Beautiful Contemporary Interior Design Ideas You Never Seen Before

By Tania Melissa
last updated February 10, 2025
Contributions sourced from
37 Modern Kitchen Ideas We Love
With minimalist cabinetry, neutral color palettes, and metallic accents, modern kitchen ideas are worth pursuing if you crave subtle elegance that will never go out of style. These spaces blend aspects of contemporary design with other styles, including traditional and industrial, for a look thats current, sleek, yet not sterile. Curious about modern kitchen looks? Were here to help you get started with everything you need to know.
What are the latest kitchen trends?
A lasting trend is open spaces. Kitchens are the focal point of a home: a place where conversations and sustenance combine to create memorable moments. Open-space plans that fully integrate the kitchen with adjacent common living areas have become prevalent in recent years because they are prone to encourage gatherings and multiple dynamics happening simultaneously, saysSimon Hamui, an interior designer forthe Ritz-Carlton, Bachelor Gulch.
Hamui says open-space plans with clean and natural looking finishes are incredibly popular. A kitchen island with seating area, preferably in two-levels to encourage multiple types of gatherings, from cooking with company to having a quick bite are winners, he says.
How do you modernize a kitchen cheaply?
Hamui believes painting cabinets a solid, matte color can have a big impact when renovating a kitchen. Another instant and simple modification is to change the hardware while following the pre-drilled existing holes, he says. Also, adding an interesting stone countertop can completely change the appearance of a kitchen with minimal on-site work. These upgrades can also work in a small kitchen.
The best way to modernize your kitchen inexpensively is with your color palette, says Alex Yacavone,Kohler design studio manager. By bringing a refresh to your walls and cabinet colors, you can easily transform a space. Modern doesnt always mean neutrals eitherwe are seeing some beautiful and modern kitchens that have embraced color by utilizing a monochromatic color scheme.
What style is modern for the kitchen?
While warm, neutral color schemes, natural-influenced materials, and seamlessly integrated floor plans are du jour, there are other signature identifiers of a modern kitchen. Pops of color ensure that thesecontemporary kitchen designs still feel warm and welcoming, as do big windows that let in the sun, an architecturallight fixture, or a piece of bold artwork or decor.
Each of these 37 kitchens from designers and theAD archives is a lesson in restraint. Just a few decorative accessories (and zero clutter) on shelves andcountertops let the smart mix of materialsand tonights dinnershine. Read on to see modern kitchen design ideas that blend style and function for a space that is cutting-edge yet inviting.
Contemporary Interior Design: Everything You Need to Know About This Minimal and Current Style
When it comes to interior design styles, contemporary interior design may be the most future-thinking. What distinguishes it so much is that it is an ever-evolving design style, versus some of the ones in history where they have a very set time period and a very specific set of rules that theyre referring back to, says Erin Sander, an interior designer based in Dallas, Texas, and founder ofErin Sander Design. Defined by clean lines, decorated minimalism, and current trends, contemporary interiors are distinctly of-the-momenteven when the moment changes. Found throughout homes, offices, and retail settings, belowAD dives into just what makes this versatile style and how you can bring it into your space.
History of contemporary interior design
Contemporary design came out after the midcentury-modern movement, Sander says. Starting in the 1970s, the style was first seen as more of an amalgamation of various popular aesthetics of the time, like modernism, postmodernism, and Art Deco. Slowly the term contemporary started to take on a meaning of its own.
This contemporary home designed by Erin Sander features a concrete console paired against natural elements like wood and greenery.
Photo: James Nathan SchroderWhat is contemporary in interior design?
From the 1970s forward, it has continued to grow just as a very current, very on-trend way to define a style that is moving forward, Sander says. It could be understood as a design style that pulls from many popular styles of a given moment, creating a unique look that is undeniably in. This also means, however, that a contemporary home may look different at different times. Other styles that frequently recirculate have many distinct correlations, Sander says. A midcentury-modern aesthetic will almost always make use of walnut-toned wood, for example, in the same way a farmhouse aesthetic will frequently include rustic decor. With contemporary, there arent as many reference points, she continues, and I think what youll see is contemporary borrows from so many different styles and combines them all together.
What does contemporary design style mean?
Typically I would define contemporary more as a blending of styles, saysBrad Ramsey, an interior designer based in Nashville. Its a little more eclectic, but its trend-forward, so contemporary is usually whats on trend right now. Ramsey grew up in a contemporary house outside of Atlanta that was often well-liked by visitors for its uniqueness. It had tall pitched ceilings that are all cedar slats inside with skylights at the top, he says. And when I was growing up, everybody always loved coming over to my house. Even though his parents purchased the home in the 80s, its kept its contemporary status through thoughtful upgrades and changes throughout the years. If it stays in the trends of when they bought it, then it no longer really stays in that contemporary feel; you have to keep updating it, he says.
30 Modern Living Room Ideas That'll Upgrade Your Home
Go Scandi

