In anticipation of the onslaught of 2026 design trend posts that will surely start appearing right after the calendar flips over to September, I thought it a good time to assess my own personal entries into the 2025 home style Hall of Fame before we all move on. What happened this year in decorating that, if you looked back in 10 years, would scream TWENTY TWENTY-FIVE? Now, I will say that there is nearly nothing that was born and has died in this year, besides TikTok trends like “Sardine Girl Summer” or the produce home decor trend that consumed the shelves of HomeGoods stores nationwide. Many of the things on this design trends list could also be very 2024 or even 2023, but the reason I’m including them now is because they seem to have reached an absolute fever pitch.
But first, my signature caveat: Everything pictured below is a room any of us here would be lucky to call home. They are all beautiful, most of which I proudly keep in my bookmarks because I love them. Just because they have been included here doesn’t mean I think they are destined for a life with a Scarlet 2025 emblazoned on them. They are not trendy in a bad way; they are not passé; they are simply illustrative of a trend I’m identifying. Not to mention that thumbtacking something to a specific year, in this case, labeling it “very 2025,” isn’t necessarily an insult. After all, finding things today that are so distinctly ’50s, ’70s, Art Deco, mid-century, Bauhaus…we celebrate that. The issue is when it’s all together in one room, particularly in a home where the styles simply do not jive. I’m adamant that our homes should not feel like we plucked every cool thing from all the people we follow online and put them together in one space.
One additional step in this exercise is to pull out the design crystal ball and assess how I think we may feel about them in a decade. Will they still feel fresh, or at the very least, attractive, welcoming, and interesting? Or perhaps that checkerboard we all keep plastering all over our homes will be akin to chicken wallpaper borders from the early ’90s or chevron rugs a la 2010. Instafluencer Chic, they’ll call it. Maybe, maybe not. Who’s to say, but it sure is fun to guess.
By far, the most all-consuming trend of the year and the last few years prior is checkerboard. It’s undeniable. Checkerboard has made its way onto our floors, walls, fabrics, and upholstery. It’s like Tom Hanks in the ’90s…freaking everywhere and in everything. It got us all good and didn’t miss a style. This alternating square fits into modern, traditional, and transitional homes.
I find checkerboard particularly interesting in applications like the doorway border above by Studio Aida. Anytime a commonplace thing is used unexpectedly, it’s suddenly new and fresh again. That’s not to say I haven’t seen this kind of positioning, but it still excites me.
Finch Studio went full force with a color-blocked backroom complete with burlwood vanity and International Klein Blue details. It’s mighty and impressive, but certainly not something I’d call timeless. (“Timeless” is worth a whole other conversation, because who gets to decide what is considered “timeless” and why are we all chasing that, anyway? I’ll save that for another time, though.)
There’s no place we saw checkerboard used more than on floors, greatly in part due to these peel-and-stick floor tiles that Chris Loves Julia designed for Wallpops. EVERYONE used them (I think even Mallory did in the new apartment she’s decorating), heck, even I reached out to them for my kitchen when I was working on it. The look really is beautiful, classic, and depending on the space it’s in, will probably look good for a very long time.
Not so much checkerboard as gingham (or buffalo check), but still simply everywhere. Shower curtains, duvet covers, throw blankets, pillows. Checks are a wonderful bridge between other patterns, similar to stripes. They bring together disparate prints beautifully. And in the case of this bathroom, it adds a crispness to the storied tile and fixtures.
2035 Gut Check: I think it’s time to cool it a bit on checkerboard patterns. In 10 years, we’ll have been collectively obsessed with at least two or three other patterns, and checks will fall back into their place: Great for sprinkling around if they suit your style, but not itching to grow on everything like wild ivy on a brick wall.
I love an arch on a doorway and a room transition, but boy, have we seen everyone force their way into archland in their homes. The number of reels I’ve consumed where a content creator transformed their lame and boring squared-off passageways (this is a joke) into an arch rivals how often I’ve rewatched Gilmore Girls (a lot…not a joke). Arches are beautiful, they soften modern or basic architecture, but they are simply everywhere and on everything, such as furniture and…
announcing sleeping nooks like this one (yes, it’s beautiful), and…
as entrances to kitchen spaces, and…
yup, even in pass-throughs like this one above. It’s certainly more interesting.
