When we talk about decorating styles, we don't see them as rigid formulas or as a label to be replicated in every corner. At Matuta Home, we like to mix eras, materials, and origins: a Mid-Century lamp can coexist with a rustic table, Wabi-Sabi ceramics, and boho-spirited textiles if there's a thread connecting them.
However, we do find it useful to know the main interior design styles. It helps us put a name to what attracts us, recognize a palette or a way of working with light, and, above all, choose with more discernment. In this guide, we explore thirteen styles, from the most serene to the most expressive. We tell you what we see in each, what elements define them, and how we would bring them into a modern home without turning it into a stage set.
Before choosing a decorating style
We would start by observing the house, not by looking for an image to copy. The light, ceiling height, existing materials, and the way each room is used influence the result much more than any trend.
Before deciding, there are three questions we find particularly useful:
- What atmosphere do you want to create? It can be serene, bright, enveloping, graphic, or more expressive.
- What materials make you feel good? Wood, stone, metal, fibers, ceramics, glass, or natural fabrics produce very different sensations.
- What do you want to keep? An inherited piece of furniture, an artwork, the original flooring, or an item that is already part of your life can become the starting point.
From there, style ceases to be a template and begins to function as a tool to edit the space.
1. Boho style: layers, color, and naturalness
Boho style is one of those we feel closest to our way of mixing. It brings together objects, textiles, and furniture from different origins and allows crafts and vintage pieces to take a prominent place. Natural fibers, rugs, prints, ceramics, and textured woods build a relaxed atmosphere that can range from earthy tones to much more intense colors.
Although it seems like a free-spirited style, for us, the key lies precisely in knowing how to contain it. We like to repeat two or three colors, combine prints of different scales, and leave some surfaces calmer. Thus, a woven rug, a fiber lamp, or a collection of cushions can add depth without competing with each other.
The most common mistake is to confuse visual richness with accumulation. There's no need to cover every wall or fill every corner. When we leave resting areas, each texture is perceived better, and pieces with history find their place more naturally.
2. Japandi style: balance between serenity and function
What interests us about Japandi is the balance between two sensibilities: the restraint associated with Japanese interiors and the warm functionality of Scandinavian design. Both share a respect for materials, simple forms, and uncluttered spaces, although Japandi often introduces more marked contrasts and lower-height furniture.
Light and dark woods, matte ceramics, linen, paper, stone, and neutral colors form its vocabulary. Objects are few and have a reason for being there. We especially like the importance it places on emptiness: that space around a table, a lamp, or a vessel allows for a better understanding of its scale and texture.
When we bring it into a home, we don't believe everything should be beige, smooth, and completely new. We prefer to introduce some wood with grain, a handmade piece, or a surface that shows small variations. Without these nuances, Japandi can lose the depth that makes it interesting and become just a tidy image.
3. Nordic or Scandinavian style: light and everyday functionality
Nordic style arises from a very specific relationship with light and domestic life. Light tones help to extend brightness; wood adds warmth, and textiles soften interiors designed to be practical and pleasant to live in.
We recognize it by its simple lines, light woods, off-whites, soft grays, and desaturated colors. Also, by lighting distributed in several points. Instead of relying on a single ceiling lamp, it combines table lamps, floor lamps, and small spotlights that change the atmosphere throughout the day.
Although often associated with Japandi, we see Scandinavian as a brighter, more flexible, and everyday style. It admits color, graphic pieces, and some playful gestures. To prevent it from feeling impersonal, we like to break up overly coordinated sets with an antique object, an artwork, or a texture with more presence. This small tension makes the space feel lived-in.
4. Mid-Century Modern style: clear lines and organic forms
Mid-Century Modern is part of the identity of our selection. We are interested in its furniture because it combines utility, proportion, and visual lightness. Its elevated legs, clean profiles, and soft curves allow a piece to have character without hardening the space.
Woods like teak or walnut, glass, metal, and colored upholstery appear frequently. We also find low sideboards, tables whose structures are understood at a glance, and lamps that function almost like small sculptures.
When incorporating Mid-Century into a modern home, we prefer to do so with a few pieces. A sideboard, a pair of armchairs, or a lamp can organize an entire room. If we accumulate too many icons, reddish woods, and period prints, we run the risk of turning it into a recreation. We prefer to mix it with linen, artisanal ceramics, a sober rug, or contemporary art. This way, it retains its identity and, at the same time, belongs to the present.
