This Year, An Eclectic Mix of Interior Decorating Ideas Holds Sway
What home decor trends are in play in 2020 – as a new decade unfolds?
Whether you anticipate hot design trends as each new year rolls around or are just content to “wait-and-see” how these ideas play out, be prepared for all of the exciting 2020 home decor trends that are showing up all over the home. Experts point to a blend of modern and traditional styles – plus an “anything goes” attitude – that infuse personal taste and touches in home design choices.
So if you’re outfitting your new home, considering some major updates, or just adding a few current accents to your kitchen, living room, bathroom, or outdoor spaces, these 2020 home decor trends may inspire and motivate you to go for it.
Let’s look at the trends that we are seeing this year.
1. Color it Classic Blue
Versatile and stylish, classic blue (the 2020 Pantone Color of the Year) is a shade of navy that has already given kitchen islands, cabinetry, front doors, garage doors, and window shutters a dramatic look this year. If you’re not ready to go all out with the blue tone in your exteriors, you can take it slowly by using accent pieces like area rugs, throw pillows, vases, lamps or hanging lights, coffee tables, and chairs.
A rhapsody in blue. This gorgeous two-story Traditional style home with contemporary touches stops you in your tracks with a pair of gables – one a Dutch gable – and attractive blue garage doors and window shutters set against the white exterior walls and exposed wood beams. The 3,907-square-foot home has four bedrooms and 3.5+ baths (Plan #161-1145).
2. Bring Warmth with Earth Tones
While classic blue may be the color of the year, earth hues never go out of style. Designers pinpoint olive green, yellow, ochre and saffron to figure in furniture and other accessories in 2020. These colors in their varying shades bring warmth and comfort to the home’s interior.
Bring in the warmth! This hearth room in a two-story, five-bedroom, 5.5-bath Country style home features accessories and fixtures in warm earth tones. Take a look at the area rug and the coffee table in shades of ochre and the fireplace mantel of natural wood. There are blue decorative glass jars and for the green: a plant in a huge olive green pot (Plan #153-1121).
3. Go Floral – as in Wallpaper
It’s been around, and it has staying power. Whether you like wallpaper or not, it is a leading trend in home decor this year. It can come in bold and contrasting colors – and even metallic versions – in different sizes and patterns to fit the home’s architectural style. If youre in the mood to experiment, try the stick-on version in your powder room, foyer, or staircase wall.
While not exactly a floral patterned wallpaper, this leaf-inspired wallpaper in a Contemporary home’s living room complements the houseplant in front of it. It gives an idea of how you can add pop to an interior space (photo credit: Dan Gold on Unsplash).
4. Mix New Decor with Vintage Touches
Remember that old secretary or table that’s been sitting in the garage or the storeroom? It’s time to take another look and check details like spindles, spooled legs, and intricate ornamentation from the 1800s and 1900s reminiscent of the Victorian age. Vintage accents are in this year – and you can mix them with your modern decor. Look for one or two statement pieces to give your living room or family room a vintage touch.
This fabulous Great room in a 1.5-story, 2,854-square-foot French Country style home adds a touch of whimsy to its modern look with a vintage table topped with an antique lamp and candlesticks. Check out the detailing on the table and its legs (Plan #142-1209).
5. Rounded and Curvy Shapes are Back
Inspired by the Mid-century Modern Movement in the 1960s, rounded, curvy, and less angular shapes will be trending in 2020. You can expect to see upholstered furniture – like sofas, armchairs, sectionals, divans, and benches – “reimagined in undulating and sometimes asymmetrical designs” from the ‘60s and ‘70s. In addition, the 2020 home may also feature curved coffee tables, round chandeliers, mirrors, and other fixtures.
Very 2020 for a Country style home. This amazing bonus room loft in a two-story, five-bedroom home showcases round occasional chairs with curved cushioned-backs and rectangular ottomans (Plan #153-1121).
Style and comfort mix perfectly in this curvy sofa found in a one-story Contemporary homes master suite sitting room. The Mid-century Modern-inspired sofa is the ideal spot for relaxing and unwinding (Plan #202-1001).
6. Get On-Trend with Arches
From mirrors and ceilings to doorways, windows, and fireplaces, arches are emerging in contemporary homes. Not just limited to Mediterranean and Spanish style homes, arches are very much in the 2020 home decor picture. While structural changes – as in doors and windows – may not be options, you can still be on-trend with fixtures such as arched wall mirrors and headboards.
A pair of arched wall openings provide a dramatic touch to this Great Room in a two-story, four-bedroom Contemporary Mountain West home. The colorful curved sofa is done in a vibrant shade of blue and comes with throw pillows in a patterned blue fabric (Plan #161-1000).
7. Rattan and Wicker Furniture
Open wide the doors and introduce rattan and wicker furniture to your interior space for a casual touch. No longer just for the rear patio or deck, these pieces have evolved in new and fresh designs that complement a number of architectural styles, including modern, transitional, contemporary, as well as beachfront and coastal.
A traditional take on rattan and wicker furniture is seen in this photo of a wicker table and chairs in the rear patio/pool area of this stunning one-story home with the eye-catching blue doors (photo credit: Hutomo Abrianto on Unsplash).
8. Built-in Seating
While you may have seen this decor trend on a few HGTV shows, designers predict that it will take off in 2020. Whether it’s a built-in seat for reading, a nook in a laundry room for relaxing, or a window seat in a bedroom as a hideaway, viewing point or a reading corner, built-in seats make any room more appealing and interesting. For small spaces, a seat built into a wall works as additional sitting.
Thoroughly 2020 in its warm yet eye-catching paint tones, this amazing built-in window seat in a bedroom of a spectacular 1.5-story French Country home is a great spot to relax, enjoy a book, or even take a nap. Pull up the blinds, and the seat becomes a viewing vantage for the home’s natural surroundings (Plan $142-1209).
