At Livingetc, we like to talk about trends in interior design — but sometimes ‘trends’ can feel like a bit of a dirty word. “Trends aren’t timeless”, people say, but I like to think of it in a different way. A trend isn’t some fleeting fancy that’s in one day and out the other, it’s the story of how style evolves over time, and a record of the new ways that the most exciting creative minds in interiors are expressing themselves at any given moment.

Of course, trends do, as is their nature, reach a saturation point, at which point some other way to decorate may usurp them in the design zeitgeist. The good news? If it’s something you truly love, and have consciously invested in, a good expression of your personal style is something that never goes out of fashion.

But, unless you spend every day looking at beautiful homes and the work of new designers like I do (it’s a tough job, but someone’s got to do it), it can be hard to get a foothold on what’s happening in design right now — which is where we come in. This list of interior design trends reflects the ideas that Livingetc’s editors are passionate about right now. It’s not exhaustive – there’s not enough space in one article for us to list out all our current obsessions – but we’ve curated a list of the things that are exciting us most in modern home design right now. And don’t worry, we keep this list up to date throughout the year, so you never have to feel like you’re behind the trend bandwagon.

What are the biggest interior design trends of 2024 so far?
As our eyes start to turn towards the trends coming through for 2025, it feels like a great time to round up the ideas that have actually set the tone for decorating this year so far. No predictions — these are the trends we’re seeing used most, and the ideas around which designers are innovating frequently. Our list covers a lot of bases, from layout and color trends to ideas that are defining how we decorate different rooms in the house right now.

1. The Mood — Playfulism

Interiors just got fun. Design is often something that can feel a little too serious, but recently, we’re seeing interior designers embrace elements that feel lighter and more joyful. It’s a trend we’re calling “playfulism” — a design ethos that’s defined by uplifting and unexpected color combinations, charmingly naive pattern and anti-structural shapes, like waves and undulating curves. It may sound like a maximalism overload to some, but as Azar Fattahi of design studio LALA Reimagined tells us: ‘Playfulism is never about being overpowering, there’s a calm to every scheme, perhaps in the neutral color of the walls.’

2. The Decorating Trend — Statement Ceilings

If there’s been only one major shift in decorating our homes in the last decade, it’s how we approach ceiling decorating ideas. Where once, the default was white, no matter what else was happening in the room, we’re now seeing it as one of the main canvases for expression in our homes, whether you choose to paint, panel, or even choose a bold ceiling wallpaper idea.

3. The Kitchen Trend — Partitioned Spaces

Now this one might prove a bit controversial — after all, don’t we all dream of the open-concept kitchen layout? The answer is, still, yes. The open-concept kitchen shifted how we use our homes for good, but that doesn’t mean it’s a perfect fit for everyone.

In reaction to wanting to bring back a sense of coziness to these spaces, and the ability to create a sense of separation at will, we’re seeing elements of closed-plan spaces return as a kitchen trend, though in a way that permits the best of both worlds. ‘One change afoot is the rise of partition walls to zone off a kitchen, as designers embrace non-load bearing elements to blur the lines between spaces,’ Livingetc’s contributing editor Keith Flanagan writes. ‘Anything from interior glass windows to generous arched doorways and strategically placed free-standing cabinetry can give shape and structure to otherwise exposed cooking areas.’

4. The Bathroom Trend — Glass Bricks

 

One overarching trend you’ll notice throughout our list is a return of materials that were once considered dated, even ugly. And the return of the glass brick, specifically as a bathroom trend, is no exception. Once just an unsightly leftover from 80s era architecture, they’ve become a cool, seemingly lo-fi expression that works as a critique of the overly luxurious standards of modern bathroom design — think vast slabs of marble and huge frameless glass screens.

However, this new take on glass bricks is, as it turns out, a little more refined than its past incarnation. ‘Rather than ubiquitous and hefty grids of semi-opaque blobbiness, today’s glass blocks are lighter, brighter, and more colorful lending an air of delicate playfulness to bathrooms, entryways, or any space that could use both privacy and light,’ says interior designer Bethany Adams of Bethany Adams Interiors.

‘I’m smitten with the new interpretations of this Art Deco classic and am itching to use it in a project,’ says Bethany Adams of Bethany Adams Interiors. ‘As with any trend, take care to consider your home’s architecture and make sure it will play along. If you’re not certain, consult a trained architect or designer. What seems like a fun trend today can trigger tomorrow’s gag reflex when applied without proper consideration.’

5. The Lighting Trend — Noguchi-Style Pendants

The big light is dead, long live the big light. The move away from harsh overhead lighting has become something, at this point, ingrained in the cultural psyche, not just in interior design trends. That means the biggest lighting trends at the moment all focus around wall sconces, concealed LED lighting and accent lighting that beautifies your space at night.

