This is partly because rich and textured materials such as cedar lumber are used for wooden panels, window shutters, furniture, etc.
If you’re planning to transform your place, here are five design ideas for a modern colonial interior:
Pair Natural Materials with Muted or Pleasant Colours
Colour has a major impact on interior design, especially when it comes to modern colonial homes. To get the design accurately, you may want to combine the main colour, such as cream-white, with muted colours to make everything pleasing to look at and not too harsh. White interiors paired with natural wood beams, siding, and furniture should be a sure way to achieve the modern colonial interior. Keep things light, muted, and neutral while using wood to add contrast and texture. A key point to remember is to avoid going for colour themes that are too striking. You can try these colours instead:
- Classic warm grey
- Rich and creamy white
- ‘Greige’ (grey and beige)
- Powder blush
- Light taupe
Use Crown Moldings with Wooden Walls
Walls can look rather plain in modern colonial interiors because it’s usually just white, cream, or shades of beige. To make it more interesting, crown moldings with wooden walls should add a beautiful contrast to the rooms. It’s an understated detail that could add some layers and captivating patterns that aren’t too bold. This little flair or decorative element adds some charm without adding too many accessories that could make a room look cluttered.
Pick Rich Fabrics
When it comes to furniture pieces with textiles, look for fabrics like velvet in rich colours or intricate patterns. This will help underscore the lush themes that modern colonial homes aim to achieve. This could also be a great choice for fabrics like tapestries, throw pillows, and bedding. Just make sure that you don’t fill up a room with too many heavy and dark fabrics in clashing colours since this can look quite tacky. Instead, use it sparingly or as an accent, just to make sure it isn’t too overbearing.
Opt for Dark Furniture Against Light Colours
As mentioned, walls are usually bare-looking since they’re painted in plain colours. To achieve the perfect contrast, opting for dark furniture is best, especially in British colonial homes, where the walls are strikingly bare. This could mean getting wooden furniture in its natural colour, getting it stained, or getting ones that are painted. Either way, it’s best to make sure that they’re darker than the colour of the walls. This also applies to picture frames, shelves, couches, kitchen counters, etc.
Add Contemporary Elements
Usually, a colonial home uses wood as its primary material— whether indoors or outdoors. While this is always a fantastic choice due to its versatility and durability, it can be harder to make it look modern without using other contemporary materials. To help it become more modern, combine it with newer materials and elements such as metal railings, cove lightings, gas fireplaces, and more. Even door and drawer handles make a significant impact on making older pieces look more contemporary.
Why Modern Colonial Homes Are Becoming More Popular
One of the great things about a colonial home is its historical charm. This is what makes colonial suburban houses look so comfortable and beautiful to look. Preserving this historical architectural style is significant for many not only because of its aesthetic but because it’s also a way to respect the style. However, it can get rather tricky to make it comfortable in this day and age. This is why adding modern fixtures can make it more liveable today.
But new fixtures, elements, and appliances can look odd in classical colonial homes. This is why balancing it out with modern interior decorative elements and design techniques can make a massive difference. Moreover, as time goes by, it becomes harder and harder to keep a colonial home completely intact. Therefore, slowly transforming it so it catches up with the times and keeping it well kept and maintained is a more practical solution.
Conclusion
Modern colonial homes are becoming more popular nowadays because of their aesthetic, comfortability, and practicality. But to achieve this, it’s essential to bring attention to equilibrium—not just in the symmetry of the floor plan but also in the contrast between colour choices and materials such as wood and fabrics.
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