Mission Style Interior Design for Living Rooms | Home Guides

Homeowners who admire a vintage style of decorating are sometimes drawn to mission-style design. Known for its heavy oak furniture with straight lines and minimal details, this nature-inspired decor is often used in living room spaces. There are a myriad of ways to accent a mission-style living room decor to make an interior that has a historical look and, yet, due to its minimalist nature, modern appeal. The outcome is a space that is attractive and functional to enjoy for years.

Earthy Color Scheme

Use hues from nature as the primary color scheme for the mission-style living room. Wall colors, such as green, blue, tan and yellow, are perfect backdrops for this type of decor. Colors that are muted, or have a slight touch of gray combined in the mix, are best to create a feeling of antiquity to the space. Mission interiors often have an abundance of dark woodwork and built-in features, so for an interior with an authentic look, select accent colors in muted brighter shades for items ranging from area rugs to draperies.

Straight Furniture Lines

Incorporate medium-oak, stained furniture pieces with little ornamentation. Choose a couch and chairs with leather upholstery and exposed vertical slat frames. The open slat nature of this type of furniture gives an otherwise heavy piece a lighter visual look as well as being a quintessential hallmark of the mission style time period. Pieces with exposed joinery are especially reminiscent of this era. Select additional pieces, such as coffee tables and end tables, with heavy oak, bronze hardware and vertical slats as well to coordinate with the entire furniture grouping and give the space an optimal mission-style appearance.

Specialty Lighting Fixtures

Add lighting in a myriad of mission styles to provide functional and accent light to the room. Mission-style lighting is hallmarked by its angular lines, straight design, bronze finishes and use of specialty glass or varieties with an amber glow. Place a golden mica-shade lamp on each living room end table to provide light to the conversational grouping. Hang an angular-glass shaped, stained glass chandelier from the ceiling to provide overall light to the space. Because this style also takes cues from nature, add a bronze-finished base lamp with an acorn silhouette shade, such as a stand lamp, to a corner chair area for a touch of mission-style color and design.

Simple Decorative Accessories

Accent the decor with a few accessories that highlight the mission-style era. Hang a large Art Nouveau print in a simplistic medium-oak frame above a couch or fireplace to create a focal point. Use a big area rug under the conversational area of the room featuring angular, geometric designs for a touch of pattern and texture. Add pillows to a couch in nature-inspired hues of green or brown to create visual interest. Because of the simplicity of the decor, keep accessories at a minimum for best overall results.

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