Each year, big brands such as image-sharing social media site Pinterest share their 2024 trend predictions. In its annual report, Pinterest trend spotters are noting boldly colored, retro-inspired, “kitschy” kitchens; more metallics in home design; a mix of Western Americana and moody, dark-hued gothic; and an explosion in at-home coffee stations.
With a new year comes this surge in interior design predictions. Experts are weighing in about the trends that might be headed out and the trends you will start seeing popping up in shelter magazines and in high-end shops before they trickle down to mass market retailers.
We polled an array of local talent to see what’s on their minds for 2024.
Credit: Robert Peterson / Rustic White Interiors
Credit: Robert Peterson / Rustic White Interiors
Brown will be big
Trend watchers are predicting a move away from gray and toward the warmth and moodiness of brown. “Brown is probably my most used color and always has been I will never stop using it. I think it goes with everything,” says HGTV Dream Home 2024 designer Brian Patrick Flynn. “I think the sexiness of the ‘70s will never die.”
Bold colors
People are not shying away from brighter and bolder, more assertive color, trend experts say. “In 2020 when people were stuck at home and everything was sad, sad, sad, I think that people started to realize, Oh, now I get why a lot of people use a lot of color in their house,” Flynn said. He thinks muddy greens, siennas, chartreuse and flesh tones and “the Crayola colors left in the crayon box” will be trending. Homeowners are embracing personality-infused design on many levels but one clear way they are leaning into maximalism and away from minimalism.
Credit: Galina Juliana
Credit: Galina Juliana
Organic luxe
People are embracing high-quality, luxurious materials as part of the ongoing “quiet luxury” trend that many attribute to the television show “Succession.” Atlanta designer Michael Habachy is a big fan of this style. “We always specify pieces which are made from natural materials and elements. For example, I love rugs constructed from hand-woven wools which are either natural fiber colors or dyed using all natural dying techniques from dried flowers, etc.,” Habachy said.
Custom wall coverings
Wallpaper and assertive color and texture on walls are on the rise. Leah Alexander of the Atlanta design firm Beauty Is Abundant said, “Whether it’s a pastoral motif like we’ve seen more of this year, or something that tells a story, the deeper connection to home as sanctuary that people are experiencing, more risks are being taken and people are more in a place of ‘Yes’ when it comes to custom artistic murals.”
Credit: Simon Upton
Credit: Simon Upton
British style
Quirky wallpaper; cozy, idiosyncratic kitchens; lots of pattern; deep, rich colors and the unique style of English country homes with a punk rock edge make British style an on the rise trend, Flynn said, helped along by period dramas such as “Downton Abbey” and “The Gilded Age.”
Credit: Galina Juliana
Credit: Galina Juliana
More sustainable materials
Designers and manufacturers have already started to embrace materials made from natural elements that can easily be reintegrated into the ecosystem like mycelium, used in everything from lamps to furniture, eucalyptus fiber in rugs, wood made from pressed sunflower husks and seeds and products made from repurposed materials such as sawdust and fabric scraps. Designers Flynn and Habachy think that more designers will also use vegetable-based dyes in fabrics and rugs to lessen the environmental impact of traditional dyes.
Credit: Galina Coada
Credit: Galina Coada
A heritage look
As part of the interest in sustainability and reuse, vintage and heritage pieces will continue to rise in popularity especially when antiques are mixed with more modern pieces. “I also love things that show age over time,” Habachy said, “like a great patina on a brass or bronze faucet. Or wood and stone surfaces on a beautiful antique which have worn over years. There is story there.”
Credit: Joseph Bradshaw
Credit: Joseph Bradshaw
Expanding, bespoke kitchens
Coffee stations, as Pinterest experts note, are now almost de rigueur in kitchens. But the kitchen footprint is extending too, with pantries and walk-in refrigerators, drink stations and even coffee and cocktail wet bars popping up in master suites, Flynn noted.
Felicia Feaster is a longtime lifestyle and design editor who spent 11 years covering gardening, interior design, trends and wellness for HGTV.com. Felicia is a contributor to MarthaStewart.com and has been interviewed as a design expert by The New York Times, Forbes and the Associated Press.
About the Author
