Living Room in Hi-Tech Style

In this style, the Millennium Bridge in London and the Miyo Viaduct in France were built. Such an interior will appeal to those who live in step with the times.

However, many people in Russia refuse this style because it seems to them that it doesn't quite reach the warmth and comfort we need. On the other hand, hi-tech is good for its practicality and ergonomics. How to make this style work in the living room design so that the room doesn't lose its coziness? Read on.

Features of the Style

Hi-tech has several characteristic recognizable features:

1. Simplicity of geometric shapes. Square is square, circle is circle. Without unnecessary concavities and smoothed contours.

2. Minimal or restrained decoration.

3. Plenty of free space, large windows.

4. Decentralized lighting.

5. Technological design, pipes.

6. Rectangular simple doors. As an option — made of glass or metal.

7. Furniture with chrome surfaces, made of metal, with leatherette finishing. This also includes rotating seats, bent legs, multi-level design.
   
   

In hi-tech style, all items have practical application. Colors are usually contrast and clear, simple — black, gray, white, metal, red. Contrast play is a favorite 'trick'.

It's important that hi-tech in interior design has two natural branches of development — bio-tech and eco-tech. In these styles, technology blends well with nature, and they can be tested in your living room.

With elements of wood and greenery, it's easier to recreate a cozy atmosphere — bio-tech is not too different from hi-tech. Essentially, it's the 'brother' of hi-tech.

Which living room is easier to decorate in hi-tech style

1. Hi-tech fits better into spacious rooms with large windows and glass partitions.
2. If your living room is very small and you want to make it as functional and smartly use every centimeter as possible, then carefully planned hi-tech can also help achieve this.
3. Layout implies asymmetry, a combination of dynamic zigzags and straight forms.
   
   

Refreshes rooms of non-standard shape, handles asymmetry and elongated structures

Details of finishing: floor, walls, ceiling

In hi-tech interior finishing, there are several principles:

1. Form is prioritized over color.

2. Lack of decoration is compensated by texture — light play, shine, wood, brick, glass, metal.

3. Base color — white, gray, black.

4. All finishing colors are not complex but bright and clean. For example, red, blue, yellow, and green. However, ochre or terracotta are less typical due to color complexity.

5. Almost no pattern.

6. Surface texture is smooth and clean.
   
   

Play of smooth textures and glossy surfaces

Important: in hi-tech, there is a strict ban on artistic parquet, floral wallpapers, cornices, plant patterns, and borders.

Finishing options welcomed include: brick masonry, glossy paint, 3D textured wallpapers, ceramic tiles, stone, laminate and linoleum, and suspended ceilings.

For floor, ceiling, and wall finishing, texture can imitate:

1. Concrete grainy surface.

2. Glass.

3. Natural plaster.

4. Plastic.

5. Brick masonry.

6. Natural stone.
   
   

Surfaces can be glossy or matte. In the case of matte, a "construction" roughness looks best. The most common wall decoration option is one-color light or gray wallpapers, paint, decorative glossy plaster. Sometimes, if the room is very bright, dark gray or even black is used as a base.

In color and pattern, it's better to stick to monochromaticity. Hi-tech tolerates geometric patterns but with them, it's also difficult — they shouldn't be bright or fill all the space, but rather accent.

Interestingly, hi-tech allows creating the most ergonomic zoning of the living room using sliding semi-transparent partitions. Generally, the fewer doors in such a hall, the better. If you choose a door, the best option is a large plastic or glass one on a metal frame. Wooden doors are not suitable and are hardly used.

Floors are often not covered with carpets, but since carpets in our climate are not only decor but also a warming element, it is acceptable to use a monochromatic rectangular carpet. It should not be large in size and is sufficient where there is seating — near the sofa or in the workspace under the table (if the living room is zoned this way).

Which furniture reflects the principle of hi-tech

In hi-tech style, technology takes precedence over furniture. For a living room in hi-tech style, this can be a TV, stereo system, and other equipment.

