Beautiful Virgin Islands

Sunday, Sep 21, 2025

7 Interior Design Trends Everyone Will Be Trying in 2021, According to Experts

7 Interior Design Trends Everyone Will Be Trying in 2021, According to Experts

Designers weigh in on the most popular decorating styles, colors, and materials you can look forward to in the coming year.

The year 2020 brought countless unexpected challenges that have fundamentally changed how we live in our homes. As it (finally!) comes to a close, we're stepping into 2021 with a different perspective and a deeper appreciation for the roles our homes play in our daily lives.

With the arrival of the coronavirus pandemic in early spring, many people pivoted to working, playing, exercising, and socializing from home, making the way we furnish and decorate our living spaces more important than ever. "On the upside, it has forced homeowners to reflect, dissect, and evaluate how they live in their homes, how it makes them feel, and how, ultimately, they want to change and improve upon their relationship with home," says Louisiana interior designer Lance Thomas of Thomas Guy Interiors.

To find out what home design will look like in the coming year, we talked to interior designers and industry experts to discover their top 2021 design trends, including the most popular decorating styles, colors, and materials. If you're looking for fresh ways to update your home for the new year, here are the interior design trends experts predict are going to be huge.

                

1. Nods to Nostalgia


One of the biggest 2021 decorating trends isn't new at all. Design styles of the past, including Victorian-era, Art Deco, and grandmillennial aesthetics, are making a comeback as people turn to nostalgia for comfort and security. According to a survey conducted by online interior design service Modsy, traditional and classic interior design styles rose in popularity by 6% and 11% respectively, despite the fact that these styles have consistently been some of the least popular among Modsy customers in previous years.

"We've been watching this trend in fashion for some time now via lace collars, rich velvets, and ruffles," says Anna Brockway, co-founder and president of Chairish, an online vintage marketplace. She predicts the old-meets-new trend will emerge through gilded finishes, floral prints, and ornamental details that offer contemporary takes on historic styles.



2. Easy-to-Clean Fabrics and Surfaces


COVID-19 put cleanliness top of mind for many homeowners, and designers predict easy-to-clean materials will rise in popularity as a way to curb the spread of germs indoors. Austin-based interior designer Sara Barney of BANDD DESIGN expects to see an increase in non-porous materials such as glass and metal, which are less susceptible to bacteria growth and offer no-fuss cleaning. On upholstery, rugs, and other soft surfaces, performance fabrics specially designed to resist stains and stand up well to daily wear will likely rise in popularity. Texas interior designer Ashley Moore of Moore House Interiors predicts these kid-friendly materials will be used throughout living spaces, especially as remote learning continues for some children.



3. Warm, Earthy Colors


As for colors, expect shades to warm up in 2021. "With everything that we've collectively been through in 2020, our homes need more warmth, comfort, and coziness now more than ever," says Toronto-based interior designer Tiffany Leigh Piotrowski. Warm neutrals and rich earth tones are a top 2021 color trend that embodies those hygge characteristics. Vancouver designer Gillian Segal predicts organic shades such as camel will take the place of gray, while deep, neutral-like colors including olive green and burnt orange will continue in popularity. Look to paint and fabric that have yellow or red undertones for a homey, inviting effect.



4. Calming Blues


On the opposite end of the color spectrum, soft shades of blue have a calming effect that experts predict homeowners will crave in 2021. For example, Etsy selected sky blue as its 2021 color of the year after seeing a 39% spike in searches on the site for light blue items over the past three months, compared to the same time period last year. Because soft powder blues remind of the sky and water, they help foster a soothing atmosphere inside homes, which is more attractive than ever. "Colors have such a high impact on our mood and behaviors inside our homes," says Los Angeles interior designer Gabrielle Santiago. "Shades of blues are timeless and the perfect color to relax our minds and center ourselves—something we so desperately need after the chaos of 2020."



5. Natural Materials


We saw a renewed interest in rattan furniture and cane webbing over the past year, and this trend isn't going anywhere in 2021. Natural materials such as light-toned wood, jute, leather, ceramic, and live plants will continue to furnish homes in the new year, says Alessandra Wood, vice president of style at Modsy. She suggests layering a variety of natural finishes within a space to create depth and texture. Top a large jute rug with a smaller wool one, for example, or accessorize with pillows and throws made with organic fibers.



6. Closed Floor Plans


Throughout 2020, many families had to learn how to co-exist under the same roof from morning until night, and as we head into a new year, the appeal of open floor plans, where each room flows seamlessly into the next, has greatly diminished. "The pandemic has forced us to recognize how important our space is, and open floor plans aren't always the best decision when it comes to intentionally using a room," Santiago says. Carving out a designated space for different activities, such as remote work or homeschooling, allows for more privacy and limits distraction, she says.



