Real estate is at a premium in New York, and apartments are the main housing option at the moment. While they might be small, apartments are now significantly influencing the interior design styles of New York. Today, urban sophistication and high functionality are what describe the city’s interior design style.
If you’re decorating your apartment, don’t be afraid to look for inspiration in this guide. Inside, we take a look at five interior design styles you can copy from some of the best furnished apartments for rent in NYC.
Open floor plan
As we said, real estate is at a premium in New York, and this has led to architectural designs such as open floor plans becoming very popular. In this design, living spaces are open spaces with fewer partitions between rooms. The most common open floor plan design merges the kitchen, living room, and dining room. The other option is to merge the bedroom and bathroom.
An open floor plan increases the floor space of a home and also gives the illusion of space. Another key benefit of this plan is that it improves traffic flow in your home as there is enough room to move around.
Besides, it is also easier to entertain as you have enough room for people to socialize, while there is more natural light coming into your home to make it feel bigger. Consider doing an open floor plan design if you have a small house.
Modular furniture
In a small New York apartment, you’ll need to work, cook, dine, sleep, entertain, and store your belongings. All of this needs space. Here is where modular furniture comes in.
Essentially, these are furniture items that you can assemble and disassemble as per your needs. For example, a modular three-seater can be taken apart, and you have a two-seater or three chairs. When you put it back together, you have a three-seater sofa.
These different configurations of modular furniture help you transform your room as per your needs in a cost-effective way.
Contemporary interior design
If you like to keep up with the latest design trends, then consider the contemporary interior design style. This style is popular in New York and it is characterized by simplicity, clean lines, cool tones, stark contrasts and subtle sophistication.
Neutrals, black, and white, are the grounding colors in a contemporary style, and they are accented with bright colors.
The furniture pieces in contemporary interior design are basic, bold, bare and structural. There is hardly any use of trims, fringes, ruffles, tassels and excessive carved details.
To soften and warm up contemporary design space, use textured fabrics in plain colors for pillows, rugs, or window treatment.
Plants and flowers
As human beings, we have an innate desire to connect with nature. Urbanization has reduced green spaces that people can connect with and enjoy. Not to be deterred, many New York interior design styles have embraced biophilic design.
A biophilic design brings in plants and flowers to indoor spaces. The effect is that it helps to reduce stress and improve the general well-being of occupants.
To do your own biophilic design, look for low-maintenance indoor plants like monstera, pothos, Philodendron, rubber tree plant, ZZ plant, fiddle leaf fig tree, and Chinese evergreen. While you’re at it, pick large plants, as they have a better aesthetic than small plants.
Wall art
To crown everything, you need wall art. Nothing adds a touch of personality and color like wall art. The New York interior design style is big on displaying a collection of art, wall hangings, photographs, and other ephemera.
There are two approaches when choosing your wall art. One is to pick it at the beginning of your design process, alternatively towards the end of your design process. If you choose your wall art before, you can create your interior design around it.
You can even use your wall art as the focal point of your room’s design. For example, you can use an oversize painting or photograph to set the tone of the room and design. If you shop for your art at the end of your design process, choose a piece that is cohesive to your interior space.
What’s your favorite NYC interior design style?
A well-designed space is not only good to look at, but also improves the use and functionality of a room. In your next design project, we highly recommend that you consider the New York style.
It is highly functional, aesthetically pleasing, and practical for small spaces. With the above pointers, you can get going and transform your space worthy of being on the cover of an interior design magazine.
