Many factors can shape the look and feel of our spaces. While homeowner preference, fashion, and technological advancement play a part, it’s perhaps the cultural zeitgeist that most influences the aesthetics of home.
To find out the trends taking hold and what’s on the horizon for home design, we spoke to five designers whom Architectural Digest designated as top talents for its AD100 ranking to get their takes—and one thing is clear, design is becoming more introspective than ever.
Young Huh
Founder, Young Huh Interior Design, and Cosentino Design Alliance member
“As we look ahead to what will shape the future of design, sustainability will become an even greater focus. As clients become increasingly concerned about waste, supporting the natural environment and selecting materials that work within those concerns will be paramount, having a ripple effect on the industry.
More than ever before, we’re seeing a level of quality in sustainable products that are mutually beneficial, such as surfaces like Cosentino’s HybriQ by Silestone, which utilizes technology to reduce environmental impact while still maintaining an incredible level of durability, longevity, and style that homeowners love. Sustainability is not something to sacrifice for anymore, it’s something that is achievable in the home, and it’s here to stay.
We are moving toward natural color tones such as the colors in parklands and gardens. Specifically, green, which typically was rarely used in interiors, is a very popular color now. Other colors that we are seeing demand for take a cue from nature—colors of the mountains, sunset, desert, and sea. For example, clients are gravitating toward rust, creams, saddle brown, blues, sea green, and sand.”
Brian Pinkett
AIA, Partner, Landry Design Group Inc.
“On social media, people are seeing so many things driving their decisions. We try to bring them back to their own emotional selves and figure out what it is they really are looking for, what’s going to make them happy and be right for their family. Take color for example; it’s very emotional and influential in mood and behavior. And if it’s used properly, it can give a whole new perspective to the home. We’re moving toward using color not just because it’s pretty, but because it energetically works for the client and is intentional and purposeful.
People want more open family space, but they also want recreational and private spaces—rec rooms, theaters, lounges, places to go to entertain and be entertained, yet not always all together. In almost every project, we’re putting in double islands that bring families together visually, but separate them physically. Adding one extra island brings people into the kitchen, but also keeps them far enough apart where they’re not in the same space.
An indoor-outdoor connection is becoming a mainstay. Skylights are getting more creative in shape and scale. Clients are asking for more windows, but they also want to have protection from the sun. We’re starting to use special glass that’s like transition sunglasses; when the sun hits it, it gets darker. It’s a great option for when you don’t want to have shades or drapes. You can have it set up to automatically tint when the sun hits and you can also override it with controls. It creates an automated thermal barrier.”
Nicole Hollis
Founder, NICOLEHOLLIS Inc. interior design
“I am seeing a lot of references to maximalist interiors. These use layers of luxury fabrics and soft furnishings and carved and formed furnishings by artists for a collected look with a focus on artworks in ceramics and fiber art. There’s more attention to organic, natural materials, imperfect textures, and the visual hand of the artist—meaning ceramics, carved wood, felted material, and natural stone. The visual sleight of hand and markings that show the human touch give the work humanity and honesty. Artists’ examples include Katherine Glenday, Jerome Pereira, and Nic Webb.
We are focused on high-quality materials and fabrics that are safe for everyone to use in their homes and for the environment. I just saw a great show at Gallery Fumi featuring Max Lamb works in cardboard. Artists are looking for ways to challenge themselves by working with materials that are repurposed and reused, and by using new techniques.”
Robert Stilin
Founder, Robert Stilin Interiors
“They want to be comfortable everywhere. They want their bedroom to be comfortable. They want their kitchen to be comfortable. They want their dining room to be comfortable. I have a client who wants to have a sofa or some kind of chaise in his office and in his bathroom in every home that he owns. For another client, where they read is important—so lighting and seating are big factors. Design is becoming more thoughtful. People are taking more time to really think about how they want things to be.
“Adding history to a new space is something we’re doing more and more. For example, we use a lot of reclaimed floors because they don’t feel brand new. We make some kind of history, some kind of patina through materials like reclaimed antique stone and marble, which create a juxtaposition against that new feeling, which can be very cold. Another technique we’re using is to line walls in fabric that’s new but faded, so it looks lived-in. It’s about bridging the gap between old and new so that it feels comfortable and timeless and has a soul.”
Brian Sawyer
FASLA, Co-Founder, Sawyer | Berson
“There’s been a return to faith in the design process. Our hope for the foreseeable future of interiors is that it trends in step with our approach to design—no trademark of style, but rather to progress design for each user, whether that be sustainability, invoking artificial intelligence for smart homes, or allowing spaces to organically diversify in use and function to accommodate timeless needs.
A re-evaluation of ‘brown furniture’ (English and American), with regard to style, craftsmanship, and history, together with its original source and provenance, is emerging. This is primarily 17th- and 18th-century English, continental, and American furniture made typically of mahogany or walnut. The hardwoods used in that day are from old-growth hardwood sources and will last for hundreds of years more as they have lasted for the past 200 to 300 years.
Glass will continue to develop in ways that we have yet to imagine as an architectural and structural material. We are excited to see new glass materials that are more robust, long-lasting, and adaptable than conventional glass. This is in addition to innovations to make glass manufacturing sustainable for the long term, eliminating the use of carbon-containing batch materials. We’re also anxious to see more aesthetically appropriate photovoltaic roofing materials such as shingles and tiles. Those currently made by GAF or Tesla, while useful to a certain extent, are not yet pleasing to the eye and, in terms of efficiency, leave much to be desired.”