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ELLE DECOR A-List designer Elizabeth Graziolo, of Yellow House Architects, was in a downtown Grand Rapids, Michigan, hotel when she had an epiphany. “Wow, it’s starting to feel like a lot of the same thing,” she recalls thinking as she took in the space’s white oak furniture, brass finishes, and warm tones.
Graziolo conceded that she and her team too were guilty of these choices in some of their projects, but that it was fine time for a literal palette cleanser. “I was sitting in that lounge, waiting for my room, and thinking that I need to talk to my team. We have to be ahead of the curve and figure out like what else is coming out. What else do we want to be?”
Trends, as it happens, can be a designer’s worst nightmare, manifesting in downtown hotels, yes, but also in scarily same-same Instagram feeds. It seems that most industry professionals are skeptical of fleeting fascinations because they’re just that—fleeting.
In that spirit, we’ve tapped interiors experts, A-List designers, and trend forecasters to predict what home decor trends, precisely, will be out in 2025. We promise—this will spare you from making design decisions that will go out of style faster than you can say “white bouclé armchair.”
Mindless Maximalism
Pattern on pattern for days? It’s time to ease up a bit.Fernando Bengoechea – Getty Images
We’re all about playful experimentation, which includes soaking spaces in color (something many of our A-Listers, like Uchronia’s Julien Seban and Martyn Lawrence Bullard, are known and celebrated for), but next year will be the year of cutting back on maximalism, mindfully. Per ELLE DECOR A-List designer Jessica Davis: “[Clients are] tiring of granny chic—pattern on pattern on pattern. I think pattern play and even Memphis modern items were a reaction to everything being neutral and greige, but now people are pulling back on that a bit.”
With color-happy decor, it’s all too easy to go overboard. Striking a Goldilocks balance lies in making selections that are a result of your own tastes and desires, not those of your TikTok FYP’s latest players. “While [maximalism] might be in decline when addressed from a flamboyant, over-the-top, and more-is-more point of view…a more curated take to maximalism will remain relevant in 2025,” says Gemma Riberti, head of interiors at WGSN, one of the world’s top trend forecasting agencies. “This means focusing on the narrative, with a craft-driven and resourceful mix-and-match approach to pattern, material, and styling.”
In other words, maximalism itself won’t face a total downfall—rather, maximalism sans curation has no chance. Anthony Barzilay Freund, editorial director at e-commerce powerhouse 1stDibs, echoes that sentiment: “We continue to be drawn to spaces that envelop us in rich narratives achieved through the artful curation of unique pieces.” Emphasis on artful.
‘Vanilla Girl’ Bouclé Aesthetic
This just in: 2025’s design ethos is going to shun the “vanilla girl” aesthetic in favor of color and authentic curation.FollowTheFlow – Getty Images
The end of greige interiors or a kind of white-box-gallery vibe has been years in the making, but 2025 is when a particular subset of this style—that of the hot-on-TikTok “vanilla girl,” who loves creamy neutrals, owns a bouclé accent chair, and always seems to have a luxury candle lit—is finally getting killed off. Designers everywhere, including Seban, are sighing in relief.
“I’m so tired of the white bouclé!” he tells ELLE DECOR. “Clients are [also] increasingly tired of generic, cookie-cutter design—everything looking the same, especially in ‘Instagrammable’ interiors. They want spaces that feel unique and authentic. They want more color in their life.”
While bouclé as a material might have staying power, it will appear in a different, bolder form than what you’re used to—something the ELLE DECOR team spotted at this year’s Milan Design Week. “Bouclé is here to stay, though we’re seeing new versions of it with thicker pile and in different colors—the skimpy cream and off-white bouclés feel down-market,” ELLE DECOR A-List designer Oliver Furth told us earlier, and we couldn’t agree more.
Home Offices
One day, we’ll all forget that nailing down the perfect Zoom background was even a thing. Morsa Images – Getty Images
The year 2025 will mark five whole years since Covid usurped our normal ways of being, and people are all too eager to part with its relics. Companies everywhere are rolling back lenient WFH schedules and demanding in-person presence, so the era of home offices, it seems, is over. 1stDibs’s report highlights the following: “Only 13 percent of designers expect that home office renovations will be their most requested projects in 2025, down from 32 percent for 2023.”
