20 Top Organic Modern Interior Design Decorating Tips

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Organic modern interior design is an increasingly popular home design style. It’s become my decorating style of choice and I love making small tweaks in my home to reflect this update. Today, I’m excited to share how to decorate your organic modern home with these 20 decorating tips!

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Organic modern design has become increasingly popular as designers like Amber Interiors, Joanna Gaines and Sean Anderson lean into showcasing organic modern decor. It is such a classic style because it highlights so many different ways to use organic design in conjunction with other interior decorating styles.

What is Organic Modern Interior Design?

As I’ve transitioned my home over the last year, I’ve covered a few different rooms in my home as examples of organic modern interior design. You can find links to these articles at the end of this post.

But what is modern organic interior design?

It is a beautiful combination of two seemingly opposing styles.

1. Modern Design: highlights clean lines, minimalistic decorating, and high functionality.
2. Organic Design: highlights natural elements, inclusion of rough or rustic character pieces and comfort or coziness.

When these two decorating styles are combined, it results in a home that feels up-to-date and modern, but comfortable and practical at the same time.

What does organic mean in decorating?

Before we dive into my top 20 decorating tips for the organic modern style, let’s define what is organic design.

In one of my most popular YouTube videos, I’ve received the question of what the word “organic” actually means in decorating.

Organic in today’s world typically refers to healthy or all natural options. Organic food, organic clothing, organic cleaners and more are sought after as we, as a society, try to make healthier choices.

However, in decorating, the word organic isn’t related to health. Instead, it can be defined by nature-oriented, or “from the earth”.

Organic elements that can be included in decorating a home are things like:

• Clay pottery
• Unpainted natural wood
• Linen, cotton, wool, jute or sisal materials
• Live plants
• Natural stones like marble, granite, or soapstone

Basically, if you can find it in nature, then it makes sense to incorporate it into organic design.

How to Decorate with Organic Modern Style Interior Design

Now that we’ve defined “organic” a bit better, what is organic modern style?

It is a beautiful combination of those earthy and natural elements + modern accents or conveniences.

Let’s take my organic modern living room as an example.

Within this space, I have a modern (clean straight lined) sofa, modern accent chairs, and a modern color palette.

Conversely, you’ll find organic elements like a rustic wood bench and side table, wood beam header, wool and cotton blankets, clay pottery and live plants to complement the modern pieces.

Organic Modern Style Interpretation

One of the things I love most about organic modern style is that it is very open to interpretation. If you enjoy more modern elements, then you can use larger pieces of furniture and decor to anchor the style in a modern design.

Otherwise, use more rustic elements as the main focal points and intersperse modern accents sparingly.

In my basement, the majority of the furnishings and decor are modern.

However, I’ve added in a couple of rustic wood accents and some live plants to incorporate organic elements. This helps ground the space so that it doesn’t lean too heavily on the modern side.

It also humbles the space so it doesn’t feel pretentious or overly fussy.

20 Elements of an Organic Home Design

I hope that those examples give you a bit more context into organic modern interior design. Now, let’s dive into 20 elements of organic modern home design.

You can use this list to simplify the design style into manageable generalizations. From there, play around with the decor you already own, incorporate new pieces with intentionality, and remove items that no longer fit your style.

All of these elements are an easy addition to organic modern interior decorating.

1. Neutral color palette
2. Live plants
3. Natural (of the earth) materials
4. Highly textured elements
5. Rough hewn wood accents
6. Organic clean lines (or simplistic curves)
7. Intentional layers
8. Earthy color palette to accent main neutrals
9. Minimalist base with functional additions
10. Vintage or antique accents for extra character
11. Unique modern lighting
12. Heavy use of materials like linen, jute, and sisal
13. Inclusion of natural stone or pottery accents
14. Reliant on a mixture of old and new
15. Contrasts modern aesthetics with layers of cozy organic materials
16. Focuses on function and comfort over high design
17. Elevates rustic accents as focal points
18. Gives a nod to nature with whimsical and unkempt styling
19. Highlights utilitarian items as part of the design (ex: cutting boards and mortar and pestles above)
20. Combines opposing styles to create a humble, but beautiful, environment

Organic Minimalist Interior Design v. Modern Organic Maximalist Design

Now, within the organic modern interior design style we have two main mindsets.

1. Minimalist interiors (more modern)
2. Maximalist design (more organic)

It really doesn’t matter whether you are a minimalist, or a maximalist, when it comes to interior design. Either way, you can still create an organic modern home.

I tend to fall somewhere in between. I love cozy layers and highlighting natural elements in designated spaces like shelving or cabinetry.

However, in utilitarian spaces like a kitchen, or high traffic rooms like the living room, I prefer to keep flat surfaces clutter free and easy to move about.

If you tend to prefer a more minimalistic look, then use architectural design, like wood ceiling beams, to bring in organic elements to modern furnishings. This adds that contrasting style without creating clutter.

If you prefer a more layered, maximalist design, then you can mix and match decorations with intentionality so that one style doesn’t overpower the other.

Learn More About Organic Modern Design

You can learn more about how I’ve incorporated organic modern interior design into specific rooms in my home in the posts below.

• Design an Organic Modern Living Room in 7 Steps
• Organic Modern Bathroom Design Plans
• 7 Effortless Organic Home Design Tips
• 21 Organic Modern Christmas Decor Ideas
• Organic Modern Winter Mantel Decor

I hope you’ve enjoyed learning more about organic modern interior design!

How would you design your home? Do you focus more on modern anchors with organic accents? Or do you prefer heavy organic design with sparing modern touches?

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