9. Canopy Beds
Trends come and go as we have seen through the years. Like the 1960s and ‘70s-inspired furniture that are coming back on the decor scene, canopy beds are part of 2020’s “must-see” design trends. Adaptable in any style bedroom, canopy beds provide a touch of serenity and luxury. However, be careful not to overwhelm a small bedroom with heavy-looking posts and fabrics. For the modern look, choose metal, acrylic and upholstered frames.
One of the many rustic touches in this one-story, four-bedroom, 3,773-square-foot Country style home is a beautifully designed wood-frame-and-post canopy bed in the master suite. In addition to the canopy bed, the rustic look is completed by the bed stands in dark wood finish, vaulted ceiling, and exposed beams (Plan #198-1117).
10. Patterned Bedding
From canopy beds, we move to patterned beddings. With more people getting tired of the basic-and-sometimes-boring solid color sheets, pillowcases, and bed covers, there is an emerging trend toward patterns in bedding accessories. According to Jared Hughes, an Atlanta-based interior designer, he’s seeing ”more and more clients respond to and want patterned bedding."
An attractive mix and match of solids and patterns are used for this bed in the master suite of a Texas style Ranch house with a total of 4,613 square feet of living space. The blue-and-white bed cover and patterned shams complement the white sheets and pillowcases (Plan #161-1126).
Once again, patterns and solids are shown on this bed in one of the bedrooms in a one-story, three-bedroom Contemporary style home. The patterned shams and bedspread provide a contrast to the solid blue duvet (Plan #202-1014).
11. Glam up the Laundry Room
One of the home design trends poised to make it big in 2020 is the laundry room, as designers use it “to experiment with cheerful colors, playful patterns, and quirky design ideas.” Instead of the powder room, the laundry room will now be the space where “anything goes” in design ideas. Think fun and whimsical wallpaper – perhaps even floral ones – geometric tiles and chalkboards to brighten up the room.
Here’s a start in “perking up” the laundry room. A wall painted in 2020 with warm earth tones to contrast with the white countertop and cabinets and drawers in shades of blue give this laundry room in a four-bedroom, 3,990-square-foot Contemporary style home a cheerful vibe (Plan #153-1746).
12. Tile ‘em Up!
Kitchens and bathrooms are the most renovated and attention-getting spaces in the home. In addition to all the new trends that focus on these rooms, there are “statement” tiles to make them even more appealing and dramatic. While the conventional and “safe” white subway tile remains, designers point toward bolder and patterned tiles in the kitchen and bathroom this year.
Two columns of patterned gray and white tiles in this bathroom of a two-story, five-bedroom Country style home give a dramatic contrast to the white subway tiles. A huge mirror framed in brown wood, the blue towel and glasses add some color to space (Plan #153-1121).
A small but artsy backsplash under the huge wood vent hood is one of the many eye-catching design elements in this spacious kitchen of a 1.5-story, three-bedroom, 2,854-square-foot French Country style home. The dazzling hanging lights, huge kitchen island with a sink, the modern bar stools and stainless steel appliances and the exposed brick wall make this kitchen a real showpiece (Plan #142-1209).
13. Bring Nature inside the Home
Create a calming atmosphere in the home by means of biophilic design, “a trend that incorporates natural elements (materials, light, vegetation) into modern built environments.” Research has demonstrated that this design increases productivity, creativity, and self-reported rates of well-being.
While biophilic design is trending in 2020, it’s been used in some homes that have Indoor gardens and living walls. Here are a few elements to include to achieve this ambiance in the home:
• Natural light
• Indoor plants, living walls, and indoor gardens (if possible) or images of gardens, flowers and plants
• Natural materials like stone, wood, metals
• Earth tones (another decor trend in 2020)
Top: An indoor garden greets visitors as they walk into the Great Room of this two-story, 3,587-square-foot Contemporary home. Make a note of the natural light that filters into the room through the large glass door and windows. Bottom: More of the biophilic design trend shows up in the residence - with plants all around the home, including this tall one positioned between the entry hall and the staircase (Plan #161-1106).
14. Bronze Is In
Brass may be on its way out and replaced by bronze for kitchen and bathroom finishes. According to a few interior designers, their clients are asking for bronze finishes, “as it’s a little more sophisticated and feels timeless.”
So if a makeover for the bathroom or kitchen is on your agenda for 2020, think bronze faucets, drawer pulls, and light fixtures, among other things.
This gorgeous and beautifully appointed master bathroom in a 1.5-story luxury Colonial style home features many bronze tones. Take a look at the faucets, sconces, and hanging lights that make the space really stylish (Plan #204-1020).
15. And Where Would We Be without Smart Technology?
While smart homes are already in existence, more sophisticated technology has been a leading home trend this year and will be beyond. A little advice for those still on the sidelines when it comes to high technology: just think of the many ways a connected home elevates a family’s lifestyle and keeps it organized and running smoothly. Think AI (artificial intelligence), associated smart appliances, smart lightbulbs, smart thermostats like Nest (which also includes video capabilities throughout the home), Ring and other video security technologies, smart hubs like Google Home and Alexa, and other Internet-based technologies that make running the home easier and more secure. They are minimally invasive to the homes decor – a good thing! – but they make day-to-day living better in the long run.
As you can see, 2020 has many exciting home decor trends. Consider the possibilities, be imaginative and creative, and go for it as you take on DIY projects this year.
Footnote: The top left photo in the lead image of this article is the spectacular Great Room in a two-story luxury Country style home with five bedrooms and 5.5 baths. For more on this 4,501-square-foot-home with its fabulous indoor and outdoor living spaces, go to Plan #153-1121.