2035 Gut Check: Arches have been around since the ancient Romans, so this isn’t anything new. They absolutely belong in some, if not all, spaces, but the need to stop what we’re doing to find a way to hack our way to archways in our contemporary builder-grade homes…not so much. I predict that arches specifically on furniture are going to be fairly dated in just a few years.
Scalloped edging and detailing have exploded in the last year or two, and I get it. It’s very cute and feels really special when used sparingly. The yellow scalloped edge in this pantry (or possibly kitchen) by Salvesen Graham is undeniably charming.
Though scalloping first became super popular in the late Renaissance, it’s most often associated with English cottage style (more on that below). It’s certainly striking on this little kitchen cart, in a space by Duet.
My heart nearly stopped when I saw this closet border by Jasno Projekty, which makes me think that perhaps scalloping hasn’t reached its maximum exposure yet. Still, though, it’s synonymous en masse with 2025.
Apart from woodworking, this wave pattern got the most design mileage out of headboards. I considered DIYing something similar back in 2021 because you couldn’t really find them for sale (they were mostly custom designer pieces at that time, like the above by Own London), but now, this style is simply everywhere.
Arches AND waves AND checkerboards! Patricia Bustos’ designs are wildly fun, and something I’d enjoy the heck out of at a boutique hotel or public space, but in my home, I prefer to avoid combining so many “now” styles for fear of time-stamping my rooms.
2035 Gut Check: I think if you have an actual cottage, or you do something incredibly custom and unique like that wood closet surround, the scallop will fade away fairly quickly. In a decade, we may find remnants of it in homes and think, “Remember when we were all doing that?”
First came color drenching, then came pattern drenching. It’s maximalism at its core, and maybe a push back on all the quiet, warm neutral rooms we saw come to be last year and this year. Designers (like Emma Stevenson, above) have been doing this for decades, even centuries, but it hit the mainstream in 2025 big time. What used to be a mark of custom is not fairly easy to execute yourself, as companies sell fabrics and wallpapers in the same print.
I mean…I LOVE to look at things like this House of Hackney explosion, but it’s not for everyone or even for most. It’s a showpiece, for sure.
This is a fun little twist on pattern-drenching, with a different motif on the ceiling, but a classic marker of the style is matching your drapes/window coverings to your wallpaper design, like in this sweet space I found on a realtor’s page that I’m fairly certain is by Sarah Sherman Samuel.
But let’s not forget the OG: color drenching. I still absolutely love it. Color drenching has a way of really just squeezing all the design potential out of a space. It feels purposeful, powerful, interesting, especially when done in an aubergine like this mudroom by Gramophone Design Build.
Another heavy hitter from the Brownsone Boys. I find that color drenching can hide many sins of a space, though I’m not seeing any in this beautiful room.
Wowza, that’s red! Another situation in which I pull tremendous inspiration and excitement, but it’s perhaps too impactful for my own eyes every day.
2035 Gut Check: I think color drenching has a longer shelf life than pattern drenching simply because it’s more adaptable for the common folk (non-design peeps) to implement. It’s hard to know what our spirits will need in a decade from now, maybe bright, happy spaces that aren’t intense color caves, so the verdict is still out on this. I’m leaning toward leaving this one in the 2020s, though.
The absolute “it” style of the last few years, I’m also lumping in English Country into the general “cottage” labeling. While I think the style itself is a staple and not something that will disappear for those who truly love it (or, you know, live in the English countryside), I’m fixating on all the cutesy details we have started to see eek out of the look into homes that wear a different look. Think pleated fabric lampshades and fabric panels behind cabinet doors, pedestal sink skirts, and frilly fringes on pillows and draperies.
Nothing feels like a warm hug and a cup of tea on a bad day quite like cottage detailing. Pleated fabric panels on cabinetry are something we’re seeing more and more of, so it likely still has some legs.
A cabinet skirt is a cheap, easy, and fool-proof way to cover something in a kitchen but make it say “charming.”
Flanges and ruffles on everything! Plates above the bed? Sure, why not! That’s kind of the beauty of cottage style: It feels like almost anything goes.
2035 Gut Check: As I said above, English style will forever and always have its place in this design world of ours, but in terms of the mainstream, I can already see us shifting. There’s been a ton of chatter around vintage Renaissance and a more glamorous, palatial thing happening.