In an ideal setting for this style, technology should be a central element — both as decoration and as the basis. In classic styles, technology is usually 'hidden' (e.g., in niches) or simply covered by the elegance of furniture, but in hi-tech, there is an intentional 'highlighting' of technologies.

Furniture for a living room in hi-tech style is chosen based on the following criteria:

1. Minimalist form, straight lines and simple shapes. Rectangular facades and seats are welcomed.

2. Missing patterns, carving, or decorations.

3. Materials — wood, metal, glass.

4. Upholstery — leatherette (eco-leather, arpatex) and natural monochromatic fabrics, if patterned — ornamental or geometric.

5. Silver or glossy hardware.

6. Smooth surface with glossy shine.

In terms of construction, the following is suitable:

1. Furniture-transformers. These are cabinets that turn into beds, sofas with extendable tables, and so on.

2. Sliding systems. These are often used by designers in hi-tech style.

3. Open shelves, including warehouse-type metal ones.

4. Open shelves and bookcases made of wood or MDF. They should be lightweight.

5. Adjustable furniture — a rotating seat, a table that changes height.
   
   

Traditional cabinets and wardrobes definitely won't fit. The heavier, more patterned, complex, or textured furniture with a more rough shape will be less in line with this style.

Lighting and window treatments — the main point

Remember that the foundation of hi-tech is the combination of space and abundance of light. Therefore, windows should let in as much sunlight as possible, and lighting fixtures in significant areas — as helpers. Often, there is not enough natural light from windows or central chandeliers. What can be done:

1. Install a table lamp or wall sconce in each area of the living room.

1. Install a multi-level lighting system: lights are mounted directly in the ceiling aligned with furniture.

1. Install hidden lighting — lamps and fixtures behind panels, as backlighting behind mirrors and paintings.

1. Zone the living room with string lights — roughly divide into a TV area and a workspace. String lights give the right plasticity to hi-tech and allow avoiding partitions.

2. Install table lamps with multiple halogen bulbs — this adds warmth. Especially useful in the TV area, near the sofa or armchairs.

3. Install soffits — in the ceiling or walls.
   
   

Shades are chosen from plastic, steel, or colored matte glass.

Not suitable: large chandeliers, crystal elements, textile shades. Lighting fixtures should be modeled (often these are semi-metallic items on springs), and lamps — mounted on brackets.

What to do with windows? Classic curtains and voiles don't fit here. The standard option is blinds. They are often supplemented with curtains — still, one wants a cozy atmosphere rather than an office feeling. But then they should be monochromatic and light enough not to block sunlight.

Decorating the living room

As decoration, you can use:

1. Different fasteners and cords — just leave them exposed.

2. Geometrically shaped vases.

1. Posters with schematic drawings in the spirit of constructivism.

1. Metal spheres.
   
   

If you love hi-tech but also really want decoration, there is one small trick. At the turn of the 1990s, hi-tech began to gain popularity. Then two additional branches emerged — bio-tech and eco-tech. This is the same hi-tech in the form of a draw to high technologies, but it combines this with nature. In such an interior, elements of vegetation and technology don't compete but coexist peacefully.

Therefore, it is acceptable to lean towards eco-tech, for example, and add planters with plants or a floral pattern as a small accent to the minimalist interior.

Textiles, tableware, and decor should be smooth and glossy:

1. Tableware — made of matte glass or porcelain, without patterns and in simple forms — a sphere, cone, cylinder.

2. Mirrors — in simple frames, monochromatic and smooth.

1. Photos, avant-garde paintings or graphics — in black-and-white frames or without any frames.

1. Figurines made of glass and metal.
   
   

Hi-tech can be very different — restrained and vivid, spacious and compact. There's no need to limit yourself with rigid frames; through it, you can and should express yourself.

Design: Marina Kutyuzova

Design: Anna Muravina

Design: Alexander Babadjanian

Design: Dmitry Antyushin and Irina Sinelnikova

See below in the video how they decorated an apartment in hi-tech style, taking into account the owner's taste and lifestyle. Also, details that form this direction.