Contemporary design derives much of its boldness from pairing neutral colors, black and white with a restrained, artistic use of brighter colors. With a muted background of furniture, drapes, rugs and walls, carefully chosen colors will pop with dramatic results. For instance, consider leaving walls neutral except for one painted in your favorite vibrant hue. Because the Contemporary style stresses a minimalist approach, you can also use color to define areas and add pizzazz, such as painting a door or ceiling.

Keep floors basic with pale wood, vinyl, laminate or tile. Friends of the environment can use reclaimed wood for this type of flooring. Rugs should be a solid color or adorned with geometric patterns. If you want a more natural approach, hardy sisal and jute rugs are a popular trend.

There are two ways to approach lighting within the contemporary room. One way is to make the light, rather than the fixture, the focus. Accomplish this by placing spotlights out of sight, leaving their bright shafts of light to slant across walls for theatric effect. This is particularly useful for highlighting a favorite painting or photograph. If you want to focus attention of plants or sculptures, consider placing lights underneath your target, for a fresh uplight effect that casts shadow and adds interesting depth to the room. Another way to explore your lighting possibilities is to let the fixtures function as art and accessories. Along with chandeliers and pendants, track and recessed lighting contributes an artsy, streamlined feel to ceilings and is a popular trend in contemporary design.

For the most part, use neutral-toned furniture to unify your look. Lines should be smooth and geometric and free of carvings and decorative frills. Cotton, jute, wool and linen are all ideal fabrics for upholstery and comfortable to recline against. As ecological awareness reaches new levels, the contemporary furniture market is crafting more and more pieces from recycled items or sustainable lumber, like the items found on the GREENCulture furniture site. Woods like beech, birch and pine are used, with plywood and medium density fiberboards gaining recognition as easy-to-clean, low maintenance alternatives to solid woods. Other contemporary materials commonly found in this furniture style include steel, glass, plastics and stone.

With contemporary interiors, resist the urge to fill open space with more accessories. The open space is an accessory that is crucial to creating an airy, structural environment in keeping with contemporary design’s minimalist look. Accents should be spare and include textured drapes and textiles that lack busy or fluid patterns. For this reason, sticking with two-tones is a safe bet. Apply this to any flower arrangements you plan to use, including placing a few bold and big blooms in glass vases and avoiding intricate bundles of buds. If you want to supply plush comfort to your deep seated chairs and sofas, throw on a few pillows in solid colors that retain a geometric shape.