5. Wabi-Sabi style: the beauty of matter and time
Wabi-Sabi is another sensibility that best explains our way of looking at interiors. More than a decorative formula, it expresses a Japanese-rooted vision that finds value in simplicity, irregularity, and what shows the passage of time.
We are attracted to wood, stone, clay, fibers, mineral renders, and natural fabrics because they are never perceived in a completely uniform way. The patina of a table, the uneven edge of a vessel, or the texture of a wall provide information that an immaculate surface cannot reproduce.
However, Wabi-Sabi does not mean carelessness. For us, it requires particularly rigorous selection: few pieces, balanced proportions, and materials that can age well. Light also matters. When it falls sideways on a surface, it reveals its reliefs and makes those small imperfections part of the composition instead of seeming like an accident.
6. Mediterranean style: light, freshness, and local materials
What interests us about the Mediterranean style is its relationship with the climate, the landscape, and a less rigid way of life. Light plays a central role, but it does not appear unfiltered: it is softened by whitewashed walls, blinds, light curtains, and surfaces that reflect without excessive shine.
Stone, clay, wood, lime, linen, cotton, and vegetable fibers form a natural base. Warm whites can coexist with sand, terracotta, olive green, or blue, although we don't believe blue is essential. The Mediterranean character comes more from the material and the way the interior relates to the exterior than from a thematic palette.
In an urban home, we would introduce it with a few gestures: a wooden table, ceramics, a fiber lamp, and washed fabrics. We prefer to avoid the literal addition of arches, blue stripes, and nautical motifs. When working with few references and allowing the light to complete the composition, the result feels much more authentic.
7. Vintage style: pieces with history in a modern home
Vintage decor is at the heart of what we do at Matuta Home. When we select an antique piece, we are not just interested in how old it is. We observe its design, proportion, materials, condition, and how it can coexist with objects and furniture from other eras.
We like vintage because it breaks the uniformity of a home composed only of new elements. A ceramic lamp, a mirror, a side table, or an armchair can add a layer of time that is difficult to imitate. But we also don't believe everything should be old. To prevent the space from being anchored in a particular era, we prefer to mix these pieces with simpler forms and leave some breathing room around them.
If you want to delve deeper into this perspective, in our guide on vintage decoration and the charm of vintage style, we explain how to recognize it and incorporate it into a modern interior. You can also browse the Matuta Home vintage collection, where we gather furniture, lighting, and objects individually selected for their character.
8. Modern style: clarity, function, and absence of unnecessary ornamentation
In decoration, the word "modern" is used very broadly. We understand it as a language of clear lines, functional forms, and reduced ornamentation. Wood, glass, steel, leather, and smooth surfaces can coexist in compositions where the structure of each piece is shown without artifice.
This does not mean that a modern interior has to be cold. Warmth depends on the tone of the wood, the lighting, the textiles, and the balance between hard and soft surfaces. A generous rug or beautifully draped curtains can completely change the perception of a very linear ensemble.
Nor do we associate modernity with emptiness or an exclusively black and white palette. Function should order the space, not eliminate its personality. We find it more interesting when an artwork, several personal objects, or a piece from another era interrupt the perfection of the whole.
9. Art Deco style: geometry, contrast, and measured brilliance
Art Deco has a very recognizable graphic presence. It uses geometry, symmetry, and contrast, and combines warm metals, dark woods, glass, mirrors, lacquers, and densely textured fabrics. It is a very powerful style, which is why we like to incorporate it with some measure.
In a modern home, we would choose a lamp, a geometric mirror, a side table, or a combination of brass and dark wood. A single piece can transform the interpretation of a room, especially if it appears against a calm background.
When too many shiny elements, velvets, patterns, and intense colors are combined, the result can become theatrical. We are more interested in the interpretation often called Neo Art Deco: it retains the precision of forms and the taste for materials, but reduces ornamentation. In this way, it coexists better with contemporary, artisanal, or vintage furniture.
10. Industrial style: exposed structure and robust materials
The industrial style takes inspiration from workshops, factories, and rehabilitated spaces where the structure and installations remain visible. Metal, concrete, brick, wired glass, leather, and solid-looking wood form its most recognizable language.
When we imagine it in a home, we are more interested in a specific presence than a complete recreation. A large-scale lamp, a table with an iron base, or a light shelving unit can introduce enough tension, even in an apartment that doesn't have the architecture of an old industrial space.
An excess of black, metal, and hard surfaces can create an unfriendly atmosphere. We would balance it with wood, textiles, warm lighting, and some curved forms. We would also avoid adding false structural elements merely to imitate the style. Industrial style is more convincing when it builds upon what the architecture already offers.
