Always bringing you the best of the best for design…here’s what Dwell magazine predicts to be the quintessential trends for 2020. Buckle up, some are super fun!
As we close out a decade marked by interior design trends ranging from midcentury to Memphis-inspired, we’ve got our eyes set on what 2020 has in store. Curves are having a moment—whether we’re talking about patterns made with free-form shapes, furniture, or doorways—and natural materials (like wood, textiles, and cane)are showing up all over the home in modern ways. Read on to see our predictions for the year ahead, and tell us what you’re loving (or loathing) in the comments.
1. Built-In Seating
Be it a window-side perch with a great view or cozy reading niche, seating that’s built in adds character to a room and can be an excellent space-saving technique. Fun architectural details like this are going to have a big moment in2020.
This cozy perch is begging you to sit down with a good book.
2. Arches
Another architectural detail that’s burgeoning is the arch—specifically curved doorways and windows that channel Greece’s cave houses. The pared-down treatment is smooth and clean-lined without ornate detailing. Not ready to commit to structural changes at home? Give the trend a try with an arched wall mirror.
3. Fat Furniture
An undulating, ivory sofa gets prime placement right in the middle of Lisa Perry’s living room.
Curvy shapes are also taking form as furniture. Upholstered pieces like sofas, divans, and occasional chairs are being reimagined in undulating, and sometimes asymmetrical, designs that feel inspired by decor from the ’70s. In 2020, rounded is the new right angle.
The curvy shape of this pink sofa gives it a fun, playful quality.
4. Organic Shapes
This artful bedding exemplifies the free-form shapes motif that’s popping up on everything from bathmats to wallpaper.
While free-form designs have been gaining in momentum, we predict that this is the year the motif hits a fever pitch. Organic shapes are showing up on everything from bath mats to candles. We’re especially loving Cold Picnic’s just-released collection of hand-tufted rugs titled “Two Hour Drive,” which feel more like abstract works of art than floor coverings.
Brooklyn-based homewares brand Cold Picnic uses free-form shapes on rugs, blankets, and bathmats.
5. Dusty Green
Classic Blue may have been deemed Pantone’s color of the year, but we’re seeing dusty greens—from olive to pistachio—gaining traction in the home right now.These muted tones work as a palatable pop of color for those who generally stick to neutrals.
Olive is a calming shade of green that works well in bedrooms.
6. Modern Wood Paneling
Thin, slatted wood paneling adds warmth to this bathroom.
While wood paneling doesn’t immediately bring to mind a modern home, it seems that sentiment is about to change. Done in a skinny, slatted style or applied at interesting angles, wood walls can actually feel fresh and unfussy. And, no room is off limits—especially bathrooms and kitchens, where wood paneling brings a warmth that’s unexpected and often lacking.
7. Fiber Art
A macramé wall hanging serves as large-scale, textural artwork in this sitting room.
For several years now, fiber artists have been showing their work at fine-art galleries and fairs, but 2020 is the year you’re going to see this type of art—intricately woven tapestries, elaborately knotted macramé pieces—make its way into the home. Artists like Cindy Hsu Zell, Windy Chien, and Meghan Shimek create both large-scale commissions as well as smaller, ready-to-buy pieces that work well on their own or as part of a gallery wall.
8. Statement Tiles
After the proliferation of white subway tile during the last decade, it’s only natural that the pendulum would swing the other way. Enter statement tile. We’re seeing bold, patterned tile being used in both small (just a backsplash) and big (floor-to-ceiling bathrooms) ways.
View Photos
9. Indoor Gardens
View Photos
Considering the popularity of indoor plants and living walls in recent years, it comes as no surprise that green thumbs would want to take their plant habit to the next level with an indoor garden. These small-scale plots bring the outdoors in and give residents a chance to commune with nature from the comfort of their own home.
Homes with abundant natural light are optimal for an indoor garden.
10. Cane Detailing
Natural, woven materials in the form of rattan furniture, seagrass pendant lights, and jute rugs have taken the interior design world by storm, but all trends have an evolution.This one’s second act is all about cane detailing, which you’ll be seeing used on modern furniture like CB2’s Nadia chair and Target’s Minsmere console.
