So what exactly is needed to create that contemporary look? Simplicity, clean lines, and sophistication are the main components of this design style. Focusing on shape, size, and color is the key to any contemporary style. What will result is a fresh, sleek look that will fit just about any room in the home. If a contemporary style seems like the décor choice for you, here are some other important features to consider.

Contemporary Color Choices for Your Room
Neutrals tend to be the main contemporary colors, although modern styles are incorporating colors such as blues and greens. Black is often used to ground things, creating a base for the look. It’s best to keep walls neutral, using tones such as light gray, white, and light tan.

A new trend among contemporary styles is the monochromatic theme. Here you might choose one or two complementary colors such as green and blue and work only with those colors, adding just a punch or two of a neutral color such as black or white. Following this style, you might add white pillows to a modern light-blue chair.

Accentuate the Lines and Geometry of the Room
Distinct lines are an important component of contemporary style. Definite lines in your décor might stem from geometric shapes or bare windows. It’s important not to overcrowd the space, as each and every piece needs to stand on its own and not get incorporated into the whole.

Choose Sleek and Modern Furniture
Look for sleek and modern looks with geometric patterns when you go to furnish your room. In a contemporary-style room, a big plush, comfy sofa might seem out of place. But a sleek wrap-around sofa with exposed peg legs would definitely fit right in. Choose furniture that’s upholstered in neutral tones such as white, black, tan, and gray. You can also consider purchasing contemporary wood furniture. Furniture with frilly accents or pillows, as well as skirts or trim on the bottom, should definitely be avoided.

Contemporary Décor That’s Basic, Bold, and Functional
Remember, with contemporary style, less is more. This means the small, cute, little things in your room need to be eliminated as you focus on the larger objects. Avoid any floral or paisley prints, as well as fringes and ruffles.

Contemporary décor should always be basic, bold, and functional. For instance, a simple large candle on a dish may be all that’s needed on a shelf or table. Or you might decide on another contemporary piece, such as a glass vase with colored balls or marbles. Just limit your accents to one per surface area, and keep some surfaces bare.

Contemporary décor can be a great look for any room in your home and can be achieved with something as simple as new living room or bedroom furniture accents. Be sure this is the style you want, however. It’s notoriously difficult to use contemporary pieces in other decorating styles.

The Swedes were one of the first to arrive on the decorating scene using textiles in artful design. Designers Eye, formed in 1997, is a textile design company leading the way in using only the best in fine fabrics while working with artists, such as Lena Bergstrom. A combination of felted, virgin wool with clean lines and flowing floral mixes make their designer pillows portray elegance wherever displayed.

Madeline Rogers, founder of Mibo, is a TV and Film Art Director who saw a need for a refreshing new tone in home decor accessory products by taking inventory at her own flat in London. British seaside resorts dotted with lazy striped loungers gave her the idea for pillow jackets with large blossoms that resemble a painting instead of oversized flowers. Shaded greens, beiges and grays with only a touch of red create a mellow tone with just the right hint of fun. Handmade and quality fabrics give Mibo’s pillows a charming and chic appearance at the same time.

Nothing spells fun like a pair of friends who can envision a dream, have a great work ethic and absolutely love detail and textiles. Modern Basics came to life when Page Ikeda and Rhonda Holloway, at the wheel, decided to begin a business of bright, stylish and witty accessories for the home. Located in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, the functional, comfortable and very attractive pillows and bedding line have taken the nation by storm since 2001.

A favorite of the Orient and now appearing more and more in the states is the zabuton. Typically square and measuring twenty to thirty inches across, this Japanese floor pillow has been used as a form of floor sitting for centuries in Japan. Designed to have an interior life of eight to ten years with daily use, the muslin fabric is perfect for an active home. Covering the exterior with another fabric can only add atmosphere to your room as these friendly pillows invite casual guests to have a seat.

Decorative pillows are no longer common, factory generated pieces where duplicates are found in every store. Design teams from all over the world are learning that textiles are an exciting way to express fashion and design. Whether you are looking to add drama to a fireplace, fun to a game room or modern style to your living area, pillows, runners and many other small decor selections can make a huge difference in your contemporary home style.

Lena Bergstrom, an award-winning artist from Sweden, sailed into the public eye with her love of fabrics. Designs crafted out of felted, virgin wool holds simplistic, woven designs that can only be viewed as art. Designers Eye is the Swedish manufacturing firm, featuring Lena’s work, one that is vigilant in producing only the best of contemporary Scandinavian designs with clean lines and unique patterns.

Another substantial contributor to the world of textile art is Madeline Rogers of Mibo, located in the UK. A TV and Film Art Director who was bored with the drab surroundings in her own home, set out to see if she could create something new and exciting with home accessories. Attracted to the sea, the large striped lounge chairs and the peaceful outdoors, a picture of soothing blossoms in earth tones and colors encouraged her to develop pillow covers that brought the outdoors inside with flair and her work is now recognized worldwide.

