Playful Design Trends We are Still Having Fun With in 2024
As someone who has grown comfortable with being identified as a tastemaker, there’s an overwhelming amount of pressure when you’re called upon to spot design trends for the year ahead. My predictions come from a place of trusting my own instincts—I try to avoid being influenced by what everyone else on the internet thinks, which is not an easy task in the age of algorithms. But if my picks are wrong, is that a red flag indicating that I’ve lost my touch? Should I just pack it up and retire?
In case the message wasn’t loud and clear from our list of expired design trends for 2023, trend cycles are what you make of them and aren’t necessarily meant to be followed if they’re not on brand for you. This might just be me projecting an unpopular opinion, but when the colours of the year are revealed you probably aren’t going to redo your entire space based on these commercial trends. (Peach Fuzz could pop off, but did you know that the feng shui colours for the Year of the Wood Dragon are emerald green, imperial yellow, and red?) Do you make design decisions based on data and calculate the risks? I digress. It’s too early to confirm what cores will dominate our interiors in 2024, but the design trends on my radar are a smorgasbord of elements that tap into the rustic, cozy, and surreal.
Rounded feet that stand on business
Whether it’s on the bottom of a bathtub, a bed, or a table, you won’t be able to get around running into spherical feet. Earlier this year, Australian designer Sarah Ellison introduced a coffee table version of her signature Yoko bed (a platform frame with oversized ball feet). “We crave that human element that is round and soft, and sensual in a way,” she told Design Within Reach. If 2024 is all about standing on business then there’s no better way to practice what you preach from the comfort of your home.
Take a subtle step into prep
The return of old money aesthetics has been a rude awakening for some, but others are absolutely living for the prep effect.
You can cancel that subscription to “quiet luxury” because bringing the country club home is rooted in embracing the classics: heritage, tradition, and loud layers of stripes. (Plaid, tartan, and checkerboard prints to be specific.)
Some of the less controversial staples for this aesthetic include natural wood tones, leather and velvet furniture, porcelain dinnerware, and an impressive collection of antiques bound by a traditional colour palette that drenches the walls with a sense of timelessness (navy blues, deep burgundies, rich greens, light blushes). Consider doing something on a smaller scale like channeling the energy of Bemelmans Bar with a chic bar cart—or in my case, a bar cabinet—set up with fancy vintage glassware like this set of cocktail glasses by Farber Bros. If you can’t convince your grandma to hand over the heirlooms passed down for generations (or her ancient Le Creuset dutch oven), don’t be afraid to hit the flea markets or estate sales to hunt down some rare gems. Horse girls, seize this opportunity!
You can take the lead from Ralph Lauren, but fully committing to the “old money” lifestyle isn’t required to pull off an aspect of the theme. (Miss me with the coastal-coded interiors!) When designing a space with this style in mind, Dream Awake founder Estelle Bailey-Babenzien warns that you don’t want it to “feel like a cliché or a gimmick of this lifestyle that feels very one-note and not necessarily inclusive.” Filling a room with vintage records, books, and art that speaks to you is another way to tap in from a place of authenticity. Being cultured is cool.
Folk arts and crafts
Last year, I felt pretty confident about folklore and mythical motifs emerging in our interiors. So naturally, the next extension of this is diving deeper into folk art and traditional craft. Shaker style has been on the rise since 2022 and with cottagecore seemingly in the rearview I can see why this pivot is leaning a little more rustic. But for those of us that are deeply committed to investing in our communities, supporting craft traditions is a method of cultural preservation that honours our history in real time.
You can live in the city and have a completely contemporary lifestyle but also embrace natural materials and comfortable clothes, or be referencing historic motifs and aesthetics.
We’re not just buying wicker baskets, brooms, ceramics, and quilts because they look cute—we’re sourcing these handmade goods directly from the artisans, ateliers, and businesses dedicated to making them in small batches while also using locally sourced and natural, sustainable materials.
While I don’t think these traditional skill sets have ever been out of style, I do feel like more people have recently come to appreciate this level of craftsmanship.
Nooks and crannies and canopies
Dining nooks, window benches, tented rooms. What do all of these features have in common? They provide a sweet (and sexy) escape. Even though monastic bed-making is hot right now, dream up the drama in a canopy bed and awaken your inner princess!
Not only are these ideas perfect solutions for small space living, but you never know when the transition from wired to tired might hit—thus having a private place to retire is not “extra,” it’s essential. Bring back the bed nook and leave your troubles behind the curtain.
Go chrome or go home
While I do think that we’ve moved past cluttercore, I don’t anticipate everyone fully leaning back into minimalism. (For what it’s worth, I certainly won’t be.) I’m diagnosing a serious case of disco fever—minus the disco ball—for 2024, which calls for smooth surfaces that shimmer so the vibe isn’t sterile. When we announced the comeback of industrial minimalism, my hunch was affirmed.
If the always-sold-out silver Sambas by Wales Bonner for Adidas were any indication, get used to seeing metallics everywhere: From stainless steel tablewares and pewter ice buckets to silver modular sofas, chrome lighting, and USM Haller systems. It’s time to step into your edgy era.
This story originally appeared on Architectural Digest US.