Nothing says "modern" like Scandinavian design. Designer Brian Paquette created this warm, sunken living area in a Southern California home by using jewel tone colors and keeping the furnishings relatively close together. It goes to show that even if your living room is smaller, it doesn't have to feel cramped. Just be intentional about the pieces you pick and how you arrange them.
Embrace Midcentury Modern

The midcentury modern living room in Ashley Maddox's Waco, Texas, home is one to emulate if you're trying to lean into the aesthetic. It captures the 1950s charm with streamlined furniture, sculptural light fixtures, and geometric accessories.
Add a Mirror Wall

Make your living space feel bigger by adding in a wall of mirrors. This gorgeous space in a Houston pied--terre by M. James Design Group utilizes classic picture molding as frames for the mirrors, opening up the living room and bouncing light around.
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Aim for Timelessness

In this Texas lake house by Marie Flanigan Interiors, neutral tones, natural textures and materials, and minimal decorations harmonize to create a calm, elevated living room. With the right simple pieces, your modern home can feel timeless.
Expand a Gallery Wall

There are many ways to hang a gallery wall, but we favor one that's anything but basic. Take a page from the M. James Design Group's book and cover any bare section of wall you can. It'll draw the eye upward is a great way to avoid painting your living room walls. Just cover them up with artwork, objects, and photos you love.
Add Fun Accent Chairs

Don't stick to solidsbring in playful furniture if you're looking for a way to add more intrigue and depth to your living room. Gray Space Interiors completed this blue hangout zone in influencer Zakia Blain's Pennsylvania home with two wild armchairs.
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Go Monochrome

As much as house flippers push the all-white, blank-canvas look, we promise you can choose a monochromatic color scheme that's more interesting. This beautiful blue den in a Kansas City home by Mark D. Sikes shows how you can use tonal colors to create depth.
Match Your Furniture to the Woodwork

Follow in designers Justin Hafen and John Hurley's footsteps by adding deeply hued furnishings to a bright space. The matching bookshelf and couch give the living room of their contemporary home in Napa Valley an elegant vibe, creating a space that looks very intentionally put together and cozy.
Hide the TV

It's no secret that interior designers love to find ways to keep televisions out of sight, so you might as well take a suggestion from the pros and do the same. The blue lacquered cabinet Lisa Tharp used in the living room of this Boston apartment is a perfectly chic option for hiding that big black rectangle from visitors.
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Choose a Sculptural Light Fixture

It takes time to find art you love. Until you happen upon the perfect piece for the mantel, pull eyes toward the ceiling with a sculptural pendant light like the one in this Seattle home by Hoedemaker Pfeiffer. It's not just functional but extremely stylish.
Let It Double as a Playroom

This kid-friendly space in a San Francisco townhouse by Studio Plow proves a stylish living room can also be a play zone. Just keep a basket handy to stash the colorful toys you don't want on display.
Hang an Oversize Mirror

A big enough mirror can seemingly create a tunnel to another world. The gorgeously cut example in this living room by Studio Plow looks almost like an arched doorway into another room, creating the illusion of more space.
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Combine Vintage and Modern

