Switching to a new calendar means it’s time to move on from whatever was trending last year and look at fresh décor styles.
After all, what better time to refresh your interior design than the start of a brand new year?
In 2024, interior design experts are predicting that the leading trends will prioritise comfort, happiness, and individuality above all.
To give you inspiration, here are twelve of the top interior design trends you can expect to take over the market in the coming year.
1) Arches and curves
If you want to get ahead of the curve, say goodbye to hard angles in 2024. From architecture to furniture, rounded edges bring a softness to living spaces that creates a smoother spatial flow.
Arches are going to be a big architectural element this year, whether it’s arched doorways, arched alcoves or niches for displaying art, or arched mirrors that look like windows.
Curves will also dominate furniture design, from sofas and chairs with curved backs, to tables and rugs with flowing organic shapes, to furnishings with scalloped or wavy edges.
They add a whimsical yet sophisticated touch to any space, complementing most interior design styles and creating a focal point while connecting different areas in a more seamless way.
2) Statement mirrors
Every home or business needs mirrors – whether it’s for checking how you look in the bathroom, doubling as wall art with a decorative frame, or brightening up a small or dark space.
In 2024, these usually utilitarian items will be outshone by less conventional statement mirrors – available in a variety of shapes, sizes, finishes, and frame styles to stand out in any room.
It’s all about having more fun with mirrors, adding character and glamour with oversized dimensions or irregular shapes. Round mirrors, pebble mirrors, and pond mirrors can also hit the curves trend.
One of the best ways to ensure a statement mirror is totally unique and fits into your chosen space perfectly is to order mirrors cut to size from trusted suppliers of bespoke glass in the UK.
3) Go big with wall art
Bad news if you followed one of the most popular trends of yester-year and spent ages curating a gallery wall of artworks and photos – filling walls with lots of smaller pieces is out for 2024.
There’s nothing wrong with gallery walls, of course, but if you want the area to feel fresh and uncluttered, choose one large piece of wall art to maximise the immediate impact.
Whether this is a tapestry or canvas painting, for example, be sure to choose a tasteful design that ties into your décor through similar colours or textures, so it visually anchors the space.
If you want to nail two trends in one, why not create a mirror wall as a massive statement piece? Again, it’s easy to get a custom fit tailored to your space by ordering a mirror cut to size.
4) Joyful bright colours
Inspired by the ‘Barbie-core’ surge of interest in bold and fun colours, from bubblegum pink to bright turquoise, unapologetically energetic shades will continue making a splash in 2024.
This is part of a wider trend dubbed ‘dopamine décor’ – using bright shades that inspire feelings of happiness and delight, whether the space is full of one colour or different playful accents.
Whether you paint the walls or ceilings, invest in brightly coloured furniture or soft furnishings, or introduce vivid tones through quirky homewares, your space will feel cosier and more personalised.
If you need more colour inspo, the Pantone Colour of the Year for 2024 is ‘Peach Fuzz’ – a pastel orange-pink. More saturated trendy shades include buttery yellows and sunset hues.
5) Eye-catching rugs
Forget about boring neutral carpets or basic rectangular rugs. You already know that 2024 is the year of statement shapes and bolder colours, so carry these trends over to your choice of floor covering.
If the rest of the room doesn’t have much in the way of prints, you can choose a patterned rug with complementary colours that won’t necessarily feel maximalist in an otherwise neutral space.
If you aren’t a fan of patterns on your floor, plain rugs can still be eye-catching if they come in a less common shape – whether that’s geometric, asymmetrical, or with wavy or scalloped edges.
Don’t just relegate your rugs or carpets as something to insulate floors and be walked on – select a design that looks like a piece of art in itself that could become the centrepiece of the area.
6) Maximalist textures
Some people are a little afraid of maximalism, wrongly believing that it involves filling your space with random clutter and clashing colours and textures because ‘more’ is always better.
Do away with that perception in 2024 and get into the idea of playing with layers of texture around a room, from plush velvet sofas and fluffy faux fur rugs to 3D wallpaper and ornate carved furniture.
The point is to use varying textures in a playful manner to create a stimulating multi-sensory experience, which adds more depth and visual interest to the room at the same time.