7. Sustainable Furnishings


An increased focus on sustainability is a broader trend that impacts many aspects of our daily lives, including how we furnish our homes. We're seeing a shift with shoppers increasingly turning away from cheaply made, big-box store furniture in favor of high-quality pieces that are friendlier on the environment. "As fast fashion extends its reign over furniture and decor, we're seeing pushback and a desire among our customers to shop sustainably and invest in quality pieces they can keep for years," says Wood. When buying furniture and decor, she suggests seeking out materials that are certified sustainable by the manufacturers so you can feel good about the piece's environmental impact.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
EU Set to Bar Big Tech from New Financial Data Access Scheme
China Bans Livestreaming and AI in Religion Amid Crackdown on Shaolin Temple Scandal
Documents Reveal Mandelson Failed to Declare Epstein-Funded Flights as MP in 2003
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
Harris Memoir Sparks Backlash from Democrats for Blunt Critiques in ‘107 Days’
Germany Weighs Excluding France from Key European Fighter Jet Programme
Cyberattack Disrupts Check-in and Boarding Systems at Major European Airports
Japan’s ‘Death-Tainted’ Homes Gain Appeal as Prices Soar in Tokyo
Massive Attack Withdraws from Spotify Over Daniel Ek’s €600M Defence-AI Investment
Björn Borg Breaks Silence: Memoir Reveals Addiction, Shame and Cancer Battle
When Extremism Hijacks Idealism: How the Baader-Meinhof Gang Emerged and Fell
Top AI Researchers Are Heading Back to China as U.S. Struggles to Keep Pace
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
Trump Orders Third Lethal Strike on Drug-Trafficking Vessel as U.S. Expands Maritime Counter-Narcotics Operations
Trump Orders $100,000 Fee on H-1B Visas and Launches ‘Gold Card’ Immigration Pathway
Why Google Search Is Fading and AI Is Taking Its Place
UAE-US Stargate Project Poised to Make Abu Dhabi a Global AI Powerhouse
Federal Judge Dismisses Trump’s Fifteen-Billion-Dollar Suit Against New York Times, Orders Refile
France’s Looming Budget Crisis and Political Fracture Raise Fears of Becoming Europe’s “Sick Man”
Three Russian MiG-31 Jets Breach Estonian Airspace in ‘Unprecedentedly Brazen’ NATO Incident
DeepSeek Claims R1 Model Trained for only $294,000, Sparking Global Debate Over China’s AI Capabilities
SoftBank Vision Fund to Cut Nearly Twenty Percent of Staff in Bold AI Strategy Shift
Intel’s Next-Gen Manufacturing Gets a Lifeline from Nvidia’s Strategic $5B Deal
Erika Kirk Elected CEO of Turning Point USA After Husband Charlie Kirk’s Assassination
Massive Strikes in France Pressure Macron and New PM on Austerity Proposals
Trump Seeks Supreme Court Permission to Remove Fed Governor Lisa Cook
Hillary Clinton’s Reckless Rhetoric Fuels Division After Charlie Kirk’s Assassination
NASDAQ Rises to Record as Intel Soars More Than 20%, Nvidia Gains 3%
Nvidia’s $5 Billion Bet on Intel Reshapes AI Hardware Landscape
Trump and Starmer Clash Over UK Recognition of Palestinian State Amid State Visit
Trump’s Quip on Biden and Google Lawsuit Revives Debate Over Antitrust Legacy
Macron and his wife to provide 'scientific photographic evidence' that she is a real woman
US Tech Giants Pledge Billions to UK AI Infrastructure Following Starmer's Call
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
DeepMind and OpenAI Achieve Gold at ‘Coding Olympics’ in AI Milestone
SEC Allows Public Companies to Block Investors from Class-Action Lawsuits
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Federal Reserve Cuts Rates by Quarter Point and Signals More to Come
Effective and Impressive Generation Z Protest: Images from the Riots in Nepal
European manufacturers against ban on polluting cars: "The industry may collapse"
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Trump: Cancel quarterly company reports and settle for reporting once every six months
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
US Launches New Pilot Program to Accelerate eVTOL Air Taxi Deployment
Christian Brueckner Released from German Prison after Serving Unrelated Sentence
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Hong Kong Industry Group Calls for HK$20 Billion Support Fund to Ease Property Market Stress
Joe Biden’s Post-Presidency Speaking Fees Face Weak Demand amid Corporate Reluctance
Charlie Kirk's murder will break the left's hateful cancel tactics
×