11. Modern rustic style: natural materials without nostalgia
The new rustic style retains stone, aged wood, fibers, and natural fabrics, but eliminates much of the ornamentation associated with the traditional country house. This more uncluttered interpretation allows us to better appreciate the construction, the thickness of a board, or the irregularity of a surface.
We like to start with lime, sand, earth, and wood tones. On this base, a robust table, modern-lined chairs, ceramics, and a sculptural lamp can coexist. The contrast between old elements and cleaner designs prevents the space from feeling nostalgic.
You don't have to live in a rural house to use this language. In an urban apartment, a piece of wood with patina, washed linen, or a large-scale vessel can introduce that connection with matter. As with other styles, we prefer to select a few elements rather than literally adding rustic signs.
12. Warm minimalism: fewer pieces, more texture
If we had to choose a style that summarizes much of the Matuta Home universe, it would probably be warm minimalism. We are interested in reducing the number of elements without sacrificing the feeling of shelter. Wood, stone, wool, linen, ceramics, and broken colors allow for the creation of serene interiors that still have depth.
When there are few objects, each proportion becomes more visible. The scale of a table, the height of a lamp, or the drape of a curtain gain more importance. We also pay close attention to transitions: how a rug meets the floor, how a curve compensates a straight volume, or how a texture interrupts a smooth wall.
For us, reducing does not mean leaving a room incomplete. It means removing what doesn't contribute and allowing the materials to sustain the atmosphere. That's why we prefer to mix matte finishes, reliefs, and some patinated pieces rather than choosing everything new, smooth, and perfectly uniform.
13. Eclectic style: mixing eras with a common thread
Eclectic style interests us because it resembles homes that are built over time. It mixes eras, origins, and languages, but it needs a structure that avoids a sense of randomness. That is also the most difficult part.
Order can arise from a limited palette, the repetition of a material, or a common proportion. An antique table, modern chairs, an artisanal lamp, and a contemporary artwork can coexist if they share scale, color temperature, or a balanced relationship with the architecture.
When we mix, we try to ensure there's a hierarchy. Not all pieces should compete to become the main focus. We prefer to choose one or two strong presences and let the others complement them. It also helps to separate the most expressive objects a bit. For us, eclecticism isn't about bringing together everything we like, but about editing it until the differences start to make sense together.
Can different decorating styles be mixed?
Our answer is yes. In fact, the interiors that interest us most rarely belong entirely to a single style. We can mix a Mid-Century piece of furniture with Wabi-Sabi ceramics and boho textiles if the palette maintains continuity and the scales are balanced.
A simple formula is to choose a dominant language, a secondary one, and some pieces that serve as a contrast. The first defines the atmosphere; the second introduces nuances; the contrast prevents the result from being too predictable. We don't see it as a mathematical rule, but as a practical way to organize decisions.
Which decorating styles are currently attracting the most interest?
Among the styles with the most search interest in Spain are boho, Japandi, Nordic, Mid-Century, Wabi-Sabi, and Mediterranean. Not all respond to the same sensibility: some seek a more serene and essential home; others, a more expressive mix or a more visible relationship with materials.
We prefer to use trends as a clue, never as an instruction. The choice that remains is the one that fits with the architecture and with the way of living in the space.
What is the difference between vintage style and retro style?
When we talk about vintage, we refer to pieces manufactured in previous decades and preserved until today. Retro describes new or more recent objects that deliberately retrieve the aesthetic of another era. Both can coexist, but a vintage piece provides real materials, construction, and patina; a retro piece interprets that language.
Is cozy style a decorating style?
We understand cozy, first and foremost, as a welcoming atmosphere. It can appear in a Nordic, rustic, boho, or minimalist home through low-level lighting, pleasant textiles, warm colors, and a layout that invites lingering. That's why we find it more useful to treat it as a transversal quality rather than a closed style.
How to find the style that suits you
If we had to give you a single recommendation, we wouldn't start by asking what style is in fashion. We would start by observing what you want to keep, what materials are repeated in the images you save, what type of light attracts you, and how much visual stimulation you find comfortable.
Then we would choose a palette, a main material, and a piece capable of setting the tone. The rest can be built little by little. This is how we also work our selection: we don't look for everything to respond to the same label, but for each piece to have a reason to be there and to be able to coexist with other eras and origins.
At Matuta Home, we bring together furniture, lighting, artisan objects, and vintage pieces for interiors that are formed with time and discernment. We like to think that a home finds its identity in the same way: not by following a complete formula, but through a succession of conscious decisions that end up feeling like your own.