What Is Modern Organic Style? 12 Tips for Embracing It

If you adore the simplicity of modern interiors but also love a little rustic flair in a room, allow us to introduce you to the modern organic aesthetic. Contrast is a major component of this look, and we're not talking about contrast in terms of color here.

Modern organic interiors embrace the juxtaposition between human-made and natural materials. When you combine geometric shapes, clean lines, and iron with earth tones, raw wood, and organic textiles, the end result is one cohesive and inviting space.

Let's take a look at what the modern organic style involves and how to embrace the look in your own home.

What Is Modern Organic Style?

Modern organic is a hybrid between modern, minimalist, and earthy interior styles. It highlights quality over quantity but still embraces warmth, nature, and coziness. In a modern organic house, you'll find a mix of furniture with sleek lines and manufactured materials like steel, but next to sustainable fabrics like linen and cotton, plants, light wood furniture, and raw stone.

Key Elements of Modern Organic Style

Understanding the basic components of modern organic style will help you apply the look to your own home. Let's dissect what this design movement involves.

Natural Elements

As obvious as it sounds, embracing a modern organic style involves focusing on organic elements, like furniture and accessories made from materials you'd find in nature, and in their unaltered state. Think stone vases that aren't polished, driftwood that's never been stained before, and raw linen upholstery rather than polyester blends.

Relaxed Minimalism

Modern organic interiors have a relaxed appearance, but there is still plenty of breathing room and white space for your eyes to rest. You don't have to be a hardcore minimalist to lean into this style, and you can still collect items that exist in your home simply for beauty's sake, like art.

Balance

Since modern organic style is a hybrid look, achieving it is a balancing act. If you add in too many organic touches, you might find that your home looks more bohemian than modern organic. But if you focus solely on modern pieces, your home may seem more industrial. You need a combination of both and in nearly equal amounts to achieve a modern organic style.

12 Tips for Decorating With Organic Modern Design

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Lean Into Light Wood

@ann.living / Instagram

One pillar of modern organic style is embracing natural elements, and that includes wood. Rather than opting for dark-stained wood furniture, consider going with a lighter stain for more of an as-found-in-nature look.
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Bring in Organic Shapes

Michelle Boudreau Design

Modern interiors tend to feature furniture with sleek lines and geometric shapes. To break up the uniformity, consider bringing in wallpaper that features organic shapes. Organic shapes are more similar to what you'd find in nature and often have a curved appearance.
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Stick to a Warm-Neutral Color Palette

Becca Interiors

Honing a modern organic interior style often lies in the color palette. When in doubt, turn to nature when choosing your furniture and finishings. Beige, rust, brown, and cream are all warm and soothing colors that merge minimalism with bohemian style, both of which the modern organic style encompasses.
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Play With Color

Michelle Boudreau Design

Contrary to what anyone else may tell you, you don't need to stick to beige and white when trending towards modern organic. If you want to embrace this style, but you thrive off of color, consider incorporating green into your home. This natural hue adds interest in a simultaneously bold and understated way. Pink also often appears in nature in the form of blooms and sunsets, so don't stray away from this hue, either.

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Choose a Gray With Warm Undertones

Brophy Interiors / Photo by Hugo Landa Garcia

While cream and beige are iconic modern organic colors, they lean light and airy. For a more moody look, opt for a gray color palette but with warm undertones like you'd find in nature. Warm grays look wonderful with light wood accents.
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Bring the Outside In

Brophy Interiors

If your style currently leans minimal and industrial modern, you're already working with a great canvas. Just a few simple touches can give your home a modern organic flair. For example, try adding pieces of earthenware pottery with floral branches tucked inside.
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Decorate With House Plants

Erin Williamson Design

Live houseplants take the crown in terms of organic decor. Dispersing them throughout your home is a great way to add a little color to a room without straying too far from a nature-inspired color palette.
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Engage Your Senses

Design by Emily Bowser / Photo by Sara Ligorria-Tramp

Achieving a modern organic style in your home requires more than just paying attention to sight. Touch and smell are also important components. Try pairing different organic textures together, such as wood and suede. Additionally, reed diffusers that emit calming scents from nature, such as lavender or cedar, will help you embody the style further.

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Choose Natural Stones

Rebecca Rollins Interiors

Investing in counters made from natural elements like marble or soapstone will go a long way in terms of achieving a modern organic look. But if you want a more durable counter material, quartz is a great alternative.
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Opt for Natural Fibers

Whittney Parkinson Design

Sometimes, all a room is missing is layers of textiles. Natural fibers like linen and cotton are great go-to options for achieving a soft look that will contrast well against more modern materials like metal and furniture with bold geometric shapes.
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Blur the Line Between Indoor & Outdoor

The Home Consultant Inc.

Modern organic is more than just an interior style; it's a lifestyle. So don't just focus on your indoor living environment. Curating outdoor entertaining spaces will help you embrace nature in your everyday life.
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Think of Windows as Art

Will Brown Interiors

If you're fortunate enough to live in an area surrounded by trees, take full advantage. Installing large picture windows will transform your own backyard into an art piece you can admire from the inside.