If you take a look along the skyline of Portland you will see that the timeless and very functional nature of the architecture has a modern contemporary flair. Old mixed with new, yet the quest for form follows function is the cornerstone of Portland contemporary design even at the city level. If you are in love with this Portland design style and want to achieve it in your own home or outdoor space here are some helpful Portland interior design suggestions to guide you.
What Is Modern Contemporary Design?
First, we wanted to lay down some more traditional interior design definitions that surround this unique Portland style. The formal style that is called “modern” is a fixed design style created in the 1920′s – 1950′s and is typically referring to “Mid Century Modern”, which is identifiable by its clean and unadorned interiors, using wood, leather, teak, linen and prominent natural materials. Contemporary interior design however, was developed in the late 20th century which tends to feature softened and rounded lines with neutral elements and bold color. Portland interior design trends tend to subtly blend these two design styles into something truly warm, yet clean and uncluttered.
Create A Portland Modern Contemporary Home
We’ve put together some suggestions for creating that clean modern contemporary interior design style that says Portland. Using these design elements, you can transform your current home design into something that is truly Portland unique, while combining the modern and contemporary styles into something that says home.
Modern Contemporary Lighting
Since the lighting in your interior space has the distinct ability to change the intensity, subtle tone and mood within your home design, it remains an important element that can either accent or distract. You’ll want to keep your lighting fixtures spherical, linear and industrial to capture the clean look and accent the other modern contemporary design elements within your space.
While the variety of modern contemporary lighting options to select are vast, you should stick with clean, geometric lines that include balanced circles and ovals. Similar shapes should repeat themselves in other design choices within your environment to give a cohesive expression throughout. You can range your lighting styles in this contemporary category from classic modern to ultramodern depending on your taste, just be sure that the light fixtures you choose don’t overpower the other main elements and color palette within your rooms. You lighting choices should blend seamlessly, not jump out like a sore thumb.
Modern Contemporary Color Palette
The monochromatic color palette is the foundation for most modern design in Portland right now. This design style derives from a single base color and extends from there in shades, tints and saturation levels of that same color. From there you will want to add more white in order to make the overall look appear lighter, or more black/darks to make it all appear darker. This provides a crisp almost blank canvas to add pops of texture and/or a secondary complementary color using various flooring, counters and other design elements in order to highlight contrast of color and/or unusual interest pieces.
Modern Contemporary Flooring
In the Portland modern contemporary design model, you are blending design styles and elements to create an overall look. Flooring should be a component of that design that is included along with one of those elements. For example, if your interior design requires a light or dark canvas approach, you should utilize your flooring as a part of that canvas. If your Portland home design is utilizing a color palette that is bold, select flooring that tones down the boldness but accents it with texture. Finally consider the additional design elements such as furniture, wall covering and countertops within your space to choose flooring that will result in a clean modern look that softens some of the modern components as a neutral accent.
Modern Contemporary Design Suggestions
At the heart of a good Portland modern contemporary home design are raw basic shapes, materials and layout. This runs the gamut from using concrete walls in your bathroom to concrete as your kitchen countertops, something that is not traditionally found within modern or contemporary design styles, yet is becoming more common in the newly defined modern contemporary combination of today.
You can also use shelving installations on a slant and shower walls can be created as a single panel of glass. The sleek look of contemporary design is primary composed of using solid colors with a neutral color base (your monochromatic color palette) and adding bold splashes of unexpected color on furniture, pillows or walls. It is a graphic and easy living style where function almost always rules over form. Consider this approach as you redesign and modify your current room layout. And you might actually wind up with less things since the ‘less is more’ motto sings loudly in this design style.
Portland home design combines a mix of various styles that mix to create a unique look. Modern contemporary is a great way to describe this design that is a local trend that will no doubt continue.
