One of my favorite things to experience over and over since starting House of Ivy is to see the look of disbelief when people learn that my pieces are made of concrete. The smooth and rounded shapes paired with the warm and calming pigments creates a look that doesn’t match our traditional perceptions of concrete.
It’s fair to say that when we think of concrete, we picture hard, coarse, gravely and bland grey surfaces. So bland that it doesn’t even register when we encounter it in our everyday experiences. How do we bridge the gap between the functionality of concrete and the aesthetics we long for?
Contrast. Through the use of contrast, we’re able to produce a certain mood or aesthetic. Simply by styling concrete decor with intentionally mixed colors, textures and materials.
Below are styling tips for concrete decor that can be easily implemented to create spaces that feel warm, balanced and intentional.
Pair concrete with warm textiles
To start from the beginning, textiles are any materials that can be woven, knitted, felted or bonded to create fabric. In other words textiles = fabrics. Some textiles provide a warmer aesthetic than others. Warm textiles are materials that can provide physical warmth such as flannel, cashmere and furs. Alternatively, some provide visual warmth through thick, soft or fuzzy textures. Materials like boucle, sherpa, velvet, and leather are great for accomplishing this.
When you’re aiming to create a cozy and “sit-down-and-stay-a-while” kind of room, you want to establish a good balance of structure with warmth. Having these two opposing “feels” actually creates the opportunity to notice each, more than if you were to use all of one or the other. Picture yourself walking into a room. The walls and floor is concrete. The table is glass and the seating is metal. This feels strong and bold, but also cold. And those things don't entice you to stay and relax. Take a walk next door and see a carpeted room with grass cloth covered walls, a corduroy couch, cashmere blanket and faux-fur throw pillows. While this might originally strike you as comfortable, the functionality may end up feeling reminiscent of a foam pit with no structure.
It’s the balance that creates the magic. The juxtaposition of hard and soft, warm and cool, smooth and textured. That’s how you create a room that’s inviting, interesting, comfortable and intentional.
Think; pairing a concrete table with a thick textured rug or a large concrete bowl on a warm wooden table.
Balance concrete with light and fluid-appearing materials
Building on the idea of contrast, when you style concrete decor with materials that bring an element of lightness and fluidity, it creates additional moments to soften and amplify your concrete pieces. Elements that bring the feeling of lightness include sheer fabrics, light plasters and mirrors. These textures appear light whereas concrete appears heavy. The balance of using the two together creates a nice rhythm, letting each piece stand out in its own.
Another way to create moments of productive contrast are through the use of “liquid looking” materials. Mediums like glass, sheer fabrics, high-end acrylic, satin and live plants and flowers. These materials provide a certain aspect of movement and fluidity that concrete does not, and the use of the two together heightens the best qualities of each.
Pairing the two together allows each of those elements, the solid boldness and the lightness of fluidity, to speak louder when used together. Just as you put salt in a cookie to enhance flavor, so too should you put concrete with its light and airy counterparts.
Think; Concrete tray on an acrylic table or a concrete tray with glass candle holder.
Style concrete decor with coordinating and layered neutrals
There are people who like even numbers and those who like odds. There are those who like certainty and those who prefer adventure. And there are those who match and those who coordinate. I, on all accounts, am the latter.
While I understand the logic of matching, I believe that the magic lives in the coordinating. It’s bringing together colors and elements that live harmoniously together, even when they come from different places or don’t perfectly match. Having multiple colors and textures living together in the same space creates a level of depth that one singular color or material cannot.
When done correctly, coordinating and layering provides depth to your space. It gives the eye more to look at without overwhelming it and creates opportunities to source decor from many different places, rather than just one. Your space has much to gain when your concrete decor is styled with other pieces on a similar palette, creating a cohesive look, rather than a catalog.
Pick a star color, layer it with other colors in that family, and live in a palette rather than a swatch. A good visual for this is to pick a color strip you love out of a color deck, and use those 3-7 colors to guide your selections for a room. Staying on the same strip ensures that all of the colors coordinate without creating a flat and boring appearance.
Think; using each color of a color strip to guide your selection of curtains, rug, throw pillows and blanket, or tables.
Pair concrete with organic textures
Organic textures are tactile or visual surfaces that come from natural sources. They tend to have irregularities and feature asymmetry and non-geometric patterns. Materials such as wood, bamboo, jute, leather and rattan are a few materials with organic, non-repeating patterns.
While concrete can be considered an organic material, it can also be very structured and symmetrical as everything is cast to be precise. Styling concrete decor with other organic textures creates a unique space, as a fingerprint is to a person. The variation of using multiple organic textures brings warmth, depth and quality to a room.
Think; Jute rug paired with a concrete coffee table and wooden tree-ring side table.
Embrace imperfections instead of hiding them
Continuing on the above point, embracing imperfections in your concrete decor creates moments for a beautiful and special space. It makes a room as unique as your DNA. The imperfections are the proof that your art came from an artist, not a machine, so consider yourself lucky when you have them to embrace. Use those characteristics, that some call flaws, as the certificate of authenticity that your space was designed by you, with a collection of pieces that can’t be made twice.
Embracing the imperfections means showing off the small surface bubbles in your concrete bowl. It means facing the live edge and knots of wood outward, so the character is visible. It means letting the swirl of concrete pigment or the random vein of marble take front and center stage. Each of those imperfections are a reminder that you have a one of a kind piece, a fingerprint on your space, something that no one else can replicate - no matter how hard they try.
Use negative space to highlight your concrete decor
Negative space is the empty space around a visual “hero.” A sculptural vase on a pedestal, a painting hanging solo on a wall, an abundant flower arrangement centered on a large empty table. That’s negative space at work, drawing attention to the hero of the room, the wall, the painting, etc.
Using negative space can make your concrete pieces speak for themselves, as the work of art that they are. The concrete home decor at House of Ivy aren’t pieces that are meant to go unnoticed. While the colors can be subtle, the shapes are intended to capture attention and generate conversation. Amplify those results by using negative space. Style your Sophia Vase on a shelf, sitting on top of books. Let the Roma Bowl be the centerpiece of the island filled with your favorite candies. Set the Booty Vase on an empty bathroom counter with your makeup brushes. Let whitespace work its magic and bring more attention to your pieces than an entire vignette could ever accomplish.
Style concrete to create warm and cozy interiors
Whether you think concrete is cold and industrial or warm and stylish, you're right. The way concrete decor appears has everything to do with how it’s styled and what it’s paired with. Join it with natural and coordinating materials to bring warmth to your room. Place it against fluid looking materials to provide contrast and more emphasis on each piece. And embrace negative space so the stunners can let their beauty do the talking.
These are six ways to style concrete decor to feel warm and intentionally. To shop a collection of my favorite sculptural concrete pieces for styling, click here.