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Along with resolutions for personal and professional growth, the new year sparks inspiration for renewed spaces to go along with a new attitude. Many of 2023’s hottest home design trends will carry over into 2024; however, there will be a greater focus on creating rooms that create a warm, nostalgic feel — no surprise after such a cumbersome and unsettling year.
Here are the five design trends to keep an eye on in the upcoming year:
Neutrals are back
Pantone’s Color of the Year, Peach Fuzz | Credit: Pantone
The reign of the neutral home seemed to be over a few years ago as homeowners embraced boldly-hued kitchens, 1980s terrazzo flooring and wallpaper with striking, one-of-a-kind prints. However, the pendulum is swinging the other way for 2024, as evidenced by Pantone’s Color of the Year, Peach Fuzz — a soft vanilla shade with peachy-pink undertones.
Pantone Color Institute Executive Director Leatrice Eiseman told TIME that Peach Fuzz is meant to evoke feelings of “internal tranquility” and “connection.”
“As we enter 2024, some of the things that have become especially apparent to us is the concept of lifestyle taking on new meaning,” she said. “We’ve been living in this time of turmoil in many aspects of our lives, and as a result of that, our need for nurturing, empathy and compassion continues to grow stronger as we imagine a more peaceful future.”
“We’ve been reminded that a vital part of living a good life and a full life is having the good health and the stamina and the strength to enjoy it,” she added. “In a world which often emphasizes productivity and external achievement, it’s important we recognize the need to foster our inner selves and find moments of respite, creativity and human connection.”
Glidden followed in Pantone’s footsteps with Limitless, a honey beige shade that gives homeowners “versatility to work with both new and existing decor.” Meanwhile, Behr, Valspar, Minwax, Benjamin Moore, and several other leading paint brands pushed out an array of muted greens and blues that are reminiscent of the great outdoors.
“It evokes a feeling of abundance and a plentiful environment whilst simultaneously providing a restful and secure feeling,” Graham & Brown Head of Design Maryanne Cartwright told House Beautiful. “We see our homes as a haven, a place to spend time with family and friends, and this is the perfect hue to create a welcoming color palette.”
Go mod with paneled walls
Credit: Canva Pro Photos
Paneled walls are back in style with a modern, more luxurious twist. Unlike the 1970s when homeowners were obsessed with covering every square inch of their homes’ walls with glossy synthetic wood, 2024’s version of the trend focuses on thin, natural wood slats used for accent walls in the bedroom, living room or kitchen.
“They create such a warm environment inside a house,” Florida-based home designer Andrew Howard told Southern Living. “I know some of us have tired of them from hearing the word ‘shiplap’ on every design show, but it is a great look and it always has been. We don’t need to fight against it because we want to buck the trends of the shows!”
The key to pulling off this trend is choosing high-quality finished natural wood, which will stand the test of time with proper maintenance. Toronto-based panel manufacturer Andor Willow suggests homeowners use wood millwork for their slatted walls; however, it will cost a pretty penny at $30 to $80 per square foot. Homeowners can also choose prefinished wood slat walls with genuine wood veneers, which give a luxurious look for about half the price.
Windows: the bigger, the better
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Homeowners are letting the sunshine in with expansive, floor-to-ceiling windows that maximize their space and their mental health.
“Physical surroundings have a profound effect on one’s mental health,” Seattle-based interior designer Anna Popov told Forbes. “It can look amazing, be glamorous and cost a fortune, but how does it make you feel?”
She added, “It is common practice in our firm to evaluate every design early on against very simple criteria: Does this solution allow us to maximize the amount of natural light in the space? If the answer is no, we pretty much automatically drop the idea because there is a better solution out there.”
Although floor-to-ceiling windows will certainly brighten your space and your mood, they’re an expensive investment. Home improvement marketplace Angi said the average cost for floor-to-ceiling windows is between $700 to $5,000 per window, not including installation fees. The average installation fee for complex window projects — including floor-to-ceiling windows — is $600 per window. Homeowners may also need to pay for upgrades, such as tints ($7 to $100 per square foot), weatherstripping ($150 to $450) or laminating ($10 to $20 per square foot).
If floor-to-ceiling windows are outside the budget, then skylights ($900 to $2,500 per window) are another eye-catching option. Homeowners can also boost their home’s brightness with carefully placed mirrors that reflect natural sunlight from their existing windows.