Moody rooms aren’t new, though moody and brown has come back in a big, BIG way. There will always be room for neutrals, but cool-toned neutrals and warm-toned neutrals always seem to flip-flop every 10 to 15 years.
The Amber Interiors look has been going strong for the last eight to 10 years for sure, which I think has driven much of our softening on brown and warm neutrals in general.
I don’t want to miss out on pointing out the obvious: Moody photography of rooms that may not be so dark in real life under standard sunlight conditions is on the rise, probably by the same lot that hates overhead lighting. (HAHAHAHA, I just had to poke fun at this as I’ve made clear where I stand on the subject.)
I’m no stranger to a dark, romantic dining space, of course. I love it in certain areas to add drama or transition from a brighter, more open room. We could all use a little moody moment like this sexy nook I spotted on Architectural Digest.
2035 Gut Check: It’s really hard to gauge the longevity and lifespan of color trends because they are one of the easiest things to swap around in our homes and are a direct reflection of what we’re feeling in the zeitgeist. I recall a time back in the early aughts when yellow and gray were everything, and it was hard to imagine a time when it wouldn’t be, but in 10 years, we will likely be on to something new. (God, please don’t let it be gray yet again.)
Ahh, the curved couch. Furniture seems to have lost all its edges as of 2022/2023, and the sinuous sofa is the queen bee. But it’s only a matter of time before we all realize they’re cool and all for occasional rooms, but not comfortable enough for our main living spaces.
Curved cabinetry has also become the cool girl in design school, from permanent installations in our kitchens to freestanding pieces like our dressers and nightstands. These have more staying power, in my opinion, because “comfort” isn’t one of the key barometers of its success.
2035 Gut Check: To me, this one is easy: Curved furniture should enjoy its time in the limelight because it has an expiration date. Almost nothing will say 2025 more than a curved sofa or barrel chair, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Some of our things should be time capsules of eras past, don’t you think?
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OKAY! I had a lot to say here, clearly. And while I don’t like to make a habit of tearing down anyone’s design (I hope you can see I tried not to do that here), it is pretty freeing to just say what’s on my mind. The fun of design and decorating is that everything is not meant to be for everyone or every home. Trends come and go; that’s the very nature of them, so let’s make it okay to examine without taking anything away from their use in an otherwise gorgeous room.
I hope you had fun with this, because I did. Feel free to chime in on some other 2025 Hall of Famers and how you think they’ll fare in the next decade.
Until next time, my friends…
Opening Image Credits: Design by Emily Henderson and Max Humphrey | Photo by Kaitlin Green | From: My Brother’s Beautiful Guest Bedroom – A Warm and Modern Retreat
Reading this post was fun because I’m a historic-homes nerd who is always taking an extra look at the sets and filming locations for period shows and movies. And, I’m lucky enough to live in a Tudor cottage built in the 1930s. It’s fun to spot trends coming back around, going, and coming back again.
For example: The doorway to my living room is arched because that was a popular thing to do in 1930. I love it! And it suits the age of my house. But I totally see how forcing a bunch of arches into a brand new build might not work.
Another example: I’ve been watching the Netflix show “A Discovery of Witches.” (The interiors in that show, OMG.) One of the sets is a medieval castle with a room covered in a giant rust-and-cream checkerboard pattern. It’s incredibly cool! And here we are in 2025, painting things in checkerboard again. I guess to be fair, almost anything looks good in a medieval castle but still, it’s fun to watch the trends come and go.
Yes! Don’t get me wrong. Arches are absolutely beautiful, and when architecturally appropriate, they can hang out forever and ever. Many of the things on this list in theory are not “trendy” when used appropriately!
I came here to say something similar. My house was built in 1912, but it has a couple of arched doorways in the living room, one of which was no doubt added whenever the double pocket doors were removed (RIP!) I assumed the 1950s because that’s the decade I associate arched doors with, but you’ve made me think maybe it was the 1930s. It also has some cute wavy scallops on the built-in, which I also associate with the 1950s. Anyway, I agree that old homes are a fun way to observe the ebb and flow of trends. Some definitely age better than others (my gross brown 90s bathroom had to go), but the trick is to find the ones that fit with the style of the house, and/or are easily reversible or adaptable.
