This is an opinion piece.
An opinion piece means this is not fact. It also means, you can execute the items I have deemed "out" thoughtfully, and prove my personal taste wrong.
I welcome the challenge, baby.
Of course, how you design your space will, and should, always be a subjective experience; but like all style and design related areas, there will always be certain trends that gently nudge our decisions in a current direction. Let's see what they are.
Out:
1. All White Interiors:
What we need is less sterility, and more comfort. If soft, neutral spaces will always be your things, think about bringing in natural layers through soft colours and texture.
Less of this:
More of this:
Photo: blog.jennasuedesign.com
2. Accent Walls:
No one:
Accent walls: Hi, I want to be cool but I'm afraid to commit to my coolness so let me donate 25% of this space to being, well, cool, and the other 75% can just, you know, exist.
Nope. OUT!
Consider committing to washes of paint whose purpose isn't trying so hard to be dramatic, and instead, OVERALL good design.
Idea:
If you want to create impact but wallpaper isn't appealing to you, think about adding a plaster treatment.
Plaster walls say, I'm too cool for just wallpaper, but I want to dress my walls up. Texture like this feels impactful and timeless. I say: I'm down. Approach a plaster-treated wall as a wallpaper, and design the rest of the space accordingly.
Less of this:
More of this:
4. Mid-Century Modern Furniture:
Overplayed. Overdone.
Burl wood, vertical lines, lacquered finishes, natural shapes, sculptural details, and a focus on the smallest details will work together to update furniture for today as we lean into pieces whose shapes pull from Art Deco and 80s era. European influences remain strongggggggg.
Personally for me, though, I buck all of these trends and lean into
1. Comfort
2. Coziness
3. Low-key vibes
4. Sumptuous fabrics and patterns.
Because...the greats knew what they were doing.
Regardless, the 2021 trend forecasts says:
Less of this:
More of this:
Photos L-R: World's Away, Sight Unseen, Steve Bukowski, Kelly Wearstler
5. Millennial Pink:
What LIVE-LAUGH-LOVE signs are to walls, millennial pink has become to paint colours. Too cheery, too peppy, unsophisticated. Thanksloveyoubye.
If you do love pink, which I do, consider sourcing ones that have a bit of putty brown in them, like Setting Plaster by Farrow and Ball.
Less of this:
More of this:
Photo: houseandgarden.co.uk
6. Modern Farmhouse:
Shiplap, barn doors, are beautiful but look out of place in city houses, where the architecture doesn't suit this warm, lived-in feel.
If you really love the style, though, consider integrating it fully throughout the house (fabric, paint, flooring), and not just throwing wooden beams randomly in your transitional kitchen. Ugh.
Less of this: (AKA throwing on barn doors without thought to the entire architecture of the space.)
Please : Just Google Joanna Gaines for this one.
7. Open Floor Plans:
This is not a trend that will fade away any time soon; but new builds are considering the coziness of rooms that have doors. During all this time spent at home, having a massive open space where some people are working at home, and others are in school, just adds to the chaos.
Less of this:
More of this:
Photo: Beata Heuman
8. Terrazzo:
I must say- I am so proud of myself for seeing this as fleeting as I knew it would be, and not getting swept up in the terrazzo current. It already feels kitschy, and within the next couple of years, will go back upon the dusty trend shelf from which it was extracted. BYE!
(I see the same resolution for travertine, sorry.)
Lean into ceramics, porcelain, glazed terracottas, for a natural but unpretentious material.
Less of this:
More of this:
Let me know how these opinions land with you, guys!
In...out? Let's discuss.
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