It’s the start of a brand new year and decade and I’m loving reading everyones round ups about which interiors trends have dominated the previous decade and which trends are predicted to change the interiors landscape in the 2020s.

I’m not actually a fan of the word ‘trend’ though (sorry!) and if you’ve followed me for a while then you might know that for the last three years Lisa Dawson and myself have run a whole anti - trend workshop called No Rules Interior Cool.

What we think really matters in interiors is finding your own style - your core style. Your core style comprises of the things that you’ve always loved and always come back to. You might not be entirely aware of your core style and you might have a notion that if you steer away from colour trends or prescribed room sets then you are somehow bound to get it wrong and commit ‘design crimes’.

This is absolutely not the case though. I strongly believe that if you’re prepared to commit a bit of time to thinking about what kind of interior makes you tick, and has always made you tick, then you’re well on your way to working out your core style and living in a home that allows you to feel and be absolutely yourself.

This is a whole blog topic in itself but, briefly, there are a few things you can do to help you work out your core interior style. The main one is to think about how you want to feel at home. Are you aware of how your current interior makes you feel? What elements bring you joy and what elements niggle you and why? What colours have you been drawn to all your life and why? Gradually you need to get rid of the things that make you feel ‘meh’ in your home and replace them with things that make your heart sing. Sounds simplistic, but it’s the only way. More on this subject in a future blog post or read this one here by Lisa Dawson.

Back to trends though. Here are the trends that, in my humble opinion, will continue to grow in 2020 and that will become design staples and a way of life rather than a trend.

1. Biophilic Design
Back in a May I went to a talk by Oliver Heath about biophilic design at the Conservatory Archives and I’ve been absolutely fascinated with it ever since. Biophilic design is all about the massive improvement in well being experienced when your home is connected, both directly and indirectly, with the natural world’ On a small, achievable scale think about more houseplants and on a larger scale think about nature at every design phase of a building or community. The position of the building for optimum light, the types of materials used in construction of the building and the positioning and size of the windows for maximising the view of the natural world from within are all examples of biophilic design. It’s about bringing the outside inside at every opportunity and decision point and I’m absolutely sure it’s going to be massive this decade. See this article for more info and follow Oliver Heath.

Biophilic design is the veganism of the interiors world.

2. Green and Earthy Colours
Following on from biophilic design, I think it’s perfectly logical that colours inspired by the natural world will dominate our walls in 2020 and beyond. A pale green, ‘Tranquil Dawn’, is Dulux Colour of Year 2020 and many respected interiors writers such as Melanie Lissack are calling green, in all it’s shades, as their colour trend prediction for 2020.
I also think that the popularity of earthy colours such as terracotta and saffron will grow as they are natural accents to green and also inspired heavily by the botanical world.

This is one trend though, as much as I admire it, that I won’t be adopting. I know my ‘core style'‘ and green walls are not part of it. Instead I will stick to my core style of neutral backdrops and continue to incorporate this trend as actual green plants and terracotta pots in my home.

3. Distressed walls
I love a distressed wall and was absolutely all over the rag rolling, sponging, stippling and colour washing trend in the 90s! Distressed walls are back for the 20s but I think this time it’s all a much more natural and subtle look. Think bare plaster walls, traditional plaster finishes such as Tadelakt and beautiful, natural paints such as limewash. Limewash and clay paints go hand in hand with the two trends discussed above, are environmentally friendly and create beautiful depth and character in any room. Check out Autentico paints for a wide range of natural paints that will create a subtle and beautiful backdrop.

Paris White Volterra is my favourite Autentico product so far.

4. Upcycling
Upcycling of furniture has moved on from slapping a coat of chalk paint onto a chest of drawers just because you can’t afford anything else. The recent sea change in attitudes to recycling and more conscious shopping has seen the upcycling of a well made piece of furniture becoming a considered choice. There are several furniture artists on Instagram who have totally raised the bar in what we can expect from a piece of upcycled furniture, many of them championed by House of Upcycling and I can only see this movement growing. Would you rather buy a unique, custom painted, well made vintage wardrobe or a mass produced new piece for the a similar price? I know what I’d choose.

Beautifully sympathetic paint upcycle of a dark brown bureau by Maisies House

Wardrobe upcycle by Patience and Gough using Annie Sloan chalk paint.

5. Juxtaposition of old and ultra modern.
Mixing old and new was an interiors watch word of the last decade and this is going nowhere. This area is also where you can let your core style go wild. Do you like vintage art as well as modern? It’s absolutely fine to mix them on your gallery wall., as long as you love them both. As we buy into natural and sustainable materials, recycled furniture, more greenery and the rustic textures that come with this interiors movement then we’re going to need a pop of modern design to lift the whole look.. The French already do this so well and I for one am buying into this look 100 percent for this decade.

George Nelson Bubble lamp juxtaposed with a distressed wall brings out the best in both.

Whatever your interior style, it’s great to look to trends to refresh our thinking or put a different slant on a look we already love. The days of fast interiors are over though, I think, and the 2020s will all be about knowing who you are, how you want to feel and choosing a look that has soul and sustainability at it’s heart.