When you begin exploring interior design, you’ll find there are a lot of “rules” to follow (or not as the case may be). But often the rules will vary depending on the aesthetic you are aiming to create. 

To help you out, we’ve put together a list of five interior design rules to follow if you’re after the industrial look in your home – and five more you can ignore if this is the style you’d like to create.

The industrial aesthetic often works best in properties that have something of an industrial past – think converted warehouses or old factories that have become modern homes. 

If there are any features in your architecture that offer a nod to its heritage, make the most of them. Think exposed brick walls, steel window frames and even exposed pipework. All of these features can be stylishly included into your interior and enhanced by your furniture and paint choices.

Industrial buildings are often characterised by large spaces and you want to mimic that with open-plan spaces in your home. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t include some separation. 

For example, you could use reclaimed wood cladding to create a room divider that fits perfectly with your industrial theme. As reclaimed wood comes from used scaffolding boards, it oozes character and style. 

You could also explore creating a shelving unit within your room divider, making this a multi-functional piece.

Industrial settings aren’t renowned for their vibrant colours, so consider this when designing your home to match this aesthetic. Neutral doesn’t have to mean plain though. 

The wood from old scaffold boards can add warmth and depth to your room when used strategically, such as in the form of shelving or furniture. But this tip primarily applies to the base level of decor. 

That means if you want to introduce more colour into your space, you can do so with soft furnishings and strategically-chosen art and accessories to add real pop and make a statement. 

Lighting can make or break a room’s design, so it pays to spend some time thinking about this element of your interior. Industrial lighting in a home doesn’t mean strip lights. 

It often means allowing the wires to be part of the lighting design and using appropriate fixtures, such as pendant lights that work with this more stripped-back aesthetic or bare bulbs that give a more industrial feel. 

Use accent lighting to highlight features that you want to bring into sharp relief and make sure you also consider the practicality of your lighting choices. While style is one consideration, it’s important to make sure every part of your home is usable too!

This is less of a stylistic choice and more a sound piece of advice ahead of any interior project – industrial or otherwise. But planning is key to ensure that your room delivers the style you’re looking for and doesn’t become overwhelming. 

Plan not only the colour scheme and decor, but also the lighting and the layout of your furniture before you get started. This will help you to ensure that your space is neither too cluttered nor too sparse. 

If you’ve been eyeing up a scaffold board table, for example, work out how that piece will fit into your dining area. If that’s the centrepiece of this space, use it to help you choose other accessories like a rug, chairs and even table decorations. 

This is less of a stylistic choice and more a sound piece of advice ahead of any interior project – industrial or otherwise. But planning is key to ensure that your room delivers the style you’re looking for and doesn’t become overwhelming. 

Plan not only the colour scheme and decor, but also the lighting and the layout of your furniture before you get started. This will help you to ensure that your space is neither too cluttered nor too sparse. 

If you’ve been eyeing up a scaffold board table, for example, work out how that piece will fit into your dining area. If that’s the centrepiece of this space, use it to help you choose other accessories like a rug, chairs and even table decorations. 

Rooms don’t need to be symmetrical (unless you really want them to be). Often having non-symmetrical designs makes a space more interesting and it’s a great way to create zones within an open-plan area too. 

For instance, if you’ve got alcoves in your living room, how about using one for a reclaimed wood corner desk and the other one for a stylish set of scaffolding board shelves? 

In an industrial-looking space, this is definitely not true. In fact, having mismatched scaffold board and pallet wood furniture and shelves can provide the perfect rustic appearance.

You could even use pallet wood as a type of cladding in one part of your space, with reclaimed scaffold board shelving in another. All of this merely adds to the ambience of the space and allows you to customise your home to suit your preferences. 

In this day and age, this is categorically not true! Even if your property is from a specific period – such as a converted Victorian-era factory – that doesn’t mean you need to opt for furniture from this time. 

Instead, have the courage to choose furniture that you love and mix and match eras as you see fit. Adding a couple of antique or vintage pieces of furniture to an industrial space can help make it feel more cosy and grounded, for instance. 

While the industrial look has a reputation for being minimalist and stripped back, you still want your home to be inviting. This is where different textures of wood, such as those offered by scaffold board shelves, can come into their own. 

You can use these kinds of pieces to bring a bit more texture and warmth to your space. Our scaffold board shelves can be sanded, unsanded or finished with a special varnish to help you create the perfect balance with your wooden furniture and accessories. 

If minimalism isn’t your style, use shelves around your space to give you room to display trinkets, books or other items that have meaning for you. Remember industrial doesn’t have to mean bare. 

For years, mixing metals was considered a big no-no within interior design circles. But there’s no need to follow that outdated rule. In fact, mixing your metal finishes can lend itself well to the more rustic industrial look. 

Brass taps in your kitchen can be complemented by black steel pendant lights over the dining table, for instance. Be bold.

Ready to get started on your industrial interior design project? Explore our selection of reclaimed and new scaffold boards, each of which has its own character and style that lends itself so well to this classic, stripped-back interior look.