Every new year brings fresh interior design trends, and 2024 is no exception. As always, some trends are a continuation of what’s been hot in recent years, while others are new directions that have captured the interest of interior designers and are starting to appear on showroom floors.

If there’s a common theme among the interior design trends 2024 brings, it’s one of being happy and comfortable in our homes. The most showcase-worthy homes will continue to feature traditional refinement, but it will be a more relaxed refinement with a 2024 interpretation of what constitutes sophistication.

Here are some directions to watch for as we turn the calendar.

Traditional Design with a Contemporary Update

Many of us grew up in traditional homes with rooms and furniture that were formal and familiar. Traditional design can be elegant and reassuring, but it can also feel stodgy and dated. The 2024 take on traditional brings it firmly into the current decade. The more elaborate aspects of traditional – ornate furniture and floral or paisley patterns – are toned down, and a room takes on the open look that’s in vogue today. In the hands of an experienced designer, the overall effect is one that maintains character and luxury yet is more approachable and playful!

Minimaluxe

Minimalist luxury, aka “minimaluxe,” is a trend that’s been building since the pandemic, and now there’s a name for it. A minimaluxe room has fewer items, but those few are of the highest quality. As with Scandinavian design, openness and airiness are vital. Minimaluxe favors soft textures, gently curved shapes and unobtrusive colors. The desired ambiance is calm, comfortable and safe. Windows often feature lightweight curtains or even no curtains at all to maintain the simplicity of the space. Decor is restrained and refined.

Learn about a similar aesthetic in our Quiet Luxury Design Trend blog.

Curves and Related Shapes

A piece’s silhouette can be as significant as its texture and color. Curvilinear furniture has been en vogue in living room design trends for a while, and curves, as well as irregular shapes, will be even more prominent throughout the home in 2024. Rounded sofa and chairs were early curvilinear interpretations, and now curves are also prominent on tables and cabinets as well as lamps, mirrors and decor.

Curves bring relaxation and intimacy to a room. For example, a long curved sofa or sectional allows friends to sit at either end yet feel as though they’re facing. The plumped-up rounded armchair is another curvy creation that promotes comfort and conversation. Curvaceous table lamps add an artistic touch to illumination. Curvy pendant lighting fascinates with a surprising silhouette.

Many area rugs are round or oval, but in 2024 there’s more interest in unusually shaped rugs, often with irregular texture or scalloped edges. Similarly, round or oval mirrors can have unexpected curves that produce unconventional shapes.

Dopamine Design

Minimalism will have its place in 2024, but it won’t be everywhere. People want to feel not only comfortable but also joyful, and dopamine design steps in to satisfy that need. Dopamine in our brains makes us happy, and dopamine design creates spaces that trigger a delighted response. It’s a reaction we naturally have when we see bright and contrasting colors, playful patterning, sculptural furniture and odd, whimsical decor.

Everyone wants more positivity in life, and surroundings with dopamine decor add just that. You can do an entire room with stimulating colors, patterns and textures, but just a dose of dopamine makes a difference in your outlook. For example, outrageous pillows on a neutral sofa or wall art with assertive colors can be enough to make you smile inside.

Patterns present an opportunity to experiment with the dopamine effect. Eye-catching area rugs with personality are one choice, and another is the creative use of tiles such as Zellige, a type of tile that originated in Morocco and is known for its surface irregularity and one-of-a-kind appearance. Whether on the floor, the walls or pillows and upholstery, patterns in the categories of floral, geometric and flat-out quirky will make your home your happy place.

A Palette of Color Choices

Even the experts couldn't agree on the 2024 color of the year. Behr chose soft black Cracked Pepper, Benjamin Moore selected Blue Nova with its hint of violet, Sherwin-Williams opted for a gray tone called Upward and HGTV Home selected earthy Persimmon with its touch of tangerine.

Read our Behr’s 2024 Color of the Year: Cracked Pepper blog.

Clearly Behr is on to something, as designers are developing a keen interest in black and gray tones. Everyone agrees that black speaks of elegance, wonderfully complements a variety of colors and has been overlooked in recent years. However, there are other color trends competing for our attention. For example, moody indigo is getting a long look. There’s also interest in retro colors such as avocado, olive and mustard.

Multitone and color pairing will be widespread. That’s not just related shades of a single color but also contrasts such as black and white or indigo and gray. With renewed interest in Barbie, might pink continue to make its way into our homes? If you’re a fan, a touch of Barbiecore might press your dopamine button.

A Fresh Take on Metallics

At one time, the rule was to deploy only one metallic in a room – either gold or silver but not both. That rule is out the window. Metallics can mix not only with each other but also with other natural materials such as marble, granite and ceramics.

There will be increasing variety in metallics. Stainless steel and chrome are due for a comeback. Bronze, nickel and black metallics will be found in mirrors, lighting, art frames and other decor. Your choice and positioning of metallics is an effective way to imbue a room with your personality.

Green Living

Homes have taken leaps and bounds in sustainability in the 21st century, and homeowners are insisting that the trend continue. That entails environmental sensibility not only in the building itself but also in its furnishings. It implies not only renewable natural materials but also the use of products with small manufacturing footprints.

A home attuned with nature is good not only for the earth but also for the people who live there. That’s the guiding principle of biophilic design, which recognizes our inborn attraction to nature. A biophilic home brings the outdoors inside with large widows, mirrors to amplify natural light and the colors and materials of the outdoor world. And, as you would expect, that nature-themed home has no shortage of houseplants.

Read our Biophilic Design Ideas blog.

Read our Sustainable Furniture and Design blog.

Choosing an Overall Aesthetic

2024 brings quite a few design trends, and no home can effectively integrate all of them. How can you know which ones will work for you? That’s where an experienced designer comes in. Following design trends piecemeal can lead to an interior that feels disjointed.

When you and your designer establish an overall direction for your home, you have a framework for evaluating the vogues that each new year brings. It’s much easier to decide which ones to adopt and how they best fit into your design vision.