Inspire me

Top trends for 2021

Our homes have never been so important… So time to give your four walls a dash of TLC as we reveal the top interior trends for 2021 and beyond.

#1 Curves & circles

Get ahead of the curve this season, and swap straight lines for rounded silhouettes and playful circle prints. If we’re staying in, we want our homes to nurture us, cocoon us and, well, give us a hug (when no one else can). So boxy, angular seating is out, and soft, squishy sofas are in. Ditch hard corners for curved, Art Deco-style tables, organic-shaped mirrors and polka-dot patterns.

DON’T FORGET… Texture. Even the flattest furniture takes on curve appeal with fluted glass doors, slatted grooves and tactile, reeded details.

#2 Broken-plan living

Open-plan living has been the interiors buzzword for well over a decade now. And while most of us have enjoyed knocking down walls and merging rooms, 2021 might be the year to master the art of screening. Yes ‘broken-plan living’ is here. It’s a flexible way to divide up a space that can be used in different ways at different times of the day. Think bookcases, flexible shelving systems, even curtains to zone off a single space: working from home by day, comfortable lounge by night.

WE ADORE… Crittall-style partitions and room dividers for a more fixed solution. Giant panes of glass keep spaces light and airy, while allowing you to close off rooms as needed.

Photo credit: Charlotte Bland

#3 Japandi

You might be fed up with fancy, homeware hashtags, but Japandi might be one worth looking up in 2021. It’s a trend that blurs Japanese minimalism with pared-back Scandi cool for a minimalist, simple look. You can still have the gentle curves and warm texture (see trend #1) minus the busy clutter or loud colour. Add a flourish of mood-boosting greenery and relax…

SEEK OUT… The new generation of new neutrals. You can’t go wrong with ‘Brave Ground’ Dulux’s Colour of the Year 2021 and our latest paint card crush, Atelier Ellis.

Photo credit: Lime Lace

low pendant light over table with benches and plant

#4 Outdoor living

If a year indoors has taught us one thing, it’s that gardens and outside spaces are precious. Cue our appetite for summerhouses, pizza ovens, hot tubs and outdoor kitchens to transform our patch of ground, terrace or balcony into an extra room, for work, rest or play. Our dodgy UK climate hasn’t put us off either. We’ve gone all Scandi in the winter with blankets and firepits and, in the warmer months, we’re holidaying at home in garden bars. Time to get outdoors…

WHY NOT TRY… A shoffice. This hybrid shed + office room is a nifty way to carve out more space as working from home becomes the new norm.

Photo credit: Habitat

#5 Pink bathrooms

Blushing beauties have taken over the bathroom and our love affair with pink tiles, basins and even tubs is flourishing. Online home renovation and design platform, Houzz, saw searches for pink bathrooms bloom at the end of 2020. We can’t get enough of this Scandi pastel for our spa-at-home. Think candy floss walls, a rose concrete basin and a plaster pink bath. Maybe not all at once.

DON’T WORRY… About your choice of metallics. The pink spectrum pops with chrome, nickel, gold or brass.