My interiors mantra has always been, and always will be, to ignore trends and instead tune first into your own core style. Ask yourself questions such as - what colours have you always been drawn too? Do you want to feel calm or energised at home? Do you love new or vintage? Are you a minmalist or a maximalist at heart? Once you’ve established your core style (which normally comes with some trial, error and Pinteresting) then you can add trends that you like as a layer to your core style, ones that can easily be swapped out when you go off them. For instance, my core style is Scandi Vintage - I love the calmness of a Scandinavian base with it’s emphasis on neutral colours, plants and light along with the character, soul and sustainability credentials that come with vintage furniture. However, I particularly love the first trend on my list, chequerboard, at the moment so I’ve been weaving it into my core style with inexpensive accessories such as gingham tablecloths.

Blue gingham tablecloth with cluny lace - @poppyandhonesty X @deecampling collab.

Chequerboard and gingham has been a strong trend for a couple of years now - we’re seeing it pop up on every home interior accessory from armchairs to crockery to wallpaper. I think it will peak in 2023 but with chequerboard floors surviving the trend and retreating back to ‘timeless’ status, as before.

Chequerboard is great for adding strong lines and definition to a space and is also a great way of dipping your toes into adding spashes of - my next trend prediction - colour!

2. Colour has been creeping back into homes in the form of gentle, earthy, organic colours such as terracotta, plaster pinks and greens and people are starting to get confident with using colour again.

Farrow and Ball Setting Plaster became the go to colour to use when the grey trend ended,

Having got their foot in the door with safe colours, primary colours such as blue and red are now sneaking in too. The secret with this trend is to get clever with layering those colours and include it on checks, stripes and patterns too.

@lucywilliamshome amazing lounge pairs sky blue with tobacco and includes stripes, patterns and vintage lighting.

This trend is not for minimalists or for those seeking a calm, neutral home. Instead, if you like a calm neutral home but want a trendy twist, add checks, stripes or pattern in neutral tones such as taupe or tobacco, or add colours that are only found in nature, for instance, green.

@fig_tart beautiful green Paris apartment feels calm and neutral, despite the colour.

3. Colour drenching. With the trend towards colour comes colour drenching which means painting the walls, skirting boards, built in shelves, doors, window frames and even the ceiling in the same colour, or tones of the same colour. As well as being an edgy way to use colour, it also blurs the lines of your room and makes your furniture, art and accessories stand out, as if in a gallery. Abigail Ahern has been an advocate for this way of painting a room forever.

Colour drenching is a trend you can jump on even if you favour a neutral palette. Image: @abigailahern

4. Verriere - Open plan living has been huge for over a decade now and it’s brilliant for adding light, space and flow to a house. However, the two main weaknesses of this design were exposed when everyone was home more than usual during the pandemic - noise and lack of privacy. Dividing up a space using glass walls or panels solves both of these problems without losing the light, space or flow and the French have been doing it beautifully forever with their use of verrieres.

5. Meaningful art. I have been as guilty as the next person for buying mass produced art as a quick and easy way of filling a space on a wall. The truth is, it nearly always looks cheap and, like fast fashion, you will get bored of it really quickly. Far better to surround yourself with visuals that you actually like such as a curated wall of album covers if you’re a music fan or extra shelves of books if you love reading, Album covers and book covers often beautiful standalone works of art. If you prefer real art, then search flea markets and online auctions for vintage art or save up for limited editions from your favourite artists. In my view, it’s much better to leave an empty space than have a piece of art on display that you don’t like.

As always, trends are a great way to add a twist to a core style but it’s also best to stick to your core and add pieces that you really love as and when you find them. This will keep your home feeling authentic and a true personal sanctuary.