Long live the arch! One of my favourite trends although still associated with the 70s in Australia.
Second only to my other favourite trend – RATTAN! Long may it reign. I’ll definitely be happily stuck in the past once these ones move on. Ditto Zellige.
Great round up in general.
What about farmhouse modern? If anything has overstayed its time, it’s FM. Very Fixer Upper rather than 2025 I suppose, but still seems to pop up on Insta. Way over it and much prefer a more sophisticated look.
Another trend that is very 2025 IMHO is the cafe curtain. All over Insta (although not common in Australia). I find them very twee and don’t like them at all, although I can appreciate the practicality.
Yeah Farmhouse Modern is not so much 2025 as it has just overstayed its welcome. And yes, agree that the cafe curtain is very 2024/2025, but I still love them! I like a touch of twee here and there.
I’m surprised that “fluting” wasn’t on your list. You see fluting on all kinds of furniture and cabinetry now. Maybe it’s too new to be strictly a 2025 trend?
Also surprised that fluting and its application on new surfaces and restored furniture wasn’t covered. It’s fresh now, but in the long run, hard to maintain and clean as inevitable dust settles in the crevices. As for farmhouse, this tired trend is still showing up on new builds – the oversized black/white/black window home/castles- taking over established neighborhoods.
Yes, so much fluting! Whenever I see it, I think about how one keeps it clean, especially in a kitchen. It also doesn’t seem very durable.
My previous comment didn’t make it past the super-smart AI filter, but all of the panel molding that is being installed everywhere requires a staff of housekeepers to keep clean and pristine. Adding it to your home is quadrupling the amount of dusting you will need to do. No thanks from me.
The same can be said about the huge amount of PANEL MOLDING everyone is installing everywhere as the “hot new thing”. It originated in homes that had huge housekeeping staffs that could DUST and CLEAN it all. It’s really silly when ordinary people install it. E.v.e.r.y. piece of it needs to be dusted regularly.
Gosh you’re totally right. I’m adding it here, then, officially. Ha!
It’s been going on for quite a few years now, so definitely on its way out very soon!
Oh my gosh, I just had an experience of the curved furniture obsession. I went looking on the weekend for a reading chair to replace a vintage 1950s swivel chair that is a good occasional chair, but not a comfortable place to sit and read for a while. I hit up all the big box furniture stores– pottery barn, Crate & Barrel, RH, EQ3, West, Elm, etc., and I could not find a single chair that was not a barrel chair. Store after store they just had swivel barrel chair options. Even Pottery Barn! I could not believe it cause pottery barn has some nicer non-barrel chairs on their website but none to try in the store. I thought it was really silly from a merchandising standpoint for everyone to be selling basically the same thing. I was a little disappointed to see the chair in Emily‘s line for the same reason. I guess they must be selling like hot cakes, though, otherwise everybody wouldn’t be carrying them.
I think that’s maybe the most frustrating part. That when these trends take deep hold, it becomes all we see or have mainstream access to (of course, there is always vintage or varied brands that have their own design POV but that are typically much more expensive). Suddenly, you can’t tell the difference between any company’s catalog because it’s all exactly the same! But yes, those barrel chairs do sell very well.
Oh God, I love the swivel barrel chairs! Now I feel like I need to run out and buy one quickly before they go out of fashion and the shops stop selling them. I don’t mind at all having ‘dated’ things if I like them.
What about blue or green kitchens? And pinkish walls?
I tried to stay away from longer-lasting kitchen and bathroom trends, though I do agree that blue and green kitchens hardcore peaked and now people are moving on. Though I think they remain beautiful, I can see more people exploring reds, yellows, natural wood tones, etc.
I’ve noticed so many kitchens and bathrooms on HGTV all have that long dark green subway tile. It screams 2025! Paired with the fluted wood paneled walls.
All of these trends will go out of style for one reason – when they don’t fit the architectural style of the home. My 1872 farmhouse will NEVER look good with an arched doorway but it’s perfect for SLG’s 1930 Tudor (in another response). It drives me crazy to watch influencers force a trend on their home and it’s a big reason why I’ve quit being a fan of CLJ (sorry for the slam!). It’s like they’ve tossed EVERY.SINGLE.STYLE. into their home and it has jumped the shark in taste. I guess that’s the downfall of having to showcase new projects online all of the time.
