Every year brings with it a new set of trends in interior design and decoration, allowing homeowners to express themselves and the context in which they live.
Every year brings with it a new set of trends in interior design and decoration, allowing homeowners to express themselves and the context in which they live. This article will examine some of the emerging trends that will come to define the year 2015 in interior design and decoration. Read on to find some inspiration for decorating and designing your own home this year.
Building and renovations
- Small home design
As a new market of home buyers emerges, homes are becoming smaller. In turn, however, they have more thoughtfully organised layouts that include computer nooks and greater storage opportunities
- More space and room
Many homeowners are designing their homes to appear more spacious, with high ceilings and more room to move around, helping them to de-stress quicker from modern life. Don’t confuse a spacier home with a larger home – space comes with decluttering and owning less things
- Brick alternatives
It is predicted that people will stray away from brick homes towards alternative materials that have all the benefits of traditional brick veneer
- Multigenerational living
Future home designs will be flexible. For example, a home may allow a living area to be transformed into a sleeping area with access to the bathroom, accommodating multigenerational living.
Kitchens and bathrooms
- Floating shelves
Floating shelves can break up the long row of cabinets in the kitchen. They can also allow light to pass through naturally, and create a seamless kitchen design that complements the trend of more space and openness in the home
- Open shelves
These help personalise the kitchen space and keep it functional and easy to use
- Kitchen wallpaper
Wallpaper, a throwback to retro home design, can complement a kitchen’s architectural design and add visual impact, contrasting an otherwise simple colour palette
- Modern traditional kitchen
This type of kitchen has shaker doors instead of flat panel cabinet doors, mixing stainless steel with wood, or wood with marble
- Luxe metallic colours
Gold, copper, and bronze will take over silver, chrome, and stainless steel in the kitchen. Their texture and gleaming finish offer a stunning accent to most colour palettes
- Vintage bathroom
The modern bathroom is being decorated in vintage styles, with retro bathtubs, gold framed mirrors, and white wooden cabinets
- Matte finishes
These give objects a raw, edgy appearance. You can use them in kitchens and bathrooms, e.g. tapware, lighting, and accessories
- Natural textures
Kitchens and bathrooms will have more benches and cabinets made from natural marble, granite, stone, or wood, in both honed or raw finishes.
Eco-friendly designs for green living
- Green cabinets
More homeowners are installing eco-friendly cabinets in their kitchen, with no formaldehyde or toxic glues used in their construction
- Skylights
Again, homeowners are making their kitchen more eco-friendly by installing skylights. With the use of natural lighting, they can save on energy costs
- Repurposed, recycled, or upcycled furniture
It has become increasingly common to revamp second hand furniture. This both saves money, is eco-friendly, and creates a great throwback-retro look when mixed with modern furniture
- Green or glass wall design
For interior decorating and green living indoors, vertical gardens and glass walls are both becoming popular
- Passive home
This means making the entire home more eco-friendly and cheaper to run. This includes reducing CO2 emissions and living costs, e.g. using solar glass to minimise heat loss.
Natural & organic designs
- Natural themes
Natural colours and motifs, such as green floral wallpaper for example, will be increasingly popular within the home. Homeowners are also using indoor plants and water features as part of their home design more frequently than before
- Natural materials
Salvaged wood, stone, metal, glass, and leather will be more frequently used as materials for interior decorating, particularly when it comes to furniture and fixtures
- Organic shapes
Accent pieces like lighting, ceramic, glassware, and accessories are utilising round, hanging, dripping, gloopy, droplet shapes to soften the hard lines to which we are normally accustomed. Geometric hexagons and honeycomb shapes are also becoming popular
- Organic textures
Textures derived from animals and plants, for example fur and natural fabrics, will increasingly be used in the home; another effort to introduce earthy, eco-friendly design into our living spaces
- Organic design
Flower or plant designs are being used in furnishings once more, while trellises are seeing use as room dividers, and modern chairs and tables being designed with integrated plant holders.
Other popular themes
- Industrial design
With urbanisation and gentrification, warehouse and factory conversions are seeing increasing popularity in home design. With that, homeowners are also incorporating industrial style lighting and furniture in their homes due to their convenience, function, and character
- Ethnic design
The ethnic fabrics and exotic patterns of African, Asian, Middle Eastern, and European designs are also being incorporated in home interior decoration, particularly with rugs, table covers, curtains, etc.
- Versatile design
Rooms are being made more versatile, with modern furnishings, decor, and lighting fixtures that can operate both indoors and outdoors
- Creative floor design
An opportunity to bring in some of the exotic and ethnic, rugs with fluid and irregular patterns soften hard lines in design. Graphic tiles introduce colour into the home, making for beautiful floor art
- Mix of old and new designs
Different styles, materials, and decorative patterns are being used to complement one another, e.g. curved lines, organic shapes, and natural colour schemes contrasted with striking accents. This includes the pairing of old and new, e.g. modern chairs with rustic tables.
Colours
- Primitive colours
Colours of untamed landscapes, e.g. timber, stone, metal, leather, and fur reconnect our modern day homes with the natural environment
- Bold colours
The rich, bright colours of the rainbow are being mixed with black and white to create contrasting, fresh, dynamic, and playful designs
- Earthy colours
With shades of green and brown, we can again reconnect with nature, whether real or imitation. These colours complement the use of natural, eco-friendly material in the home
- Warm, muddy colours
Rust, olive, dusty mint, and aubergine with an added splash of a brighter colour over the top can create for an exciting design
- Gentle colours
This includes soft pastels and neutrals. Soft blues, pinks, creams, and greys help relax one’s mind and project a sense of tranquility and peace
- Deep colours
Deep blue is calming and reflects the ocean, while indigo is versatile and can be mixed with soft pastels or neutrals to create a statement
- Retro colours
Homeowners are revisiting the popular decades of the 50s and 60s with shades of olive, orange, and pink sneaking back into home design and decor
- Renaissance colours
Renaissance colours combine green, plum, cerulean blue, beige, and white, in patterns or textures reminiscent of Renaissance paintings
- Paint colours
Ideal colours to use when painting the walls or ceilings include clean whites, smokey neutrals, or muted pastel colours.
2015’s home design trends take inspiration from the natural environment and elements of our past, as well as the cultures and art of Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. The trends outlined above are just there to provide you with that little spark of inspiration to help you with designing your own original, unique, and stylish home. Happy decorating!