One small way to do this is by focusing on details like trims, whether it’s for sofas, curtains, and cushions or wall moulding, table and chair legs, or door handles – or even electrical cover plates.
7) Sculptural lighting
Whether it’s on the ceiling, wall, or floor, a lamp is never just a lamp – it’s an opportunity to add an artistic sculptural piece to your interior design while fulfilling the function of lighting the area.
These days, people are well and truly turning their backs on the ‘big light’, preferring combinations of layered lighting that can achieve a comfortable ambience as well as a functional level of brightness.
If you do have one central light or light source, you can transform it into an on-trend art piece by choosing oversized pendant lights – creating a striking silhouette over a table or island.
Globe chandeliers, dome pendant lights, rounded cage lampshades, or ribbon lights forming spirals and loops can incorporate the curves, textures, and visual statements of several other trends in one.
8) Mixed metal accents
Just as fashion no longer dictates the need to match metals for jewellery, uniformity in metallic fixtures and furnishings is boring – why stick to one hardware finish when you can mix metals?
Mixing different metal accents throughout a room or the home is an interesting way to add personality to a space so it feels more lived-in, instead of like a stock design from a catalogue.
While stainless steel and aluminium are the leading choices for popular metal finishes, alternatives like brass, nickel, bronze, and even gold can add warmth and balance to areas with colder tones.
With the rising popularity of black metal fittings, it’s also likely that we’ll see interiors venture towards powder-coated metals in much brighter colours, joining the bold colour trend.
9) 70s retro revival
If you aren’t too confident about committing to the bright colours of 2024 dopamine décor, you can always opt for less saturated shades – like the mustard yellows and olive greens of the 1970s.
In fact, this era is coming back in a subtle way this year, with a seventies revival of retro design elements adding a touch of vintage nostalgia to modern living spaces without overwhelming them.
We’re talking retro TV stands, sideboards, and nesting tables, abstract wallpaper, shag-pile rugs, and assorted earthenware and ceramics, among other tactile furnishings like rattan and macrame.
Furniture from this period was often low to the ground and designed for people to sink into it in comfort – think the classic 1970s conversation pit – with a focus on facilitating social interactions.
10) Warm earthy shades
The monochromatic neutrals that conquered the 2010s have gradually fallen out of favour. Gone are the borderline clinical whites, greys, and charcoals – it’s time for the brown renaissance.
A more gentle palette of earthy tones presents an evolved kind of minimalism that feels more organic and comforting, especially during cold winter months when we spend more time inside.
Chocolate brown, chestnut, russet, taupe – even terracotta, tan, khaki, or ecru – can bring the colours of nature indoors and promote wellbeing through a sense of grounding cosiness.
These colours will be present in 2024 throughout fabrics, textiles, and casegoods. They also offer a great way to incorporate some 1970s bohemian chic, or complement metals like brass or copper.
11) Minimalist luxury
For those who don’t have maximalist personalities, quiet luxury strikes a delicate balance between pared-back minimalism and self-indulgent luxury – using fewer items that are high quality.
Sometimes called minimalist luxury or ‘minimaluxe’, this much-discussed style emerged last year and is anticipated to forge a strong path for the rest of the decade, including throughout 2024.
The aim is to create a calm, safe, and comfortable environment to retreat from the busy and harsh world outside, incorporating colours, textures, and objects that inspire a sense of peace in us.
Consider it a blend of Scandi simplicity, Danish hygge (cosiness), and Japanese wabi-sabi (acceptance of imperfections) – celebrating your favourite things that bring you comfort, but not to excess.
12) Mixing old and new
From soothing shapes and textures to mid-century throwbacks, most people are looking for familiarity in their interior design – which is why 2024 will be the year of uniting the old and new.
Shopping for vintage pieces, whether thrifted or upcycled, has become more popular than ever on social media as younger people search for furnishings that stand out in the age of mass production.
This year will see interiors blending historic and contemporary designs in a way that values character and authenticity over the multi-functionality demanded of smart homes and shrinking living spaces.
Highly personalised eclecticism that ties the present and the past together through unique charm – the ideal process for introducing several interior design trends from this list all at once!
