Traditional Décor

Traditional style home décor offers warming comfort with a classic look and feel. Furniture is arranged with complementary pieces brought into the modern day with materials that maximize comfort while recalling the look of 18th and 19th century continental designs.

What is traditional decorating style?

Traditional design style is meant to bring comfort to the entire family while providing a warming environment featuring classic furniture and decorative items brought into the modern era. Furniture pairings with dialed back ornamentation complement each other while matching form with function and furthering one’s sense of comfort.

Subtle neutral colors like blue, gray and black can strike a calming tone along with deep, rich hues, while more vibrant colors can jump around a room via plant pots, vases or pillow covers to help create a warming feel. Hardwood floors in homes with traditional décor style tend to feature darker stains of brown or black. Soft, two-color decorative wallpaper or tile mosaics in white or blue can enliven a space with simple floral designs.

Instead of straight angles, furniture and decorative elements feature less hard lines and more geometric soft curves. Natural materials that help provide a timeless look are used, such as solid wood, treated glass, lustrous brass and marble.

Classic vases that hearken back to antiquity, woven rugs and art prints from various cultures fit well within traditional style home décor as they are the very decorative items that were put on display in homes in the 18th and 19th centuries. Abstract prints of Matisse and other early 20th century artists are just as at home in the traditional decorating style as modern photography that creates an abstract impression of natural elements.

Learn more about decorating with traditional décor

Every space is arranged or curated around a central focal point with seating and accompanying furniture meant to provide comfort and foster interaction. See how easy it is to apply this IKEA curated home decorating style with a few helpful suggestions for several rooms of the home.

Traditional style kitchen

To bring a traditional design style to your kitchen, cast a light on your cooking over the stove and kitchen islands with attractive pendant or track lighting featuring brass fixtures and colored glass. Richly stained wood with an oak veneer over white sideboards of a freestanding kitchen island can provide a classic farmhouse look. Kitchen drawers can display intricate handles to complement an antique or replica stove, while waffle irons, metal juice makers and cast-iron pans can hearken back to olden times. Choose classic white or dark brown plate shelves to put decorative plateware and coffee cups on display.

Traditional style living room

Let soothing blues or grays carry on from a low pile rug to curvaceous fabric sofas and sectionals with curved armrests and plump pillows to velvety room darkening drapes over silky semi-sheer curtains. Choose decorative curtain rods made of wrought iron. Liven up neutral-colored walls with framed old-timey illustrations of plants or abstract renderings of insects. Use strip lights and picture ledges or elegant frames and wall lighting to create a sense of awe. Kick your feet up on fabric ottomans that match the wingback chair you’re relaxing in until it’s time to pluck a book from the slate gray wooden high cabinet that holds your vintage record player.

Traditional style bathroom

Achieving the look of traditional design style in the bathroom can be done by adding minor touches of rattan or seagrass through rustic storage baskets for laundry or toiletries. Add a bit of whimsy to getting ready for work or school with tabletop makeup mirrors topped with decorative metal work. Put a richly stained wooden bench or chair with blue and white patterned pillows next to a dark brown sideboard holding towels and bathrobes.