The trend we’re most entranced by is the idea of still using pendant lights, but in odd corners and alongside furniture in place of floor and table lamps. It’s a style probably most popularized by these Noguchi paper lantern pendants, a design classic that’s made a comeback in homes in a big way over the past year or two. And yes, while an original Noguchi paper lantern is likely to set you back a few thousand dollars, what we like about this trend is it’s achievable on different levels. ‘Paper lanterns are now sold in many places for lower prices,’ say Jesse Rudolph and Joelle Kutner of design studio Ome Dezin, who used a Noguchi piece in this room design, ‘so you can create your own take on this design pretty easily.’

6. The Color Trend — Light Blue

It’s hard to pick just one color trend that defines the mood of 2024 so far, but if there’s one that’s most captured our imagination here at Livingetc, it’s got to be pale blue. This shade came out of left field when it was announced as several paint company’s Color of the Year for 2024, but we’ve quickly come around to the vision.

‘The thing about light blue is that it’s a total shape-shifter,’ says Ellen Finch, Livingetc’s deputy editor. ‘It’s a calm, restful shade, a little bit dreamy, a little bit ethereal, but at the same time, it can be really fun and energetic.’ It really depends on what you pair it with, both in terms of decor styles and other shades. Fortunately, there’s a lot of inspiration for colors that go with light blue to get you started using this trend.

7. The Paint Trend — Color Drenching

It may not be a new trend for 2024, but if it wasn’t official before, it is now — color drenching is how we decorate our homes these days. If you’ve not come across the term before, it basically refers to a style of decorating where everything is painted the same color — think walls, ceilings, trim, baseboard and doors. It can even go one step further, incorporating furniture and decor into the monochromatic look.

This paint trend has replaced harsh contrasts — generally between walls painted in color and ceilings painted in so-called Brilliant White — for rooms that feel more harmonious, and enveloping. ‘These days with all the chaos in the world, creating a cocoon in one’s personal space is more important than ever,’ Lia McNairy from LaLa Reimagined tells us. ‘This is why we love to paint the ceiling, walls, crown molding and baseboards all in one color to give us a sense of security and make us feel like we are living in a jewel box.’

8. The Wallpaper Trend — Classic Frescoes

It hasn’t been fussy prints or accent walls that have been the emerging trend in wallpaper this year — it’s the return of the traditional-style mural. We might have seen modern wall mural ideas peak in popularity a few years ago, but designers are now instead turning to heritage and heritage-inspired designs wrapped around every wall in a room.

‘Transportive vistas that take you to another time and place — whether exotic botanicals or picturesque waterscapes — have undoubtedly come through as the big wallpaper trend, favored by A list designers,’ says Lilith Hudson, Livingetc’s trends editor.

9. The Era — 70s Chic

Choosing the era that’s most inspiring design right now was a tough choice between the 1990s and 1970s. Both are pulling through in fashion right now, as well as interiors. For the 1990s, nostalgic throwbacks and a ravecore aesthetic are proving popular with Gen Z, and we’re even seeing materials return like chrome that encapsulate a return to pre-millennium kitsch.

However, when it comes to luxury design, it’s really the 70s that’s making waves. At Milan Design Week this year, retro textures and color pairings were everywhere — think shag pile, chenille and combinations of purple, green, orange and burgundy.

‘Italian design brand Baxter perhaps captured in best this year,’ says Livingetc’s executive editor Pip Rich. ‘It’s 70s style but there’s a filter of elegance, a more grown-up vision laid on top, where the colors have richer, deeper tones, and are complemented by materials that elevate them.’

10. The Table Trend – Irregular Shapes

More than materials, there’s a trend coming through in dining furniture that looks to reimagine how we interact around the dining table. It’s a dining room idea that introduces unusual angles into the furniture itself, breaking the traditional set interactions of a rectangular, oval or round table, and ensuring more of your guests can enjoy each other’s company.

It’s an idea I’ve seen introduced into schemes like this Napa Valley house by Kristen Peña, founder of San Francisco-based K Interiors. ‘It changes the whole dynamic of a dining space,’ Kristen says. ‘It’s a table that dismantles what it means to be at the head or the end of the table — everyone’s a lot more involved.’

11. The Sofa Trend – Croissant Styles

 

Last year’s sofa trends are still going strong — think the curved boucle sofa or the Camaleonda. However, there’s a little bit of an evolution in the homes of designers looking to choose seating that transcends these trending styles.

The classic, iconic “curved sofa” we’ve come to love is most inspired by Sofa 280 by Pierre Augustin Rose; however, the evolution on the trend is looking at shapes with a little lower back, and more of a “croissant” shape.

