Five Design Elements I’m Excited to See Trending for 2024…and my Philosophy on Trends

Heidi Caillier

It’s time for a look forward—and a 2024 design trends update! But first, a little on my philosophy towards trends.

All design elements run in and out of the trend cycle. When trends emerge, it usually signals that someone has reinterpreted an element that’s been out of the limelight for a while in a creative way. It feels fresh, exciting, and it inspires others. This is a good thing! Trends only become stale when they are chased by the market which oversaturates the media environment with watered-down facsimiles. So, to create timeless designs, approach trends with these three things in mind:

1. Novelty is exciting! Make sure you are attracted to a trend in an authentic way by understanding whether it resonates with a deeper memory or value. If a trending item reminds you of your childhood home or something you like to wear, for example, then you probably connect with it authentically.

2. Interpret instead of copying. Use the trend to evoke the values, memories, or aesthetics you already have. Give it your own twist.

3. Seek balance. A design plan that is entirely on-trend will eventually look dated. Only integrate trends that speak to you, and layer them with less popular elements.

Now for a sample of some of the trending design elements that give me that spark of recognition—things I’ve always loved but am now seeing afresh.

1.

Wood Everywhere

Warmth and coziness are prized in post-pandemic design, and the remote-work movement has inspired primary homes that look like weekend cabins and cottages.

Since there’s nothing warmer or more nostalgic than wood, we’re seeing it in detailed panelling, specialty millwork, and more. I particularly love a wooden countertop or cabinetry detail that replaces hardware. I’m inspired to channel Sea Ranch, teak houseboats and cedar saunas as I look to this wondrous material for ways to make a home a retreat.

Design: Grotto Studio

2.

Deep Reds

Burgundy. Maroon. Mulberry. Claret.

Moody interiors are taking a new trajectory, from pensive to passionate. Warmth being the overarching trend of design currently, its natural apex lies in the color red. But red has range; chocolatey brown-reds imbue down-to-earth luxury, while berry hues add a bright acidity.

When I was a little girl, my favorite color was red. I guess pink just wasn’t strong enough. Though earth-tones are really my thing, I’ve always had a red accent piece or two in my wardrobe. The color that’s speaking to me now is oxblood, and it’s asking me to lean-in to my girlhood passions and be bold.

Design: Bed Threads

3.

Hand-Painted Details

The recent trend of color-drenching (painting all surfaces in a room one color), is an ingenious way to modernize a traditional space, and I still love to use it to quiet a space or disguise certain features. But what to do when you want to enliven a space or play up its charms?

Murals, stenciled beams, and high contrast color schemes have made a cool, quirky entrance lately, treating the home as a canvas for personal expression. As an artist, nothing could make me more excited.

4.

Ultra-Custom Cabinetry

I’ll always love a Shaker cabinet, and laud the accessibility of such classics, but their ubiquity has created a hunger for the idiosyncratic. Whimsical cut-outs, repurposed vintage, and woodworking details that replace hardware are popping up everywhere, taking the notion of custom to another level.

Design: Becky Carter

5.

Silver Accents

While I’ll nurture a fetish for unlacquered brass until the end, it’s really lovely to see finishes in hues of sterling, pewter, gunmetal and chrome emerge as a foil to all that prevailing warmth. We’re seeing them largely in accessories, which I love to see mixed in with brass and bronze.

These accents remind me of the jewelry collections of the women in my family, culled from the southwest and Mexico, in moonlit hues and totemic shapes. I’m inspired to work with silver as a means of adding a little mystery to my design plans.

Hardware: Mi & Gei

The last decade of design has grounded us in classic forms, serene neutrals, and natural materials. Looking over these trends, I see an overall shift toward emotion, expression, and creativity, but I think it can all be balanced and integrated with that classic foundation, enhancing it rather than replacing it. The future looks full of intuitive, imaginative design, and I couldn’t be more excited to take part in it.