What we all learned in 2020 and keep learning in 2021 is that the future is unpredictable. The whole world faced the huge challenge of the covid-19 pandemic. We have been spending more time at home than ever before, as we started to work remotely. Of course, this has affected every aspect of our lives, including the comforts of home ideas and trends.
Here are the 7 most trending ideas for the comforts of our homes.
1. In 2021, the number one trend is Comfort.
The most trending “interior design idea” is home comfort. With this said, this year and most probably in the upcoming years, comforts of home will be the priority and will come before the design. As we may continue working from home, it becomes more essential to make our homes comfortable and beautiful for us to live in and work at the same time. Furniture, as well as colors, aim to create an atmosphere, where we can recharge, rest, and feel relaxed. Big, soft, nice couches made of comfortable fabrics, foldable desks, and room dividers have become important decor in houses. Lots of people express their creativity in making multi-use rooms and furniture, like school, office, and gym simply moved to houses.
2. Soothing colors is what we need
Not only furniture and decor but also colors play a big role in creating a cozy home. Instead of all-white walls, neutral colors, and cold shades, now people are looking for comforting and calm colors, bold shades, natural blue tones, soft pink shades, and earth tones. Warm pastel colors create a romantic atmosphere, making your house cozy and comfy, so a long stay at home doesn’t get overwhelming. As we feel the absence of nature in our lives, it is understandable that nature-inspired colors are trending. However, bright hues may be mixed with calm colors in order to give us the very much-needed colorfulness, cheerfulness, and feelings of happiness and joy. Bright, even floral patterns may appear in house wallpapers, as well as unique and uncommon features, such as wallpaper depicting animals or unexpected and unusual bright paints in ceilings, floors, doors, and moldings. Adding texture and depth to wall design sometimes comes in unexpected ways. People don’t go for “the ideal and perfect design”, they want to express themselves and make their houses look like the way they want, in order to feel relaxed and peaceful in the comfort of their homes, and, why not, bring something creative to the design of their houses.
3. Bringing nature to our lives and homes
The inclusion of green color and earth tones shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone. We all started to appreciate nature more and feel the absence of it in our daily lives when we had to spend the whole day at home. Longing for nature brought the idea to give natural looks to houses. We want to be surrounded by trees and flowers, rivers and seas, mountains and hills, so it is understandable to see the rising number of people who prefer to decorate their houses with natural materials and wooden furniture. Even though this is nothing new, it is still becoming a bigger trend for the comforts of home than ever before. We all are not lucky enough to live in a house surrounded by nature, so we look for ways to bring the outdoors in. Decorating houses with plants is a common practice to feel the connection with nature. Some people use window sills for their plants, and sometimes for growing some herbs and small fruit and vegetable trees and plants. Even if having your own plant seems time-taking or hard to take care of, there is always an option to bring a bouquet of flowers, or in case of having your own yard, picking a handful of flowers and putting them in a vase inside the house, this way bringing a breath of nature in. This replaces art and some other decoration in the houses, and some experts predict that it will continue to do so in the future. Plants not only make the room look beautiful, but they also have a positive impact on health by purifying the air and even improving mood.
Including greenery and plants at home adds a little nature to our lives and brings peace and a reminder to us that life goes on.
4. Less design, more functionality, and sustainability
Not only plants but also other natural materials for decoration bring nature to our homes. Having a sustainable lifestyle becomes more important to people. Interior design and decoration of houses are not exceptions. Home decor such as rugs, curtains, vases, and pots for flowers, lamps, cushions, frames and so much more is and can be made of recycled items.
Multi-use areas in houses are getting big importance for the comforts of home, and so does the furniture. Different brands introduce new foldable desks, shelves, sofas, as well as benches that serve as storage for equipment, wardrobes that turn into comfortable beds, shelves that form a table, and so on. It is a good solution for the need for space, and it increases functionality. Multi-purpose furniture is a rescue, especially for small apartments and houses. This type of design appears in Japan and Scandinavian countries. They focus on high functionality and don’t include unnecessary decoration which only takes space. Natural materials are used for creating comforts of home that are simple, functional, beautiful, and comforting. This is a perfect example of sustainable and quality design.
5. Dining table is not a home office!
If before the pandemic we weren’t paying a lot of attention to having a proper workplace at home, and the dining table was enough for work, now it is essential to have a proper home office. Turning a spare room or a corner that fits into an office is needed. Moreover, it has to be free of white plain walls and has to have art pieces and accessories, which can create a pleasant vibe, and the walls won’t be dull to look at during work. Properly decorated and beautifully made home office can be a good chance to show professionalism and can help to create a personal and professional brand. Small details such as a Zoom background in a work call can make a good or bad impression. And as we all learned that some work meetings in person can be done by emails or simple calls, and also that some people find it very convenient to work from home, even after the pandemic, people may continue working from home, which again emphasizes the importance of home offices.
6. More granny-style, vintage, and antique to our “modern lives”
A good example of sustainable design for houses is the “granny style”. 2021 is all about comfort, and where would you feel that more, than in your grandparents’ house? Floral patterns, antique and vintage decor, warm and soft colors, velvets, and a mix of things in your house can create the feeling of comforts of home just like in your grandma’s place. Of course, it has to include the comforts and touch of 21-st century living.
Antique and vintage are sustainable, cheaper, and special. Combining with natural materials, it can give your house a beautiful and natural look.
7. Mix of all
As we already mentioned, “the perfect orderly design” is in the past. We want to surround ourselves with things that give us good emotions, bring back pleasant memories and things we love. It can be a piece of art, picture frame, sculpture, and anything else that is sentimental to us. Things we thought aren’t worth keeping, may be exactly what we would want to include in the design of our homes. Like the granny-style, which is the mix of old and new, or like the mix of vintage and antique with newly made furniture, the meaning of mixing different trends and designs is to make the house cozier and warmer for us to live in. Of course, this has to be done with good taste.
Find out more about the current looks and designs of houses on our Real Estate Photography page