Seasons pass, and design trends come and go. Where are those once-coveted Hoosier cabinets and claw-foot tables now? Like other erstwhile objects of desire, they’ve been supplanted (at least temporarily) by new forms and styles, which is as it should be — a natural cycle as generations progress and tastes evolve.
In the interior design realm, changes tend to come incrementally, but they’re still measurable. Each year, 1stDibs aims to quantify those subtle shifts with our Designer Trends Survey. This year’s survey, our seventh, drew responses from more than 600 industry professionals. The results tell us what excites their imaginations at this point in time, what they’ve had quite enough of and what they anticipate sourcing to conjure sublime living spaces in the months to come.
So, what’s in store for ’24? For one thing, expect to see an updated version of 1970s style: a curated, earth-toned Laurel Canyon look, if you will — organic, relaxed and comforting. Don’t think crocheted afghans and plastic stacking chairs. The look of the moment is more sophisticated than in the heyday of Crosby Stills Nash & Young.
A pied-à-terre designed by Samuel Amoia on New York’s Upper East Side pulls together several strands you can expect to see in the year to come, including mid-century modern, minimalism and monochrome schemes. The sole non-neutral is emerald green, a much-lauded color at the moment, shimmering in a floor-to-ceiling mural that forms a forest-like backdrop for a spare, carefully considered array of clean-lined contemporary pieces that riff on mid-20th-century shapes — a pedestal dining table and free-form sofa among them.
Under the beamed ceilings of a downtown Manhattan loft, LP Creative embraced ’70s hallmarks like grounding shades of brown; long, low seating; and pieces that are distinctly organic in feeling, like the coffee table and pendant lights. “In contrast to the sleek, minimalist designs that were popular in recent years, earthy color palettes create a cozy, inviting atmosphere,” says Lauren Piscione, founder and creative director of the bicoastal design studio. “Their popularity reflects a newfound dedication to crafting havens that offer solace from the outside world, a place where comfort reigns supreme.”
Ready to dive deeper into the details? Here we go.
1. The ’70s Make a Stylish Comeback
The winds of change have blown the 1960s, which respondents favored in earlier surveys, off course. Only 14 percent are still keen on molded plastics and super graphics. Instead, there’s fresh enthusiasm for the 1970s, which 27 percent of designers in the U.S. and 29 percent in the UK cited as the era they’ll draw upon for inspiration in 2024. Look for earth tones to prevail, along with sinuous low seating that is the very definition of the word lounge.
The second-largest group of survey takers — some 25 percent — are looking back to the 1920s and ’30s, reporting that the period when Art Deco and Bauhaus flourished will be their primary source of inspo.
Cases in point: the plush, plump ’70s sofa Zoe Feldman chose for a brownstone in Washington, D.C., and the Art Deco spirit of the rounded, gleaming desk deployed by Carlos David against the neoclassical architecture of a Barcelona estate.
That said, contemporary furnishings will not be overlooked by any means. In fact, 28 percent of respondents say they plan to use more new furniture in their design schemes than in the past, while 27 percent say they’ll use more postmodern (1960s through 1980s) furnishings and 26 percent expect to employ more Art Deco pieces.
Older historic styles like Baroque, Victorian and Louis XIV and XV are cooling a bit, with more than half of respondents saying they have no plans to go there in 2024.
2. Modernism Proves Timelessly Chic
When asked which overall aesthetics they expect to keep on keeping on in the new year, designers’ answers were wide-ranging. Ever-popular mid-century modern topped the list among 40 percent of respondents, with Scandinavian modernism (37 percent), minimalism (34 percent), maximalism (33 percent) and monochromatic schemes (31 percent) each receiving a thumbs up from roughly a third of designers. Goodbye for now to rusticity, brutalism and cottagecore, favored by 15 percent or less.
Marmol Radziner mingled two of the highest-rated aesthetics in the sophisticated glass-walled living room of a Palm Springs home constructed in 1969. Iconic mid-century furniture and a monochrome approach combine to produce an interior “both of the era and perfectly modern,” says architect Leo Marmol, a founder of the L.A.-based design-build firm. “We paired a curved sofa by Vladimir Kagan with a contemporary rug by Christopher Farr, closely bound by a neutral desert palette. A monumental Richard Misrach print on the wall sets the space firmly in the present.” The yellow daybed is a joyful exclamation mark.
