With many of us having lived a whole year at home staring at the same four walls on repeat with no commute, coffee house sittings or early morning spin classes for pleasurable life punctuation, it’s likely you’re now grappling with a little interiors itch that needs a-scratchin’. We never thought cushion fatigue was a real emotion, alas, 2020 was an eye-opener in so many ways and here we are craving pillow pastures new.
If you’re attacking the walls with every Pantone swatch you can get your hands on, hooked on DIY panelling tutorials and wondering if wallpaper is really making a comeback, this post is for you.
Keep reading for a rundown of 2021’s biggest interior trends from colours to cottagecore and beyond.
Comfort & introspection
This one’s less of a trend, more of a lifestyle overhaul that has rubbed off on our homes and we ain’t mad. If we can’t hug each other, then by Jove our homes are going to have to step up and embrace us.
We need armchairs that sigh and grumble as we sink into them, chestnut woods to warm up a sterile kitchen, our favourite dogeared books stacked in quiet corners and huddled into bookshelves and floral tea cups to make our morning rituals that little bit more joyful.
We need armchairs that sigh and grumble as we sink into them, chestnut woods to warm up a sterile kitchen, our favourite dogeared books stacked in quiet corners and huddled into bookshelves and floral teacups to make our morning rituals that little bit more joyful. Just as we looked to loungewear for emotional support circa March 2020 (and never stopped), we’re now just a bunch of broken girls, stood in front of their sofas, asking them to love us. It’s no longer simply a case of what our homes look like but a question of how do we want to feel in our homes?
Now that we’re spending more time inside and transitioning between working hours and weekends all whilst rooted in the same spot, we need a living space that allows us to do just that: live and live comfortably. We need it to serve us through all kinds of liveability – through periods of procrastination and productivity.
Wall panelling detail
Hands up who’s looked around a room like an owl on a midnight mission for a vole and thought, ‘huh, I wonder if I can panel it to within an inch of its perpendicular life?’.
Painted panels can add period drama to an otherwise soulless room and there are plenty of people taking up the task themselves to save on the ol’ carpentry costs. Have a look at Chelsea’s home for all the inspo and intel on how to make your walls a talking point. Get the spirit level out girls, it’s about to get wild.
Nature’s palette
A bit of sage advice for 2021: green is IN. From kitchen cabinetry to walls, tiles and fabrics, mood-boosting greenery is the hue to do this year. In terms of colour psychology, green is one grounding goddess.
In terms of colour psychology, green is one grounding goddess.
It promotes a connection to nature, which many of us have been missing over the last year, so it comes as no real surprise that we’re looking to bring the healing powers of the great outdoors into our homes. One look at Dulux’s colour of the year and you’ll see that neutrals still have their place this season, so there’s no need to banish the beige just yet but introducing restful greens is a great way to incorporate colour, without overwhelming a space. Brb, off to break it to the other half that we’re going avocado with the sofa.
The thrifted home
While sustainability and saving furniture destined for landfill is not a new idea, lockdown has certainly made us take stock of our surroundings and our consumption. Shopping around for second-hand furniture – albeit virtually at the moment – makes styling your nest an altogether slower, more conscious process, not to mention the perks of discovering something you love for an absolute steal. There’s something to be said for the art of homeware hunting and filling your space with foraged stories and thrifted treasure; to rehome a piece of furniture and love it back to life is surely the most fulfilling way to dress a house.
Boucle all the way
Most often seen in white or cream, the nubby cloud-like textile first took off in 2020 but your butts will be pleased to hear, it’s going nowhere. Perfect for softening a minimalist interior with subtle texture and warmth from accent chairs to sofas (yes please), blankets and cushion covers, it’s the textile to be sat on right now. Style the retro fuzz with angular marbles, smooth curves and fluted shapes, leather and wood finishes for visual balance. Marshmallow vibes for 2021, ground-breaking.
Cottagecore
Also known as countrycore, cottagecore is a whimsical pastoral aesthetic inspired by folklore, nature and slow living. Think bucolic thatched-roof fantasy, complete with gingham picnic baskets in the meadow amongst wildflowers, poetry, dappled sunbeams and babbling brooks. If it were a song, it would be Cardigan by Taylor Swift. You get the gist.
It has become the pastoral pick-me-up we all needed after the last 12 months
It’s a trend that’s been around since 2018 but with lockdown forcing us to re-evaluate our fast-paced lives, it has become the pastoral pick-me-up we all needed after the last 12 months. Just one look at the some 1.3 million hashtags dedicated to its community on Instagram is enough to tell you that fairytale cottages, pinafore aprons, floral crockery and vegetable garden goals are very much en vogue.
The good news is, you don’t have to be the next Anne of Green Gables to encompass the cottagecore trend in your home, introducing vintage touches, carefully curated clutter, quaint wallpaper, wood finishes and cosy reading nooks will inject a bit of rustic reverie into your humble abode quicker than you can say Little House On The Prairie. Your sanctuary awaits…
Objects of joy
A healthy line up of statement ceramics can breathe new life into an otherwise tired living space, injecting colour, craftsmanship, pattern and fun into the mix. Instagram is high key obsessed with sexy shapes – boobs, booties, faces and torsos, so if you’re looking for a room with a cheeky view while you’re working from home, a nude vessel will certainly spice up your spells of procrastination.
We need objects of joy and interest to offer us visual escapism right now and to transport us into a world away from emails, home-schooling and back-to-back Zoom doom. So, snap up a pretty vase and treat yourself to some Spring flowers whilst you’re at it. You deserve it.
