10 Rooms I Think Set the Tone for 2024's Biggest Trends – From "Expressive Elegance" to the Hottest Colors and Materials
As you can imagine, we see a lot of incredible spaces every day here at Livingetc – and as as result, we get to watch trends filter through the interior design sphere in real time. From the rise of big, overarching moods like minimaluxe and expressive elegance, through to the colors, materials and must-have pieces, we're privileged to watch designers and homeowners pave the way for the next big things through their spaces.
Want to get in on it too? As an exciting new year of design stretches on ahead of us, I've picked out 10 rooms I think set the tone for the biggest interior design trends we'll be seeing in 2024 – here's hoping they get you excited about all the things to come over the next 12 months.
1. A living room that epitomizes expressive elegance
Livingetc debuted the term 'expressive elegance' late last year – the refined, considered and individualistic approach to interior design that we think will define how people decorate over the next few years. And this luxurious apartment in Rose Hill Building, Manhattan is a perfect example of the term: poised, graceful, not try-hard, with a dose of glamor through plush velvet and reflective metal and a nod to individuality with well-chosen art.
For designer Shannon Murray of Shannon Murray Interiors, the lighting is one such art piece. 'We had to find a fixture that would allow us to drape it across the entire space and pull two ends of the room together, instead of having one above the dining table,' she explains. 'The art deco feel we were creating called for extraordinary gold-finished fixtures. The lighting needed to be front and center, make a statement and compete with the lights of Manhattan outside the windows.'
2. A space that moves forward the trend for organic shapes
The curves of the plastered fireplace in this living room in LA's Venice Beach – part of a project designed by Tamarra Younis of Union of Art Interiors – takes the trend for organic shapes in a new direction: the smooth, almost monolithic nature of the feature wall, while still elegant, feels more playful than previous iterations.
It's a more whimsical way of decorating that I think will be big news in 2024, and part of a drive to not take design too seriously. This look is soft, casual and easy on the eye – just what we want from our homes this year, no?
3. A home bar that makes use of 2024's biggest wall decor trend
It's official: the mural is back, and it's changing how we're approaching our home decor. I'm not talking about feature walls any more: rather, the murals of today are larger than life, often featuring painterly patterns that transform the entire surface into a work of art. And crucially, they're not just for walls – I'm seeing a clever use of murals on ceilings, too.
In this San Francisco living space, designed by Susan and Ben Work of HOMEWORK, a dreamy mural runs from the ceiling down behind the shelves of the bar area. 'We wanted to bring in an element of ethereal fantasy to complement the stately classical architecture, so the ceiling is a hand-painted mural by a local artist in San Francisco,' the duo explain.
4. A kitchen that signals a playful new trend on the horizon
I've already hinted at a whimsical new way of decorating coming our way in 2024, and this kitchen – part of a quirky Victorian house in Toronto by interior designer Gillian Segal – helps define the look further. With earthy pink and rust red tones, textured zellige tiles, curved cabinetry and squiggly bar stools, it strikes the perfect balance between a space that's functional but still fun to be in. ‘We wanted to create a space that felt warm, playful, and sophisticated at the same time,’ Gillian explains.
5. A bedroom that nails textural layering
Texture continues to take priority in interiors this year, but I'm not just talking soft furnishings: designers will continue to draw on the richness of materials such as linen, leather, grasscloth and wood to build up schemes in unusual ways, be it applying fabric to walls or combining large expanses of the materials for a truly tactile look.
It's the latter that makes this bedroom from Gwyneth Paltrow's Goop Villa at The Colony Hotel in Palm Beach, by design studio Ronen Lev, so rich and layered despite its relatively pared-back palette. Woven textured wallpaper and dark wood that wraps around the wall makes this space incredibly effective as a cozy home-away-from-home.
6. A bathroom that embodies a true spa-like experience
I couldn't be happier that the built-in bathtub trend is continuing into 2024 – and in this space, in an Oregon vacation home, interior design studio Bright Designlab puts the feature front and center with a sunken tub that features dual faucets, elegant steps and, of course, those sea-green tiles.
It's all part of the designers' intention to create a space that feels as much like a spa as a functional bathroom. 'We reconfigured the ensuite bath and created a spa-like experience; complete with sauna, steam shower, cold plunge and foot washing station,' explains the studio's founder, Alissa Pulcrano. With spa bathrooms becoming increasingly popular, this is a room I'll have pinned to my moodboard for some time.
7. A dining room that exudes glamor – in all the right ways
We featured the Milan home of Leonardo and Marzia Dainelli, who own their eponymous design studio in Pisa, in Livingetc's last print issue of 2024, drawn in by the way the duo have moved on the minimaluxe look – introducing more color, more metallic accents, a touch more glamor.
The duo's quintessential brass accents feature through the home, including in this dining area, where the reflective surface highlights the swing door and the tubular dining table base. While chrome is still having its moment in the interior design limelight, this space proves that warmer metallics continue to convey a classy sense of timelessness.
8. A richly layered space that embraces two key trends for 2024
Designer Montana Labelle’s own home made a splash in many ways when it was featured last year, but it's the living room in particular that caught my eye thanks to the way it combines two of the biggest trends for 2024.
Blonde wood had a resurgence in interiors last year, and that's set to continue – but paired with other, darker wood tones, it creates a scheme that feels richly layered and tonal, yet still pared-back. And then, of course, there's those hits of burgundy in the plush velvet sofa and the rug. Red wine tones are one of the key shade families we'll all be decorating with this year – they're warm, rich and, as you can see, oh-so-cozy.
9. A tiny apartment with a penchant for richly layered woods
Speaking of those layered woods, here's a scheme that embraces the idea to the max, combining floor, walls and furniture in different tones. Created by architecture and interior design firm BoND for a tiny Greenwich apartment, it's a really effective way to create a cohesive scheme without worrying about paint color and pattern – and far from being boring, the juxtaposition of different woods is pleasingly surprising. Balanced out by a raw, textured wall and ceiling finish in a cool neutral tone, it's giving mid-century library with a modern twist – the vibe I'm looking for in everything I do in my own home.
10. A bedroom with an ingenious approach to trending lacquered finishes
Lacquered furniture and accessories are rapidly gaining traction for their ability to add glossy texture to a space – but for a bedroom where you want a more muted feel, this space presents a perfect solution. For this Parisian project, Nildo José Virgínia Lopes, Danielle Groszamann, and Anna Clara of Brazil-based NJ+ Architects designed a woodwork headboard finished in matte nude lacquer – a pleasingly understated twist on the trend that adds a contemporary dimension to a palette of neutral tones and natural materials.