3. Greens and Earth Tones Come Indoors
With the whole color wheel to choose from, the largest proportion of 1stDibs’ design community — some 26 percent — named light green/sage as their favorite for ’24, representing a 4 point uptick from 2022. LP Creative used the subtle shade to create a serene vibe in a Los Angeles study.
Dark green/emerald, last year’s reigning hue, was close behind at 23 percent, while dark brown/chocolate was tops among 21 percent, in line with the return of rich browns to high fashion.
With its deep-brown custom headboard and plush bedding, the Deco-inspired scheme BA Torrey chose for a cushy Manhattan bedroom is proof of the shade’s allure.
Asked specifically about neutral colors, though, 36 percent of respondents say they expect light brown/tan to be the most popular by far, besting dark brown/chocolate by 10 points (this perhaps reflects the influence of non-U.S. designers, who indicate a strong preference for light brown).
Warm tones on the muted end of the scale, like burnt orange and dark yellow/mustard, show strength, captivating 19 percent of respondents. White remains in the mix, supported by 16 percent, while cobalt and robin’s-egg blue — perennially well-liked but not wildly trendy at the moment — ranked high with 15 percent.
Once-unstoppable light gray (6 percent) and kindergarten primaries like bright red, bright orange and neon yellow slumber in the low single digits.
4. Organic, Bold and Floral Patterns Prevail
Organic and bold or large-scale patterns will hold sway among print lovers in 2024, as they did last year, say 17 percent of survey respondents. Florals and other foliage prints are championed by 13 percent, down just slightly from the previous two years.
Geometric patterns (9 percent), stripes (6 percent), ikat (5 percent) and animal prints (4 percent) won favor from only a small percentage of designers, while gingham and spatter paint are just . . . done — although that doesn’t mean they won’t be back.
Maverick designers like Rafael de Cárdenas are having great fun with patterns. De Cárdenas papered both the walls and the ceiling of a Greenwich Village townhouse stairwell with a riot of abstraction and color. Meanwhile, traditional florals are beloved staples that will always have their adherents, like Charlotte, North Carolina–based Barrie Benson, who used them to beautify a bedroom.
5. Natural Finishes Create Calm
If there’s one specialty finish you’ll be seeing more of, it’s limewash, which 24 percent of designers anticipate speccing in the year to come. When asked which specific objects or features they expected to gain popularity in 2024, the number endorsing limewashed walls ballooned to 35 percent.
A New York living room with a decidedly neutral palette by Samuel Amoia Associates centers limewashing as a focal point on the fireplace wall. Other materials and finishes on the trend horizon, including ceramics and terracotta (cited as faves by 21 percent) and blonde wood (19 percent), play supporting roles.
Time-honored materials like plaster, bronze and walnut are still top choices for a fair but not overwhelming number of designers (16%). Only 2 to 3 percent of designers are currently taking a shine to silver and gold, and just 1 percent gave a shout-out to crochet.
Unconventional decorative features like wallpapered and painted ceilings were given a thumbs up for ’24 by a substantial 35 percent of designers, along with curvy or irregularly shaped furnishings and mirrors (32 percent).
The fickle finger of design fate has moved on from sliding barn doors, neon signs and disco balls, each tapped by 3 percent or less.
6. Icons Live On
Iconic designs are revered for a reason. Their forms are so pure, their function so unimpeachable that their lasting popularity should come as no surprise. Asked to name one piece of vintage seating from the past century that will remain a favorite in 2024, the largest proportion of survey takers zeroed in on Eames chairs. Innovators are giving the classic Eames lounge and ottoman a twist. L.A.-based Reath Design, for instance, upholstered the pieces in a lively stripe for a Santa Monica bedroom.
Vladimir Kagan’s Serpentine sofa was tops among 14 percent of respondents, followed by Hans Wegner’s Wishbone chair (9 percent) and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Lilly Reich’s Barcelona chair (9 percent), staples all. Also boasting discerning fans are the super-stylish European sofas that defined rooms in the 1970s, like de Sede’s undulating Snake (7 percent), Afra and Tobia Scarpa‘s Soriana (7 percent) and Mario Bellini’s Camaleonda (6 percent); only 2 percent, meanwhile, are looking to use molded plastic or fiberglass pieces next year.
