Living in a high-rise apartment should never mean sacrificing personality or style. In fact, the clean lines, expansive views, and open layouts found in Houston high-rises are perfect companions for colorful furniture and statement-making design. Whether you’re decorating a pied-à-terre or your full-time home, a few well-chosen pieces can bring energy, elegance, and individuality to your space. Below, we explore three inspiring LUDC projects where high-impact furnishings and curated color stories show just how transformative the right furniture, art, and accessories can be in a high-rise setting.
How to Select Furnishings for a High-Rise Apartment
Prioritize Scale and Proportion
High-rise units often feature open-concept layouts with floor-to-ceiling windows. Choose furniture that feels substantial but not bulky. Seek pieces that visually “float” in the space rather than dominate it. Avoid overfilling the room and leave breathing room around furniture to preserve that airy feel.
Embrace Lighter Visual Weight
Opt for sofas with elevated legs, glass or metal tables, and sculptural accent chairs. Materials like acrylic, rattan, or open metal bases can keep things feeling light and modern—especially important in apartments where natural light is a key feature.
Consider Multi-Functionality
In high-rises where square footage may be limited, every piece needs to work harder. Look for ottomans with storage, sleeper sofas, nesting tables, or dining benches that double as entry seating. Versatility is key.
Plan for Elevator Access and Installation
Measure not just your apartment and entryway but also the building elevator, stairwells, and exterior doors. Sectional sofas, knock-down beds, or modular systems may be more practical than oversized single pieces that won’t make it past the lobby.
Protect the Views
Avoid tall or bulky backs on sofas and chairs if they’ll sit near windows. Keep sightlines open so you don’t obstruct what’s likely the most dramatic feature in the apartment: the skyline.
Select Durable, High-Performance Fabrics
Sunlight can be intense in high-rises. Choose fade-resistant fabrics (like solution-dyed acrylics) and easy-clean performance materials—especially for pieces near windows or in heavy use. If you entertain often, this design choice is equally important.
Work with the Architecture
Use furnishings to enhance key architectural elements—like anchoring seating areas beneath a dropped ceiling, or choosing curved pieces to soften angular floorplans. Custom furniture can help balance asymmetry or unique layouts.
Think Vertically—When It Makes Sense
Take advantage of ceiling height. Tall shelving, floor lamps, and vertical artwork can make the most of your walls and draw the eye upward to create a sense of grandeur even in a compact footprint.
Personalize with Texture and Different Colors
High-rises often come with neutral finishes. Add warmth and personality through layered textures, custom pillows, colorful upholstery, or mixed materials that reflect your style without overwhelming the space.
Invest in Fewer, Better Pieces If the Space is Small
Rather than filling the space quickly, choose a few investment-worthy pieces that you truly love and that will last. Quality over quantity ensures the apartment feels curated, not cluttered.
Fabulously Bold and Colorful Furniture from Three Stunning LUDC Projects to Inspire Your High-Rise Interior
#1 Bold and Balanced Jewel Tones at The River Oaks
In this high-rise pied-à-terre at The River Oaks, Laura U Design Collective proves that bold color and daring furniture choices can still feel cohesive and curated. The design channels personality and playfulness while honoring the sleek lines and light-filled nature of a high-rise environment.
Color as a Design Philosophy
When you walk in, the chartreuse yellow sofa instantly commands attention. It anchors a room built on bold contrasts. Following the client’s request that every color “have a friend,” our designers paired the vivid upholstery with hot pink and teal accent pillows to create a playful, high-energy palette that’s echoed throughout the space.
Behind the sofa, matching glossy teal lamps add symmetry and scale, which is important in a space with dramatic ceilings and large windows. Their saturated color and sculptural shape lend visual weight without feeling clunky or heavy.
Furniture that Floats and Grounds
The indigo blue coffee table is a perfect expression of high-rise functionality: bold, graphic, and artful. Its low, sculptural form doesn’t obstruct views or dominate the room, yet it grounds the entire vignette. The striped rug underneath adds contrast by balancing bold color with strong linear geometry.
