I really don’t like annual interior decor trend forecasts.
Now. Just to be clear. In no way does that mean that I don’t completely … deeply … utterly enjoy reading them.
Hate reading is the best, amiright?
My problem with most interior decor trend forecasts is that they end up doing way more harm than good.
Sure, ok. Call me a killjoy. Tell me I take them too seriously. Maybe I do, but I take them seriously because I see how they have this negative affect on the way people feel about their homes and what they think they need to be buying so they can be ‘on trend’.
They kill creativity and self expression.
They swipe at your confidence and take your satisfaction with your own style choices down a notch or two.
It sucks.
Decorating golden rule: Live with what you love.” —Unknown
Forecasts tend to be really limiting at best and downright unrealistic at their worst. They subtly – though unintentionally – discourage people from experimenting and discovering their own loves and loathes.
At best, a popular influencer proclaims that such and such a year is going to be the year of such and such a style and BOOM, our social feeds are blasted practically overnight with rooms that all look, well … pretty much the same.
Then we start seeing the trend translated in ‘real life’ homes and they tend to look, well … pretty much the same, too.
Because of the natural human desire to fit in paired with this weird yet very human psychological quirk that we tend to like best what we see the most, interior decor trend forecasts launch a tidal wave of typical.
A veritable sunami of sameness.
A big basket of boring.
Personal Design > Trendy Design
I think that the 2021 interior decor trend forecasts are all missing the point, especially this year. After the 2020 we just had, here they are still following old patterns of declaring one thing to be out and another thing to be in.
Minimalism? Out! Maximilism! In!
Mid Century Modern? Trash It! Granmillenial is the cool vintage now!
But … I just finished KonMari’ing and feng shui’ing every square inch of my life and now you’re telling me I need to stuff it all back in because the calendar changed?
Nah. I’m good, thanks.
They’re acting like this is just a typical year and a formulaic forecast will suit just fine.
Just get it posted. SEO is king. Thought leadership, people! Amiright?
Well, we know it’s not a typical year by any stretch and I have a very strong suspicion that design trends for 2021 aren’t going to be trends at all.
2021 is going to be much more about ‘you do you’.
My 2021 interior decor forecast is that we’re going to see a lot more personal expression happening and our decor feeds are going to get a lot more interesting.
Like, a lot more. And I can’t wait!
More Decor to Explore
I’m not even going to try to pretend that my opinion on interior decor forecasts matters.
It really doesn’t. Who am I to say, anyway?
While being yourself and expressing who you are through your decor is, I think, a liberating concept, it can also be pretty darn overwhelming. There really is such a thing as too much freedom! Too many choices! Narrowing it down and gaining a sense of direction through the opinions of others can be just as liberating as having no boundaries at all.
While I believe many forecasts are ridiculously out of touch with how most of us are decorating our homes, I’m going to drop a few links to forecasts that I think totally nailed the concept.
Explore, gather some ideas, and then come back and tell me which are your favorite!
- 40 Interior Design Trends for 2021 Promoting natural elements, imperfect finishes, the use of black as a primary color, painted ceilings … this is a really great list. Be prepared to spend some time with this one.
- 10 Best Decor Ideas This one gets really specific but layered design, hygge style, and botanical wallpaper are all worth exploring
- Traditional Interior Design Trends for 2021 Something I neglected to talk about in my forecast is this: I think we have reached peak saturation on farmhouse style. It’s not on the slide yet, but it is at the apex. It’s an easy transition from farmhouse to a more traditional style because it feels comfortable and familiar – something we’re craving after the unpredictability of 2020 – yet allows for the inclusion of way more color, endless pattern, and tons of texture. Traditional style is so much fun to play with and there are so many ways to interpret it, from grandmillenial to Jackie O to Louis VI, that I think we’re going to see traditional overtake farmhouse as the most popular style in 2021.
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