The Brownstone Boys are known for their historic renovations, and they're the ones to look at if you're searching for inspiration on how to make your older home look good with your modern furniture. The light fixture and curved couch are obviously not from the same era as the ornate crown molding and the fireplace, but they contrast in an elegant way. The effect is almost museum-like.
Float Unique Pendants

If you're lucky enough to have extremely high ceilings, like the ones in this living room designed by Cortney and Robert Novogratz, take advantage of all that empty space and hang up interesting art pieces, like these fluffy pendants.
Take It Outside

Maybe your living room is actually outside. If you live in a climate that lets you enjoy the outdoors all year, invest in comfortable and chic patio furniture. This covered outdoor space by Ashley Gilbreath has multiple conversational zones for your family to occupy so you can enjoy being here even when it's raining.
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Make It a Cinema Room

For true cinephiles, the media room is the living room. So take a cue from Kimberly + Cameron Interiors and make it feel like an escapeeven when the television isn't onby finishing it with patterned wall coverings, plants, and warm-toned furniture.
Keep It Neutral

For an intriguing space that skips color altogether, use a mix of textures in your living room. Leanne Ford Interiors used many different patterns and shapes in this neutral living room to ensure it would still be something beautiful to look at and live in. Neutral spaces can easily feel cold, but the layers in here radiate warmth.
Bring in Bold Plants

Put your green thumb to work and bring fresh plants into your living room, displaying them in ways you may not normally do. In this breezy communal area of Ashley Gilbreath's beach house, a medium-sized palm plant on the coffee table continues the paint color of the walls into the seating area.
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Choose Lighter Woods

Ashley Montgomery enhanced this cozy yet modern, farmhouse living room with light-colored wood throughout. From the side table to the coffee table to the floors, the wood choices make the space look more open and brighter.
Install a Wet Bar

If your space allows for one, upgrade from your bar cart to a built-in wet bar off your living room. Jennifer Robin Interiors and Kroeger Janev Architects made this California barn the perfect place for a party by incorporating a bar complete with a long counter and barstools. Hey, if you have the room, why not?
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31 Home Design Ideas That Will Change the Way We Decorate in 2023
While stenciling tile is nothing new, creators are steering away from the overdone encaustic tile patterns in grey, black, white and blue and experimenting with contemporary motifs. Choose starkly contrasting colors for a crisp and fresh look, suggests Annie Sloan, paint and color expert based in Oxford, England, and creator of Chalk Paint, who has utilized household objects including cereal bowls and magazines to create one of a kind stencils. These simple shapes look fabulous in block bright colors. Pastel square shapes reference 50s diners, perfect for grandmillennial interiors, while curved designs reference Vernor Patton and 60s cool.
11. Upcycle housewares ina glam way
The antique Kintsugi restoration technique finds beauty in imperfections by filling broken pottery cracks with gold paint.
Photo: Marco MontaltiBefore you dispose of dishes, pictures frames, and even large furniture items thathave seen better days, think about ways in which you can repurpose these pieces to add some new life. Saw down that dining table and turn it into the coffee table of your dreams, as Lance Thomas ofThomas Guy Interiors in Lake Charles, Louisiana, did in his own home.
12. Embrace the 70s mirrored backsplash
Beveled Paris Gray Hexagon Antique Mirror Tile
Take a look back50 years backwhen tackling the backsplash, suggestsAlex Alonso ofMr. Alex Tate Design. So much of the 70s has crept back into fashion, he says, noting that a smoky mirrored backsplash is very chic and trendy. The Miami-Los Angelesbased designer adds that people are looking to make kitchens warm but still keep them modern and interesting, and a mirrored backsplash can do just that. Or you can create a vibrant custom backsplash with watercolor, marbled paper, even a piece of pretty fabric thats protected behind a pane of tempered glass.
13. Enhance walls with limewash paint
Interior designers, like Sarah Weichel of Swike Design, employ Portola Paints & Glazes lime wash paint for distinctive wall texture.
Photo: Austin Leis