Interior designers are all-too-familiar with the ebb and flow of trends, recognising that certain colours will fade from popularity while others will become celebrated with the arrival of a new year. And, while this changeability is assured, there are times when aesthetics undergo such a dramatic shift that many are caught off guard. In 2023, the interior design world experienced one such sudden and significant shift in taste and preference.

If you are looking to refresh your home’s design or simply want to keep up with the latest trends, as well as ensure you don’t fall behind, then we have five of the most popular designs and styles that are taking over this year.

Bold Colours

Greige, beige, and cream are out. While once heralded for their subtle warmth and minimalism, there has been a sudden and significant shift in the demand for colour. Now, in a rejection of minimalist tones, bold colours and maximalism are in. 

Primary colours are being added to surfaces, brightening living spaces and making them more lively, with confident greens and blues adding brilliance to spaces. Many designers are taking even further steps to celebrate excess, adding contrasting furniture to living spaces, such as yellow chairs with blue walls. As such, if you’ve every wanted to experiment with colour, now is the time.

Natural Landscapes

Biophilia is in and interiors are rejecting urban lifestyles for more rustic utility. As such, there is a greater demand for textured fabrics, stone surfaces, dried flowers, log cabins, exposed and unfinished woods, as well as cork flooring and wicker furniture. These features are associated with rural living and celebrate nature and the farmhouse aesthetic of old pastoral lifestyles.

Generation 80s

The 1980s are basic and the nostalgia for this distinct aesthetic period is being propelled with the successful array of media, such as the hit Netflix show, Stranger Things. What is interesting, however, is that modern designs inspired by the 1980s, those drenched in colour, with neon strips, and made up with bubble furniture, do not reflect the reality of homes from the same period. So, while the 1980s have been propelled into our modern interior designs with bright and playful design schemes, those who lived through that period might not recognise them.

Comfortcore

Everything, it seems, has its own core. There was cottagecore and regencycore, now there is comfortcore, which is really an evolution of the 2010’s hygge infatuation. This year, however, we are already seeing extravagant fabrics, plush throws, and an abundance of pillows taking over room designs as residents seek to celebrate an excess of cosiness in their living spaces.

Gold

Curiously, at a time of rising costs of living, the most popular colour and feature of a home has very quickly become gold. Rooms are being laced with embellishments and designs that celebrate the twinkle and luxury of gold inflexion. So, if you’re looking for a feature or trim to make a living space pop, then the regal adornment of golden aesthetics might be what you need.

By Sawyer Cole Harris

Sawyer Cole Harris: Sawyer, a DIY enthusiast, shares home project tutorials, woodworking tips, and creative ways to personalize your space.