Page Ikeda and Rhonda Holloway, co-owners of Modern Basics, started their business of contemporary home furnishings and gifts in 2001. An appreciation of quality and design sensibilities led them to create basic, popular designs that can be found in stores throughout the United States today. Functional, stylish, fun and comfortable, throw pillows by Modern Basics hits the spot for that extra feeling of freedom.

The Japanese have had a traditional type of seating for centuries that is referred to as the zabuton. Unlike American culture, the zabuton is a pillow type floor mat made out of natural muslin fabric. Because this mat is used daily and in the place of chairs, they are made to last an average of eight to ten years. Americans have become intrigued with this ‘seat-cloth-sphere’ (zabuton translated) and they are beginning to appear in homes across the US. The muslin fabric can be covered with any type of fabric to match the decor of your choice and will stretch its life even further.

Choices in contemporary accessories are huge and expanding even more each day. Decorators are experimenting with exterior fabrics of chic, colorful blocks, paisley and plain suede to reflect all types of styles. Pillows that are round, rectangular or square are gaining popularity in homes and offices to set the mood in furniture groupings. Comfort in style with pillows is a modern day theme not likely to end soon.

The noted Milk Bottle Chandelier, by Remy, is a symbol of a nostalgic time and at the same time, casts useful, subtle glows throughout a room, something you could never find in the 50s. Twelve individual bottles group together to form an inspirational lighted space to hallways, dining areas and kitchens as well as in museums and in commercial buildings. Plastics form a unique configuration of art when used by designers with an insight and direction for beauty, a welcomed trait of Remy.

A must for worldwide designers, this year’s “A Touch of Green”, held in Milan; found Remy’s functional and contemporary designs one of the most popular in lighting designs. Founded in 1993, Droog’s has offered many innovative green design ideas, bringing displays of award winning design to the public through practical and simple solutions, finding the brightest and the best of designers, artists and engineers.

Soliciting only the best of new, young designers, another example of excellence is Droog’s Rody Graumans. Graumans’ 85 Lamps Chandelier has been highlighted in many museums, restaurants and commercial buildings and is included as a permanent collection piece at The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. 85 individual bulbs,using 15-watts each, drop from a jumbled bundle of black cords and sockets, creating a sensational array of beauty and light. Only an artist as Graumans could transform such beauty from these materials, an ingenuity that Droog demands.

Another designer of Droog is Arian Brekveld who contributed to the lighting line with the Droog Soft Hanging Lamp. With Brekveld’s striking background in environmental and industrial projects, this designer uses flexible PVC dip, turning a seemingly traditional lamp into a safe and soft modern object. The lampshade has such a soft appearance making the hanging cord appear to be meshed as one.

Droog continues to light the way with the newest innovative green design ideas, remaining at the forefront of modern lighting design trends. Recognizing that creative design enhances human experience, alters reactions and energizes performances, consumers have learned to count on Droog for their recognition of the mental or human side of sustainable design.

The noted Milk Bottle Chandelier, by Remy, is a symbol of a nostalgic time and at the same time, casts useful, subtle glows throughout a room, something you could never find in the 50s. Twelve individual bottles group together to form an inspirational lighted space to hallways, dining areas and kitchens as well as in museums and in commercial buildings. Plastics form a unique configuration of art when used by designers with an insight and direction for beauty, a welcomed trait of Remy.

Fifteen year old Droog has been making a difference with green innovative products in style and purpose and was once again a popular choice at this year’s ‘A Touch of Green’, held in Milan. A company demanding a change without compromising style, Droog is based in Amsterdam but has independent designers as well as clients all over the world.

Droog regularly taps the talent of young designers including Rody Graumans. Selected for inclusion in Droog’s first design collection, Graumans’ 85 Lamps Chandelier was also chosen for the permanent collection of The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Comprised of 15-watt bulbs and a bundle of black cords and sockets, this stunning display of light is used in many museums. Never could one imagine that simple discards could be arranged in such a graceful way. Less and more, the entire unit only weighs fifty-five pounds.

Creative in everything he touches, Arian Brekveld, designer, has a background in environmental and industrial projects and brings to Droog the Soft Hanging Lamp. By utilizing the old fashioned PVC drip method, he molds the traditional lamp into a soft, flexible globe for safety and beauty. Hanging blissfully from a matching cord, the plastics mesh as one to present a binded marriage and to make one wonder, ‘how do they do that’?

Droog continues to light the way with the newest innovative green design ideas, remaining at the forefront of modern lighting design trends. Recognizing that creative design enhances human experience, alters reactions and energizes performances, consumers have learned to count on Droog for their recognition of the mental or human side of sustainable design.