For Lauren Moore, of Design Assembly LA, this shape better helps to root a curved sofa away from the wall, useful when it’s in the center of the room, too. ‘With open-concept floor plans, I think it is best to have a low-backed sofa for that reason — and also because you don’t always have the wall space for the sofa to be pushed against a wall,’ she says. ‘it’s important to consider how it will look from all sides. I love a piece looks as cool from the back as it does from the front.’

12. The Fabric Trend – Chenille

There’s a reason we think chenille, a textile we’d have once considered dated, is making a comeback right now. And it undoubtedly is — this fabric was everywhere at both Paris and Milan design week this year.

Think of chenille as an evolution of the velvet trend. The velvet sofa has become inescapable, at every level of decor — but it’s also getting harder and harder to tell an expensive and a cheap velvet sofa apart. Enter chenille — it’s a fabric that’s got a little more depth, richness and texture than a classic velvet has. It has some of those tactile qualities that a boucle has, too, as well as feeding into the retro-yet-elevated aesthetic we’re seeing filter in through 70s style.

13. The Metallic Trend — Chrome

Brass is the metallic trend that’s not going anywhere anytime soon, but cool metallics — silver, aluminum, polished chrome, brushed steel — have all made a surprising comeback this year in interior schemes.

‘There is something about a cool metallic that has a level of sophistication that sometimes brass can’t pull over,’ New Jersey-based designer Sarah Storms tells us. And we know what she means. Chrome, and finishes like brushed steel, have an understated effortless about them — they make a room feel less-considered, less-designed which, in the right place, equates to just the right amount of chic.

14. The Accent Chair Trend — It’s Still Boucle

You might be so over the boucle accent chair as a trend, but let me re-assure you, it’s not going anywhere. This fabric is the overwhelming trend seen throughout projects and design fairs around the world — though there is a point of difference in how we’re using it in 2024.

The monolithic, bright white boucle of last year has been replaced by something that feels a little more sophisticated. Think a looser texture — less one note, and more slubby, with more peaks and troughs. As well as looking beyond white altogether when it comes to boucle, we’re also seeing white boucles with a less pure base — something like a beige, gray or black — that gives a greater depth to the fabric, and avoids the now-cheapened ‘teddy bear’ textile aesthetic that an all-white boucle can sometimes feel like.

15. The Wood Trend — burled wood

Burled wood is also having a real resurgence as we opt for textural designs and move away from minimalism. But why the sudden desire for such a distinctive patterned wood, in particular?

‘The answer lies in its nostalgic appeal and adaptable nature,’ explains Nina Lichtenstein, founder of Nina’s Custom Home Design. ‘Burlwood, often associated with mid-century aesthetics, brings to mind vintage charm and craftsmanship —qualities that resonate with a growing appreciation for artisanal, handcrafted pieces in interior design. Moreover, its unique grain patterns and warm hues offer a refreshing departure from ubiquitous minimalist trends, allowing designers to inject personality and warmth into spaces.’

While it remains a classic choice for furniture, such as the likes of credenzas and headboards, Nina anticipates seeing more innovative applications of this timeless material in the year ahead, enriching living spaces with its charm and character.

16. The Rug Trend — Irregular rugs

Irregular rugs are striking designs that undoubtedly have all been created to own the floor. Not only do these living room rugs have an eye-catching print, but they’re also all shaping a new outline in design, quite literally, as they all sport an unconventional shape.

Whether you’re going curvy, geometric, or angular, these top sports all boast a little bit of ‘out-of-the-box’ thinking, and we’re ready to embrace it. ‘Scallop edges are not going away for a while and I’m here for it,’ says Cat. ‘We love a playful moment, so we have just proposed Henry Holland’s Diagonal melt carpet as the stripes literally ‘melt’ in the corner of the rug which is such a piece of art.’

What is the decorating trend for 2024?
A big decorating trend for 2024 is natural, earthy, close-to-nature spaces. ‘The rooms I design have the sensibility of a spa,’ says the interior designer Noa Santos. ‘Natural materials like marble and stone work together to feel almost monastic, especially in soft neutral tones like creams and beiges.’

Materials to use for this look include marble, concrete, and Taj Mahal quartzite. ‘It still looks beautiful after plenty of wear, and means you don’t have to always be policing the use of coasters,’ Noa says. ‘I also like silver travertine, and we’re using a lot of limewash. It has the same softness and subtleties as Venetian plaster, but if Venetian plaster cracks you have to replace the whole thing. Limewash can easily be touched up, which is so refreshing from a design point of view. As is Tadelakt in a wet room. Imagine all that time saved from not having to scrub grouting clean!’