Dezeen Magazine

Azabu Hills Residence in Tokyo by Karimoku Case

Eight living rooms with tactile organic modern interiors

For our latest lookbook, we've collected eight living rooms from Denmark to Japan that have been decorated in an organic modern style, featuring natural wood and stone details.

The deceptively simple organic modern style combines modernist interior designs with natural materials and earthy colours.

Plenty of wood, in the form of flooring, panelling and furniture give these interiors an organic feel. Designers have also chosen stone to create the same effect, with stone floors, tables and sofa bases adding an elegant and natural touch.

All of these living rooms also have discrete and neutral colour palettes, with hues of brown, beige, tan and various white and cream shades creating restful environments.

This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen's archive. For more inspiration, see previous lookbooks featuring floors that connect the indoors and outdoors and interiors with mezzanines.


Wood panelling in Heatherhill Beach House
Photo by Jonas Bjerre-Poulsen

Heatherhill Beach House, Denmark, by Norm Architects

Danish studio Norm Architects designed the cedar-clad Heatherhill Beach House to resemble a traditional barn, with a material palette that leans heavily on wood and brick.

In the ocean-facing living room, the studio combined a brick floor and wooden wall with modernist furniture, including the slender graphic Valerie Objects Hanging Lamp by design studio Muller Van Severen.

Find out more about Heatherhill Beach House ›


The Maker's Barn by Hutch Design outside London
Photo by Helen Cathcart

The Maker's Barn, UK, by Hutch Design

Originally a concrete pig shed, Hutch Design transformed The Maker's Barn into a holiday rental using "natural and honest" materials.

Its living, dining and kitchen area features a concrete fireplace, bulbous soft furniture and a shaggy beige rug in front of floor-to-ceiling windows that underline the house's connection to the landscape.

Find out more about The Maker's Barn ›


White-painted loft in Tribeca
Photo by David Mitchell

Tribeca loft, US, by Timothy Godbold

This Tribeca loft inside a former textile factory has a dramatic double-height living room surrounded by large windows. To make the room feel more intimate, interior designer Timothy Godbold added sheer curtains and softly rounded furniture.

A discrete colour palette of cream and beige hues is offset with plenty of green plants, while a central stone table and stone sofa base add a rustic touch.

Find out more about Tribeca loft ›


Interior of a London home extension by Will Gamble Architects
Photo by Ståle Eriksen

Palm Springs, UK, by Will Gamble Architects

Named for the California desert town, the Palm Springs extension in London draws on the area's specific type of modernism. This is exemplified by the use of natural materials and floor-to-ceiling glazing.

The sandy hues in the living room also nod to the arid Palm Springs surroundings, with a sage green sofa adding more colour to the interior.

Find out more about Palm Springs ›


Photo by by Rory Gardiner

835 High Street, Australia, by Carr

The interiors of this flat in Melbourne form a softer contrast to its gridded concrete facade. A rounded sofa with undulating shapes is juxtaposed against branch-like side tables and designer Hans J Wegner's classic Flag Halyard chair.

Textile accents in the form of a patterned rug and a fur throw also help make the room feel cosier.

Find out more about 835 High Street ›


A living room inside Amity Street Residence
Photo by Sean Davidson

Amity Street Residence, US, by Selma Akkari and Rawan Muqaddas

The living room of Amity Street Residence in Brooklyn, New York, houses a collection of sculptural furniture pieces that give it an art-gallery feel.

Here, designer Isamu Noguchi's Akari rice lamp with its bamboo stem matches a wooden chair and plinth and contrasts with a green marble table.

"A warm colour palette was deployed to unify the spaces by way of gentle oak floors, cream-hued walls that contrasted with dark stone, and stained-wood inset bookshelves," said designer Selma Akkari.

Find out more about Amity Street Residence ›


Azabu Hills Residence in Tokyo by Karimoku Case
Photo by Tomooki Kengaku

Azabu Hills Residence, Japan, by Karimoku Case

Azabu Hills Residence (above and main image) sits on a hilltop in Tokyo and was designed to have a "calm and serene atmosphere". Local zelkova wood was used for its custom-made furniture, including an ovoid coffee table.

A clever use of materials enhances the organic modern interior, with a glossy, lacquered brown vase standing out against the textured rug and sofa.

Find out more about Azabu Hills Residence ›


Photo by José Hevia

Can Santacilia, Spain, by OHLAB

New and old meet inside the Can Santacilia apartment building in Palma de Mallorca's old town, parts of which are from the 12th or 13th century.

In the living room of one of the flats, architecture studio OHLAB used geometric-shaped rattan furniture and a rug to bring a natural colour palette into the all-white room.

Find out more about Can Santacilia ›

This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen's archive. For more inspiration, see previous lookbooks featuring floors that connect the indoors and outdoors and interiors with mezzanine.