I hear you.
Fantastic roundup! I mostly agree, although I’d say that, with curved furniture, it depends on the piece. I think curved cabinetry has much more staying power because, if it fits a spot better, it looks intentional and not trendy. It’s harder to make the case, in most homes, that a curved sofa truly fits the space better than a straight one or a sectional.
Just one quibble: Finch Studio is not “out of Germany.” It’s a Polish business, based in Wrocław, that has started taking on international clients. I’m a fellow Pole and proud fangirl of their work!
Gosh thank you for that correction!
Good point! I have a curved cocktail cabinet – it’s Art Deco, 1930s. I think the curve obsession is probably connected to the current trendiness of Art Deco.
So much of the 2020s is so 1970s to me! As someone pointed out above, there’s arches and rattan, but to me the curved furniture, reeded/fluted surfaces, dark n’ moody colors/vibe, and to some extent even checkerboards and color-drenching are all modern reinterpretations of the 1970s. Not to mention our collective obsession with autumnal colors (and the hairstyles late teens/early 20s cool kids have right now). At my age these things all remind me of stuff that was very dated when I was a kid but is now cool again. If we really love something, we should hang onto it when everyone else tears it out– as it gets “dated” we can lean hard into the quirkiness, and if we live long enough we’ll be the envy of all when it comes back in again.
My husband always says the same thing in situations like this, a quote his grandmother used to say: “There’s nothing new under the sun.” And it’s very, very true.
Lol you are so over arches!
I agree that arched furniture details may be cycling out, but hope that architectural details (like that bed nook) can keep finding their way in (even into, say, my boring ‘65 ranch house).
Maybe I’m reacting to the fact that a lot of housing stock in my city is not historic or beautifully local vernacular, and so when renovating this housing, you gotta somehow make the ticky tacky boxes a little less so!
I’d say it matters more geographically whether the arch is in the vernacular: in Florida or New Mexico or Texas (etc) it so easily reads Spanish Colonial, and as mentioned elsewhere can also read Tudor Revival, Italianate to vibe with older/grander housing stock, or even some sort of Japandi or Courbusier-esque sleek modernism in a new building. Just make it make sense by tying other materials (Saltillo tile, eg) that also speak to a particular point of view.
Yay arches! (Just maybe not as a pass through?)
HAHA I guess I did sound quite mad at the arch. Moreso, I’m mad at the NEED to DIY in some arches into your home because the internet has made you believe it’s the only way to make your home feel chic and polished and “now” and I simply cannot stand that kind of forced, mindless bandwagoning.
Oh, you and I both have thoughts about these things! Most (not all) I feel will always have their place in houses referencing the style that they originally were designed for. I’m a big advocate of listening to your house and following its style. It’s tricky for builder tract homes with no discernable style, but even those can have a hint or two that can be leaned into. Checkerboard – I like it on the diagonally on the floor in traditional homes or squared off in 50s type bungalows. Arches – these are soooo overdone and forced into the wrong homes all the time. I think you’re right that they’ll date furniture pieces soon. Scallops – can fit a cottagey or feminine room in moderation. Pattern Drenching – ha! The first design book I can remember reading was something my mom had bought in the 70’s, plenty of matching patterned walls/drapes/beds, and I didn’t like the pattern drenching then or now. I tend not to like heavy use of pattern in any room, but just hate when it all matches! Cottage Style – easily overloaded, but an evergreen design choice for cottagey homes! Curved Furniture – going in and out… Read more »
Actually reading this reminded me that pattern drenching was a very very big Laura Ashley trend in the 1980s! How did I forget? So common to have matching bedspread, curtains and wallpaper! Usually florals. And boy did I love it.
