What’s your style? Urban Modern?

URBAN MODERN

Are you a somewhat recent graduate of a 4 year university or professional school that has family members that insist on helping you with your new place?  You are grateful but nothing they recommend or offer seems to feel just right?  Grandma wants to give you her dining table and your aunt has a sectional that she paid $10,000 for 18 years ago.  You are grateful but there is just something that is “wrong” with it all.  The legs of the dining table have unique rolls that you haven’t seen in any of the pictures online that you love.  The sectional is overstuffed and you know it will take up your entire living room.  You know what you like but you have a hard time putting a name on it and how to pull it together.  Have you heard of Urban Modern?

Urban modern is all about upscale cosmopolitan living that is refined yet not rigid and stiff.  Do you dream of living in Austin in a new construction sleek modern highrise?  You love the large open windows and open concept living?  Are you opened to polished concrete floors versus the hardwood “like” ceramic tile that everyone in your family thinks is the best thing?  Urban modern is actually the marriage between contemporary, mid-century, industrial, and minimalist interiors.  The least influential would have to be industrial.

When working with couples in my design practice, this is often the solution for couples that need to blend a more refined elegant appearance with a more rugged industrial or hard to source contemporary.  The truth is, you can actually blend a variety of the mentioned styles to create a gracious urban modern home.  The materials, lines, patterns, and colors will all guide you in the right direction.  If you are a retail shopper and love the furniture and Crate and Barrel, Williams Sonoma, and Room and Board, this is it!

For you, you may consider mid century modern alone too retro and dated.  It is possible that you find contemporary furniture very appealing but alone it doesn’t match your style of home and you don’t even know where in the world to purchase the right pieces.  With urban modern design we are able to soften things up a big and find the right balance of modern and elegant.  If your dream of living on the Upper West of Manhattan on the 59th floor with Central Park views in the latest and greatest building the hottest “star-architect” isn’t in the cards--Urban Modern.

In my experience there are just a few elements that you need to keep in mind if you truly want your home to have an urban modern feel.

Emphasis on large oversized windows.  Let’s face it--light is your friend.  There is something about waking up day after day to clear blue skies that make all of your problems go away.  If you were to examine images of the home that influence this design style, you will see that large open windows are a key element.  If this space is in an urban environment with a less than stellar view, the windows are important to the feel of the space.  Trust me, delivers don’t shy away from putting large windows into condos in Nolita that face directly into the units across the street.  If you are living a modern traditional ranch or two story home, you can actually do a lot with this.  Large floor to ceiling windows in your formal living and dining rooms are a great place to start.   Do you have a wall of windows in your two story family room that overlooks the pool?  This is a great place to update your traditional Pella windows with large open windows, or tall modern disappearing sliding all glass doors.

Less ornate trim.  While it is true that this style does work quite well in modern sleek condo buildings, it is quite possible to recreate in almost any style home.  One of the simplest ways to begin to limit the amount of trim and detail in your home.  You may want to consider the amount of crown moulding, fluted columns, baseboards, the panels of your interior doors, mantles, and cabinetry.  Simplify as much as possible.  Think light clean and modern.  Even if you don’t purchase any new furniture, this is an amazing way to give your home a more modern and urban feel.

Scaled back window treatments.  Everyone that knows me how much I love window treatments.  In many design styles, it is one of the easiest ways to add refinement and elegance to any space.  This is not the case with urban modern design.  As mentioned earlier you want to emphasize the windows and as much light and environment to pour in as possible.  In my design practice, I would encourage you to consider solar and roman shades. Shy away from treatments that fit outside the casing of the windows themselves.  As far as the roman shades, think again of simplicity with straight lines. Shy away from any options with swags, ties, and relaxed tension in the fabric.

Simple clean lined furniture.  When selecting furniture I would encourage you to keep things simple.  Ornamentation is not the friend of urban modern design.  You don’t want to do “too’ much with any of the layers in this style.  I recommend solid lines and shapes.  Simple yet comfortable seating that is far from overstuffed.  While I have your attention, let’s discuss one design mistake that I feel many people make in their homes.  Furniture doesn’t have to be large and overstuffed in order to be comfortable.  The truth is, the comfort begins with the ergonomics, construction, and materials used.  Oversized furnitured that appears to have cloud appearances doesn’t mean that it will feel like you are sitting on a cloud.  Finally, modern doesn’t mean that everything has to be rectangular in shape to be modern.  You can in fact have round or oval dining tables, circular mirrors, and round back dining chairs that when done properly are modern and urban. 

Luxurious solid color fabrics.  If you read my blog post on contemporary design, you recall the importance of simplicity in your color palette. When it comes to fabric choices I would highly encourage you to stick with solids for the vast majority of your fabrics.  It is possible to find great solid colored fabrics that are rich in texture.  If you must add variety in your fabrics I would highly recommend sticking with things like geometrics and tribal patterns.

There are just a few of the ways anyone can create an amazing urban modern home.  On a final note, your goal should be to create a soft yet masculine space.  To achieve this look you must work on creating spaces that are glamorous, modern, and far from aggressive.  If you see a single piece of furniture that just seems “weird” to you no matter the price it may be too much for this style.  When you open the door of a home designed in this style, you want to exhale and smile from the cohesiveness and comfort.

There you have it!   This is another of my favorite design styles.  With a little planning it is one of the most affordable and versatile styles that anyone can introduce into their home.  If you are struggling to turn your home into the haven you dreamed it could be, I would love to hear from you.  What are some design challenges you are currently facing?  Click the button below to schedule your complimentary consultation session.  This is a great way to begin to break through many of your design challenges all with no obligation.

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Goodbye for now!