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10 Summer/Fall 2020 Design Trends to Try

Trends are not about changing your style, but rather seeing living spaces from a new perspective and reacting to how the world is changing. 

You may see something on this list that you adore and want to incorporate into your home, or you may see something that’s funky and new, but that you’ll choose to admire from afar. Whatever your reaction to these specific styles, we hope you enjoy reviewing this list we’ve compiled of current interior design trends to try!

1. A New Take on Neutral
Neutral colors are white with hits of cool or warm tones. For the past few years, we’ve seen gray variations dominating the neutral scene. But now neutrals are shifting to warmer hues, such as bone white or soft peach.

2. Mix in the Handmade
Hand-crafted items add a feeling of comfort to any home. Try mixing in these touches with your otherwise contemporary spaces. Bowls, candles, rugs and furniture that you buy from a local shop or a maker whose story you know will create a warm connection to these items and the room.

Plus, you don’t have to break the bank to try this trend – browse Etsy or make some of the DIY projects you’ve seen on Pinterest!

3. Smooth as Velvet
Nothing combines luxury and comfort like velvet, and you’re going to see this fabric cross over from apparel fashion to the home space over the next couple years. When you think of velvet as home décor, you likely imagine a deep red velvet lounge, but the velvets of this decade will span a much wider array of colors.

From rich golds to royal blues to forest greens, velvet chairs and pillows add a fun pop of color and classic luxury into any room.

Funky bedroom with olive green velvet accent chair

4. Return to Nature
Rich earthy tones will take over as the most popular color palette. Communicating groundedness, earth tones make your space feel cozy.

With many options to choose from – chocolate brown, wine, olive green, buttery yellow, terra cotta, and more – which might you add to your home?

5. Bathroom as a Blank Canvas
The contained space of a bathroom is a perfect canvas for experimenting in a way that might seem daunting to undertake in larger rooms.

This smaller space can be ideal to try an all-over wallpaper, or you could contain the pattern to one statement wall or the ceiling. Other bathroom trends we’re noticing: gunmetal hardware, bold wall art, chic concrete, and spa-inspired zen touches.

6. Patterns on Patterns
The first rule to patterns is that there are no rules! We’re seeing different patterns – ones that years ago you might have said clashed – layered throughout the home. Be bold with color, designs, and material for this trend, and get creative with what can be patterned. Rugs, wallpaper, and pillows are obvious, but what about your ceiling, floor, tabletop, or couch?

Geometric patterns continue to be popular, but a word to the wise – use classic or contemporary geometrics sparingly throughout the house so that they pop as a more special element.

Warm, artistic bedroom playing with a variety of patterns

7. Keep It Real
Bio·​phil·​ia – a desire to be connected to other forms of natural life. Biophilic design incorporates nature into your personal space through flowers, living plants and natural fabrics and it will continue to surge in the next few years.

Adding a touch of beauty, fresh air, and natural light into your home will contribute to a balanced environment. Implement this trend by adding real plants to your windowsills, an herb wall to your kitchen, and sustainable textiles to your living room.

8. Multi-functional Spaces
As the number of people working from home is continuing to grow, there will be a shift toward fusing working and living spaces into multi-use rooms that provide for a seamless transition between the various facets of your life.

In new homes, this could include designing a dedicated work area into a kitchen island or having a storage area open up to reveal a hidden playroom or office. We have also seen creative folks create ingenious closet/office combinations that carve out a private space for work by rethinking the constraints of their current home.

9. Classic is the New Modern
Many of these interior design trends have an underlying theme of natural and earthy comfort, and the furniture will be no exception. In this decade, you’ll notice that furniture will have much rounder edges and will feel very inviting, classic, and a bit playful.

Pick out couches and chairs that you enjoy sitting in rather than ones that have sharp, modern elements. Some of these curvy pieces may even feel a bit retro, and we’re welcoming that throwback to the 70s!

10. High Contrast
For those craving a crisp take on neutrals, you will love that a bold black and white pairing is making a comeback. This high contrast duo set in an otherwise monochromatic room feels timeless, and it can be achieved with graphic and art deco prints or a black fireplace against white walls.

For a more colorful application, try adding contrast to the kitchen with open shelves against a bold-pattern backsplash or cabinets that are an even mix of two colors. Our favorite is a navy base with white uppers!