Lighting winners jibe with the ongoing love for mid-century and ’70s Italian furnishings. Expect to see Murano glass pendants (named by 18 percent) and Venini-style mushroom lamps (11 percent), as well as the still-futuristic white-paper lamps of Isamu Noguchi (13 percent) and Ingo Maurer (9 percent).
Task lamps, useful at times but not the wave of the future, found favor with only 3 percent.
7. New & Custom Designs Dominate
The world has become a designer’s oyster, with unprecedented options for sourcing furnishings old and new, artisanal and manufactured. There’s nearly unanimous enthusiasm for custom-designed and -built pieces, with 88 percent of designers planning to spec them in 2024. And a majority (62 percent) say they’ll source from individual artisans in their ongoing quest for original results. The uniquely shaped, wallpaper-lined bar cabinet installed in an Amy Lau–designed Manhattan apartment is not something you see every day.
A whopping 85 percent intend to use new and contemporary pieces (currently in production) in the year to come, with 20th-century vintage not far behind (83 percent). Furnishings from the first two decades of this century got a nod from 74 percent of designers.
Only antiques — 100 years old or more — are significantly down from years past. Even so, some 56 percent of designers plan to source them in 2024 to add depth and character to their interiors.
8. Abstract Art Finds Expression
Collectors take note: It might just be time to invest in landscapes, championed by 37 percent of survey takers, and portraits (34 percent). Both have solid followings, although the pendulum has generally swung away from figurative work in favor of abstraction, which a robust 51 percent of our respondents anticipate using in the new year.
Among the designers who deploy abstract art to maximum effect is Briggs Edward Solomon, who hung two immense abstract works in the Coral Gables home of baseball star Alex Rodriguez.
Dylan Farrell did the same in a living room in Paddington, Australia, splashing the walls with daubs of strong color in oversize frames.
Contemporary art (46 percent) and modern art (39 percent) in general have legions of fans among 1stDibs’ design community. NFTs and digital art got a less enthusiastic response for ’24. With only 9 percent of designers planning to use them, they’re down 10 points from last year’s survey.
Greater use of both paintings and sculpture is projected by 42 percent of survey respondents, beating out drawings (34 percent), photographs (28 percent) and prints (17 percent) — more or less in line with years past.
Industry Outlook
As they did last year, kitchens are expected to keep designers busiest in 2024, according to 56 percent of respondents. Nearly half (48 percent) named living rooms as most likely to command their attention in the year ahead, while expected bath commissions are up a solid 15 points from 2020, with 37 percent of designers saying they’ll be deep in soaking tubs and tile work in 2024.
If money were no object, designers say, they would recommend adding walk-in closets (57 percent), guest suites (53 percent) and outdoor kitchens (49 percent).
Overall, designers are a tad less bullish on their business prospects for 2024 than in the recent past. The largest percentage (48 percent) still expect activity to increase, but that’s down from the portion projecting increases for 2023 (58 percent) and 2022 (67 percent). Correspondingly, more designers (8 percent, compared with 3 percent two years ago) expect business activity to decrease slightly in 2024, while 44 percent predict that their workload will remain more or less the same.
With all the buzz surrounding artificial intelligence in the past year, it’s hard to ignore its potential effect on business sectors, and interior design is no exception. The technology is making inroads with some, but not many. Nine percent reported using AI in their design process, while three-quarters were either undecided or firmly in the thanks-but-no-thanks camp.
Survey Methodology
1stDibs’ annual online Designer Trends Survey, which began in 2018, assesses emerging trends in the field of interior design, tracking designers’ thinking on such matters as styles, motifs, colors and sourcing.
The latest survey, conducted in August and September 2023 by Surveys & Forecasts, LLC, a strategic research consultancy based in South Norwalk, Connecticut, tabulated responses from 624 interior designers registered with 1stDibs. Those completing the survey received $25 virtual gift certificates (£25 in the UK).
The majority of participants (83 percent) were U.S. based, with 6 percent from the UK and Ireland, and 11 percent from elsewhere. Sole practitioners and small companies of two to four people accounted for 66 percent of all participants. The average number of projects completed by respondents in the preceding year was about seven.