This. Was. FascinatingToMe. I loved this, Arlyn, and I agree on each of your points: very fun, Now design, often executed gorgeously, but in the future will definitely reference this moment in design history. I’d add (1) super veiny, high-contrast marble everywhere and possibly even (2) the Kelly Wearstler (I believe?) sconcing of it all: I’m talking lozenge sconces and those globe sconces that stick out from the wall on a vertical tray (am I even making sense right now?). Let me clarify that I happen to really love veiny marble *and* what I’m calling KW-style lighting; but I definitely remember when I found super veiny marble “old lady,” and something about that lighting style strikes me as “very impactful” and less “classic,” so I suspect some of us will feel some kinda way about all of it a bit down the road. I’d be very interested to read the EHD take(s) on timeless design. Totally agreed that “Who gets to decide what’s timeless?” is a fantastic and important question. Also, like arches and marble, I think exploring trendy uses of a timeless design element would be fascinating. Further, “surprising and impactful” is often important in a design, but the… Read more »
Yes agreed I want an article on things with staying power! Also, in a house with little to no architectural elements, such as a ranch style house, how do you decide what to go with that matches the home?
ABSOLUTELY! I actually love my home, but it’s also, to me, utterly architecturally indefinable (indefensible??). I’ve researched it a bit (untrained, entirely amateur), but as far as I can tell, it’s a completely rando mash-mash of new Tudor and, like, Hamptons-sorta cottage with cedar shingle? But also plaster? And brick? It’s ridiculous, but I also like it, yet it’s also a McMansion, but on the other hand certainly not one of the worst offenders . . . How even do you figure out what’s “appropriate” reno and styling for that??? What even does it mean to tastefully usher this Flashy Nineties Lady into her next decades, playing down her less tasteful elements, glowing her up appropriately elsewhere? HOW EVEN??
Love this! Maybe it’s my resistance to it that makes it pop more to me, but I feel like (hope??) tera cotta and rust are peaking now.
small question/possible correction: is “not” supposed to read “now” on the drenching section?
Argh, terra cotta. Or terracotta? I just want to eat ricotta now.
Love this article! Such excellent points! I also think that the ceiling spot lights that everyone is now using in place of recessed lighting are going to be “so 2025”. 🤣
Yes! Tiny ceiling spot lights are not something I see lasting. I totally agree with Arlyn’s takes.
Yes, yes! Agreed! I think they’re quite cute, and I loved when I first saw them, but now they appear to be taking over low ceilings everywhere and are kind of overinstalled, too many at a go, and I’d say they’re even MORE obvious than can lights. And it was VERY interesting to me when Emily wrote that they actually don’t light a space nearly as well as actual can/recesssed lights; I wouldn’t have thought of that. Are they going to look as aged as track lighting?
Now, track lighting—maybe that’s a great comparison, because actually track lighting can look excellent in the right application, but it was too frequently over- or misapplied. That’s probably what the moral of this story is: anything can look utterly cool if it’s applied thoughtfully. Which . . . circling back to why I LOVE it when talented folk with design know-how cobble together thoughtful, creative solutions that almost only work in their unique design/architectural situation—and why I’m slavering to see what Emily decides to do with the crumbling, haunted home renovation. HERE FOR ALL THE EHD CONTENT, Y’ALL.
Lauren Liess did this in her Cape Cod house kitchen and family room about 10 years ago. Search for “Lauren Liess our finished-ish house“ to see it. It started a long time ago.
Great article! I have always loved checkerboard floors and had them once in a basement, and am preparing to go for it (on the diagonal though) in a renovation we are currently doing on an 1840s/1950s addition farmhouse. It will be in a small space, but I feel like it’s pretty classic and I will like it for a long time! Going for this look.
Pattern drenching reminds me of the 60’s. My aunt’s bedroom looked like that, even the furniture was covered with the same pattern. As far as checks and scallops, I haven’t seen them anywhere in anyone’s new renovations.
What a fun post! The post and the comments did make me laugh at myself. I live in a house from the 1890’s, and I always feel a little smug about the beautiful trim work and high ceilings and other period details. But surely people were over it at the time and that is why the Victorian architectural period ended! And I have a bunch of furniture from the 1920’s-1930’s that I think suits the spaces, but would it have looked like a tacky upgrade in the 1940’s? I love the Greek revival houses and Tudors that fill up my neighborhood, but those are clearly knock-offs of older styles; and some of the details do seem comically out of scale when I think about them too much…
I love the sardine and produce stuff! I also have seen a ton of disco balls and disco-bedazzled things. I like those cute little trends. But while I don’t hate the stuff in the list, I’ve also acknowledged that a lot of them aren’t right for my mid mod home, so I just enjoy them on Instagram. :)
That brings up a good point. I live vicariously through all those little trends on Instagram and then move on. Like window shopping!