Interior Design Trends for your Living Room 2021
Written by Catherine Seagrave
2020 was a challenging year for everyone. It pretty much changed the way we live overnight and the effects have had a huge influence on the home trends we are now seeing.
The way we view our homes, how we spend time in them, and what we need them to do for us has changed rapidly. The trends we are seeing for 2021 are a real reflection of this as we crave comfort from our homes, needing a reassuring space and a sanctuary from the stresses of the world. In addition we are needing a multi functional space more than ever, allowing everyone to work and relax and be together in a home that’s flexible and adaptable. Our need to connect with nature and the great outdoors has filtered into many of our design decisions, from the colours we are drawn to, to the textures we surround ourselves with.
So whether you love to know what the new trends coming up are, or you’re interested to see if your decorating style has been influenced by the pandemic, take a look at what we believe the rest of 2021 will bring.
Earthy Neutral Paint Tones
We have seen a real move towards warmer, softer paint colours in recent months. For a long time everything was about the grey - and although that is still very much alive, our customers are using words like warm and welcoming more often when they talk about the ‘feel’ they want from their living room. From the gentle soft pinky tones of plaster, through to the off whites of linen and canvas, and the warm beige of camel, the neutral palette provides an easy to live with backdrop for your home. Bolder accent tones are also referencing nature with olive greens and sunny terracottas on rugs, accent chairs and cushions to give a more intimate and uplifting feel to the home.
Looking for a neutral paint colour? See our favourites here.
Textured Surfaces
Surfaces are becoming more textured and interesting. Glass is fluted rather than clear, wallpaper is offering 3 dimensional effects with panelling, and furniture fronts are becoming more architectural in design. The flat fronts on sideboards are becoming more decorative, but in a tonal, structural way, rather than flamboyantly colourful. Grooves, slats, panels, and reeding are adding interest and character. And people are looking at ways to upcycle their furniture. On instagram a very patient lady used hundreds of lolly pop sticks on her Ikea Hemnes drawer fronts to create a wooden chevron pattern. Very effective - but very labour intensive!
Want to discuss how we can help you with your room? Book a discovery call with us today!
Connection to Nature
Another trend very closely related to the pandemic is a surge in designs and items connected to nature. Nature makes us feel good, and if like me you are a city dweller, the craving for time outdoors and a connection to nature is very strong. House plants continue to grow in popularity and are a beautiful way to help bring the outdoors in - freshening our air, bringing a sense of calm, and adding sculpture and form to our shelves and sideboards. They work on every important design level - they are useful, they look beautiful and seeing them and caring for them is good for our mental health - win win win!
We have also seen a move towards a more natural feel in the fabrics and materials we are using in the living room; linen and cotton rather than shiny fabrics like silks and satins, natural materials bringing warmth from weathered wood and sisal on the floor to rattan on furniture and accessories. These natural products give an authentic, honest feel and ages with your environment, feeling intune with nature.
Bold Vases
Statement vases are proving a thing this year. These vases are not your standard glass vase for the odd bunch of flowers - these are vases that you want to show off whether you have flowers or not! They are colour popping, bold and sculptural. Many are humorous, like the bottom shaped vases that have sold out everywhere online, or they take inspiration from the classics like the Venus de Milo shaped vases.
And this trend plays into the larger trend for accessorising and styling your living room and work area to create a suitable zoom background that says something personal and interesting about you. Bottom shaped vase anyone?!
Do you struggle to visualise how your room could look? We can help you, click here.
Not so open ‘open plan’ living
With a very obvious link to the lockdown, are homes are needing to do more, for more people. Open plan is still very much the way people want to live, but areas are needing to be created for a home office or home schooling space. Corners are needing to be sectioned off, and there are some really creative solutions to help. Adding free standing bookcases is a temporary solution that creates flexible living areas. Hanging plants from the ceiling to create a divide can be enough for you to feel a sense of separation from the rest of the room. A more permanent and costly solution is using crittal style glass partitions to give a stylish industrial feel to the space. B&Q are offering some fantastic cost effective solutions with crittall style dividers for £75 in their Alara range and Scandi looking wood slat dividers from the Adriska range for £70.
Japandi Style
I know that it sounds made up, but Japandi is a style that’s going to be hitting our high street shops in a big way (just as soon as they can reopen!). Think Scandi hygge meets Japanese wabi-sabi, Japanese minimalism with pared back Scandi. This timeless simplicity is growing in popularity as people are drawn to the harmonious uncluttered function of their homes, softened with earthy tones, leafy plants and neutral tones. We love the uncluttered, clean lines. Japandi is a term we’ll all be using by the end of the year!!
Sage Green
Sage green is having its moment, and is being used on everything from kitchen cupboards to occasional chairs and of course, living room walls. It is a soft, gentle colour, warm and enveloping with it’s connection with nature. This year it’s being combined with modern, clean lines on furniture to bring it bang up to date. And, as green has been proven to decrease your heart rate and help alleviate stress, what better reason to choose it for your walls? We love Lick paint’s Green 01 which is warm and comforting, and as they say ‘easy as a Sunday morning’!
Grandmillenial Granny Chic
This trend has come from a comfort in the old and a sense of nostalgia to help us feel things will be ok again. Looking back to happier times lifts our spirits and makes us feel hopeful. Hand-me-downs and inherited pieces, second-hand and reclaimed furniture are being incorporated into a modern interior for a fresh take on an old style. Previously out of date chintz fabrics are sitting side by side with contemporary shapes, and vintage furniture is being updated with velvet fabrics in interesting clashing colours. Definitely a trend for the design adventurous.
So there you have it - global pandemic meets interior design trends! If you’d like some help styling your home, and making your living room look its best, get in touch. We’d love to help you!
