I can’t believe I’m writing this post and looking at predicted New Year design trends! I remember when I was a lot younger and my Mum telling me that as you got older, time got faster and she wasn’t wrong. 2020 has felt like the slowest year ever, but at the same time, where has it gone?

I don’t think I’m wrong in saying we will all probably be glad to see the back of 2020 and are putting all our hopes on a better 2021. It will be like trying to squeeze 2 years into one where we will hopefully be catching up with all our loved ones and partying like it’s 1999. So, I expect 2021 to be the year of FUN. And a bit of relief….

I had a good old laugh to myself when I read my blog post on Interior design trends for 2020. I was disappointed that at the end of 2019, I had still not completed my studies, become a fully-fledged interior designer or moved to start a new renovation. And here I am, a year on and I still haven’t accomplished any of these things! But then, 2020 was not a normal year.

I think I spent most of it redecorating rooms that I was never 100% entirely happy with (and spending 100% of my time online waiting to get to the front of the queue for B&Q, Cuprinol… *insert extremely busy DIY stores in here*). We have definitely spent 2020 making our homes the best they can be which is probably down to the fact we have had to spend more time in them. People who only used to see their homes from an eat, sleep, watch TV repeat aspect, are now spending more time looking at their own four walls and have decided to take action.

So, what are the interior trends for 2021?

Multi-function spaces

Like never before, we are using our homes for every aspect of our lives. 2020 saw almost 60% of the UK’s adult population working from home because of the Coronavirus and 26% of Brits planning to work from home permanently or occasionally after lockdown.

With the closure of offices, gyms, bars and coffee shops, our living rooms have become the Pilates area in the morning, our bedrooms the working space and our kitchens the place to have that mid-morning coffee or 5pm gin. We need storage solutions, practical desk spaces and somewhere we can retreat to after spending 8 hours staring at a screen.

Norberg white wall mounted drop-leaf table – IKEA

Cottagecore

Have you heard of the term cottagecore? One of my favourite interior writers, @lindaclaytonwrites introduced me to this trend and how utterly annoying it is (I have to agree). But apparently, it’s here to stay. It is described as a twist on rustic décor. A simple, self-sufficient way of living incorporating eco-friendly and sustainable homewares, with a slower way of life. 

The cottagecore aesthetic is all about vintage pieces, floral patterns and foraged items. Something we can all easily add to our homes. Throw a bit of whimsy in there with forest animals, magical toadstools and wildflowers and consider yourself a Cottage Hardcore

Warm earthy trends

With Dulux announcing Brave Ground as their colour of the year, warm earthy tones are slowly replacing the Scandi white and greys that have been so prevalent over the last decade. Warm neutrals work brilliantly with bursts of colour and can be a comforting, calm and timeless trend.

Face Line Graphic Art

2020 has seen an outpouring of home fabrics and art adorned with face line graphics and 2021 will see this trend moving into rugs, wallpaper, bedding and shower curtains. Abstract art and expression have been around forever but the simplistic monochrome style is perfect for a minimalist space or Scandi inspired room. In fact, this style will pretty much fit in anywhere.

Cane and rattan furniture

Another trend that is not going away is cane and rattan furniture. In 2020, it seems that everyone is jumping on the rattan trend and it’s managed to shake of its conservatory garden furniture image.

Cane has seen itself become the leader in chest of drawers’ façade and plenty of bums have parked themselves on cane chairs. With the ever-increasing popularity of biophilic design, I can’t see this resilient and sustainable material going anywhere for the foreseeable future.

Green!

Green is not going away and I am very pleased to hear this as I think it is such an inspiring colour. My green wall in my living room is still just as popular as it was when I first painted it 3 years ago and my most viewed post is How to Use Dark Green in your Living Room.

A bit like pink, green is extremely versatile and can be used with so many different colours. From mustard to grey, purple and even orange, the huge variety of greens you can choose from will always provide a great base to a room colour scheme.

I don’t see green as a trend as such, more that it is becoming ever prevalent in our homes.

Boucle

Boucle is described as material with a looped or curly ply. I think, as we are being bolder with our décor decisions in our homes, adding colour, patterned wallpaper and rainbow inspired homewares, the boucle trend is the perfect addition to any room. It helps to tone down the scheme and give it a relaxed feel amongst all the vibrancy.

Grandmillenial

The Grandmillenial trend is described as someone who appreciates the past, or the new granny chic! It incorporates all the things we have already covered in this blog post. Blue and white porcelain (cottagecore), wicker and rattan, boucle throws, scalloped furniture and furnishings, vintage furniture and vanity tables.

After the year we’ve had, maybe we are all harping back to our Grandma’s cosy chintz chair and chinoiserie vintage furniture. I think we all need to wrap ourselves up in a cosy knitted throws, drink tea from some old antique china and eat biscuits until a vaccine has been rolled out.

As we are looking to become more sustainable and eco friendly within our homes, I’m always a little wary of predicting new trends and what we should change in each room. But I think all of the above can easily be introduced into our interior schemes with little effort.

So, let’s all raise our glasses to the fact we’ve survived 2020 and look forward to a new year, new trends and lots more decorating!

Mel x