Real estate giant Zillow predicts the same. According to Zillow’s home trends expert Amanda Pendleton, “Zoom rooms” are falling out of favor with home buyers—based on data pulled from millions of listings on the site. “As more workers return to their offices, the ‘Zoom room’ is now appearing in 34 percent fewer Zillow listings,” Pendleton shares.
That’s not to say specialty rooms are disappearing for good. In fact, British designer Nicola Harding has direct proof of the contrary. “I’m seeing more craft spaces where people really feel like they can exercise their creativity, like an art studio in a house. Also music rooms…where they can listen to interesting music,” she says. “I think people want these different moments in their house: things that create experiences.”
Cottagecore Kitchens
Rustic, cottagecore kitchens are getting a reality check come 2025.Andreas von Einsiedel – Getty Images
Kitchens are rooms that receive as much foot traffic as they do unsolicited opinions about how any given one must look. To that we say, take the word must and throw it down the trash chute. We’ve gathered some very-much-solicited and valuable opinions about what’s not coming back in the realm of kitchens next year, and the responses are as delicious as you think—revolving around the theme of saying no to cottagecore kitchens.
If you’re like us, your immediate associations with this aesthetic feature one (or all) of the following ingredients: a spacious farmhouse sink, brass hardware, a sprinkling of wood elements, and a collection of exposed pots and pans. All this, as it turns out, is old news.
In her work, Davis is witnessing the decline of brushed gold faucets, knobs, and the like. Zillow’s data expands this beyond just gold: “The share of listings mentioning chrome and satin nickel is down 13 percent and 12 percent, respectively,” shares Pendleton.
And what of cabinetry—one of the most essential make-or-break aspects of a culinary space? It looks like shabby chic–adjacent curtain fronts or fabric skirts that sub in for cabinet doors will not be starring in the next season of your kitchen’s show, particularly if they boast a scalloped edge. “This kind of curtain thing has been doing the rounds and is certainly a useful solution in places where you want to hide things,” Harding says. “But you need to think about the practical aspect of it getting caught on doors or getting dirty or someone using it as a tea towel.”
As for the frilly edges, Davis puts it best: “I’m tired of scallops! They had their day.”
’70s Color Palettes
We won’t judge those that are wearing ’70s-inspired bell bottoms and corduroy jackets, but as far as home decor is concerned, we’re moving on from the #70s hashtag on TikTok and into the future. “Retro will favor a mixing and matching of epochs—looking at 1990s and early Y2K aesthetics,” WGSN’s Riberti tells ELLE DECOR, adding that a similar shift can be witnessed in today’s fashion sensibilities.
This will be particularly palpable in the color department. “Rich, dark colors are supplanting the relaxed 1970s palette—of rust, mustard, and olive—that recently dominated,” Barzilay Freund insists.
Does this mean bright tones should be on your 2025 radar? Time will tell, but Davis thinks it just might be the factory reset, so to say, that you’re looking for: “Instead of a ton of pattern, people are really diving into rich colors with jewel undertones.”
If you’re running to repaint your walls after this intel, though, you might not want to go with green (sorry, Charli). “After several years of various shades of green topping the [1stDibs] survey, green’s appeal is not evergreen—this year it was supplanted by chocolate brown as the top color choice of surveyed designers,”” says Barzilay Freund.
If there are any parting words we want to leave you with in terms of how to tap into timelessness when creating a home for yourself, it’s these wise ones told to us by Julien Saban: “Focus on creating spaces that reflect personal history, local craftsmanship, and lasting quality. Use fewer but better materials, and choose design pieces with enduring character, not just what’s popular right now. Timeless style grows out of authenticity and restraint.”
New Year’s resolutions? Made.
Trends: the word top designers seem to fear, while still scrolling through TikTok as a guilty pleasure of sorts to hone in on whatever the latest “talk of the town” is in the world of home decor. Why are most industry professionals skeptical of fleeting fascinations? Because they’re just that—fleeting
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