Bend it like Beckham — sort of
Credit: Canva Pro Photos
The days of sleek, modern lines are gone. Instead, homeowners are embracing furniture and decor that mirrors the shapes seen in natural landscapes.
“The precision of being a perfect block is out. Biedermeier furniture, for instance—with its curves and warmth—is becoming more present, and gone are the days of ’80s-inspired glass and steel,” NYC-based luxury designer Neal Beckstedt told Elle Decor.
Beckstedt and several other designers fawned over scalloped details, rounded barstools, curved desks and chairs, and artisanal decor that eschews the need for perfection and embraces authenticity. NYC-based designer Alyssa Kapito said alpaca bouclé fabric is the perfect match for curved furniture, as it accentuates the push toward all things natural.
“It’s a classic and always adds a beautiful texture to a room — you don’t want to do an entire apartment in bouclé, but we’ll never get tired of it,” she said.
If a $5,000 Serpentine sofa or a $1,400 Bouclé CB2 armchair isn’t up your alley, design site Decorilla praised mirrors as an easy entry point to the ‘curved’ trend. Although full-length mirrors can easily cost four figures, a quick Google search provides plenty of high-style, low-cost options for less than $200.
“Mirrors with organic, irregular shapes or oversized dimensions are in vogue because they can drive a bold statement in any room,” Decorilla‘s year-end round-up read. “These mirrors add depth, intrigue and a touch of glamour, making spaces feel larger and more inviting. Plus, it’s one of 2024 home décor trends that are the easiest to include in your interior.”
Get moving with your own Pickleball court
Credit: Canva Pro Photos
Pickleball is America’s fastest-growing sport, with the number of people playing pickleball growing 159 percent from 2020 to 2022, according to a CNN article published earlier this year. There are several restaurant chains dedicated to the sport, such as Chicken N Pickle, and cities across the nation are dishing out pickleball courts like hotcakes — Pickleball USA estimated at least 1,560 new pickleball complexes were built in 2022 alone.
Pickleball mania has extended to the luxury real estate sphere, with developers adding pickleball courts to their state-of-the-art wellness centers.
“In South Florida, celeb-favorite Reserve Padel is opening a facility at the 184-acre master-planned SoLé Mia in North Miami, giving residents at ONE Park Tower by Turnberry at SoLé Mia access to the community-centric sport, plus the development has private pickleball courts on the property for owners,” the developer shared with Inman.
They added, “On Billionaires’ Row in NYC, a project at 111 West 57th Street, also known as Steinway Tower, has an indoor padel [tennis] court on the 10th-floor wellness center — the building is perfectly centered on Central Park.”
The cost of building a standard pickleball court (20” x 44”) can cost at least $10,000, with costs ballooning to nearly $25,000 when you add in costs for proper fencing, lighting, weatherproofing and pickleball equipment.
Forget the rules with ‘personalized eclecticism’
Credit: Canva Pro Photos
Oddly enough, one of the biggest trends for 2024 is not following the trends at all. Dubbed ‘dopamine decor’ or ‘personalized eclecticism,’ designers are pushing homeowners (and renters!) to embrace their whims through furniture, decor and color palettes to create a unique, authentic space.
“I think in 2024 we are going to see more highly personalized spaces and rich color palettes,” designer Kerri Pilchik told Home Beautiful. “Interiors will be more eclectic as people use antiques and pieces that have been passed down from family alongside new pieces that range from bespoke to CB2.”
Architectural Digest is calling 2024 the “Year of Both/And” as designers and architects rebel against conventional rules in favor of floor plans that enable homeowners to use their homes in a free-flowing way.
“Everything is up for redesign,” LA–based designer and AD PRO Directory member Brigette Romanek told AD. “Rooms serve multiple purposes, walls are back, and feeling comfortable is important. I’ve worked on dining rooms becoming offices, offices becoming wellness rooms, bathtubs put on balconies.”
Although an open layout will always be a fan favorite, several designers said they’re seeing more people twist the design for their spaces, with some homeowners getting rid of their kitchen island or table and moving in a sofa for a unique, comforting dining experience.
“I see less and less desire for island dining, but that means we have to think carefully about the size and adjacency of daily dining spaces,” designer Victoria Sass said. “Sofas in kitchens are a fun new twist that we are proposing more often.”