Playing with Proportion and Texture
Despite the strong hues, these spaces still read as airy. That’s due in part to the open leg designs, light-reflective surfaces, and use of varying textures—from velvet pillows to lacquered wood finishes. Our designers were able to balance visual weight and textural depth to maintain that breezy feeling our clients need in high-rise living.
Design Takeaway for High-Rise Dwellers
When working with bold color, try to make sure no hue stands alone, even if those ties are subtle and sparse. Layer complementary tones and repeat key shades throughout accessories and accents. And always leave some negative space—especially near windows—to let the architecture and skyline shine through.
#2 Colors of the Southwest at Braeswood Place
At Braeswood Place, Laura U Design Collective merges modernist lines with Southwestern flair to create a layered, artful space perfect for both everyday living and vibrant entertaining. Select moments from this expansive home speak beautifully to high-rise interior design, especially for readers who want to explore bold furniture, eye-catching wall decor, and curated color palettes in smaller footprints.
Create a Statement with Wall Decor and Scale
In the TV lounge, a patterned wallpaper acts as both art and architecture. Its rhythmic, kaleidoscopic print energizes the space, proving that different colors can coexist without overwhelming. A leather chair in ochre adds contrast and warmth—showing how colorful furniture can pop against bold backdrops. Nearby, a floating walnut media cabinet (a custom piece) showcases storage that’s sleek, modern, and elevated—literally. This design decision leaves the floor open, making the room feel larger and lighter—an ideal trick for high-rise apartments.
Fun and Functionality in the Dining Room
Across the home, a deep blue Lawson Fenning console greets guests in front of the dining table, anchored beneath a floating staircase and framed by art that hints at the family’s love for travel.
Its bold tone balances the neutral flooring and black iron railing, showing how a mix of materials can add interest without clutter. If you’re selecting furnishings for your own home, a piece like this works beautifully in a high-rise lobby or hall: long, low, and deep on storage, but designed with verticality and proportion in mind.
Design Takeaway for High-Rise Dwellers
High-rise dwellers don’t need sprawling square footage to make their personal style sing. Choosing a few well-scaled furniture pieces in standout finishes—like this mustard yellow chair, a white accent table, or a single wall of bold wallpaper—can transform a compact layout into a space that feels rich in features and full of personality. Explore options in fun hues, luxurious fabric, and sculptural silhouettes to create a space you’ll love coming home to after a long day.
#3 Pattern, Play, and Personality at Highland Village Contemporary
In this fashion-forward home, Laura U Design Collective layered bold color, tactile materials, and sculptural forms to create a space that’s as joyful as it is intentional. While Highland Village Contemporary isn’t located in a high-rise, its floor plan, furniture selections, and striking visual rhythm offer plenty of high-rise design inspiration.
In the living room, every seat is upholstered in a different textile—from teal velvet to ochre corduroy and deep orange tufting. Though each piece is distinct, a shared jewel-tone palette and patterned pillows tie them together. This approach is especially effective in high-rise apartments, where an open floor plan benefits from strong color blocking.
A Bold Yet Functional Entryway
Just off the main living space, a built-in entryway nook boasts a tufted mustard bench and plaid pillow beneath a sculptural plaid moose encased in acrylic. A similar setup with slim storage or seating would work well in a high-rise apartment.
Statement Pieces in the Bedroom and Bar
The bedroom is adaptable to high-rise living due to its bold design choices, low-profile furniture, and limited color palette. A raspberry upholstered bed anchors the room against a fractured wall mural in muted tones.
The home’s bar is another jewel box moment. Navy millwork, brass accents, and plaid-backed stools give the space polish and personality. Even in high-rise apartments, a niche like this makes the entire space without requiring much square footage.
Design Takeaway for High-Rise Dwellers
Don’t be afraid to take risks with colorful furniture, especially in a compact footprint. Just be intentional! Balance vibrant tones with grounding neutrals, repeat key colors across different pieces, and layer with pillows, rugs, and art that reflect your personality.
