Design trends for 2021 - according to WSJ article
Cut and pasted from an online article today. I'll attempt to post the photos separately after this article.
The Top Interior-Design Trends for 2021
We asked 200 design pros which trends feel fresh vs. finished. They forecast a hunger for hushed, murky rooms and hardware-less cupboards—and a quick fade for farmhouse white and open kitchen shelving.
LOOK, MA, NO HANDLES These kitchen cabinets in a Brooklyn factory conversion (by local firm Alloy Development) exemplify the new hardware-free look.
DESIGNERS LIKE Lance Thomas see the serendipitous upside of 2020’s quarantine. “It has forced homeowners to evaluate how they live in their homes, how it makes them feel,” said the principal and co-owner of Thomas Guy Interiors in Lake Charles, La. And judging from some of the incoming trends our panel of design pros identified, the feeling most people seek is cushy, coddling comfort. Rich, deep colors replace the chilly white of Modern Farmhouse décor. Earthy, touchable materials push aside the glitz of lacquered finishes and shiny fabrics. When Andrew Kline, design director at New York’s Workshop/APD, called out nubby bouclé fabric and warm woods such as walnut, he commented, “I think this speaks to that need to create a cocoon at home, so that when you shut down your laptop and dim the lights, you’re no longer in your ‘office.’” Here, the decorating styles our experts consider past their “best before” date and the trends that will replace them in 2021.
OUT: Lab-Like Bathrooms
While we still need me-time in the bath to maintain our sanity, the white-on-white loo has lost its allure. “Bathrooms have become less austere, less like operating theaters,” said Boston designer Mally Skok. Once-popular materials are faltering. “Bookmatched marble is so beautiful, but it’s almost echo-y white. It feels cold,” said Ms. Skok. And Sara Hillery, a designer in Richmond, Va., finds fabricated quartz looks too manufactured: “Design trends are headed toward a softer, more natural look, and these man-made options fall short.”
IN: Open-Air Showers
Meanwhile, the al fresco shower has acquired powerful appeal, part of the continuing push to “make the outdoor as well-designed and comfortable as the indoor,” as New York architect West Chin put it. San Francisco designer Jay Jeffers, who often installs showers like the one at right on clients’ properties in Napa Valley, points to the dreamy sense of escape they conjure. “You’re almost in a different world—Mexico or the Cayman Islands or Anguilla—somewhere else that’s not your home.”
OUT: Glitzy Textiles
Miami designer Allen Saunders, among others, foresees a rejection of slick surfaces in general. Mr. Jeffers zeroed in on shiny fabrics, a played-out way to bestow a design scheme with glossy glamour. “They give this connotation of a dressier room, which people are just not as excited about these days,” he said. As pillows or upholstery, these light-catching lamés and shimmery satins not only look chilly, they skimp on tactile comfort. “They’re a little harder in terms of their touch and hand,” he said.
IN: Fabrics That Feel Good
We’re gravitating to touchable textiles like velvet, mohair and soft bouclé, said Robbie McMillan, co-owner and lead designer of AubreyMaxwell in San Francisco. “Bouclé is everywhere,” concurred Mr. Kline. “We have nowhere to go in our Chanel blazers, so we’re translating the look to sofas,” he said. Elizabeth Cooper, another Bay Area designer, highlighted furry alternatives such as alpaca (see the Arhaus pillow at right), while Bethesda, Md., designer Marika Meyer likes the tactility of crewel embroidery.
OUT: Chaos-Courting Open Shelving
Sure, floating shelves look great in photos when styled by a pro or even by a layperson with a good eye. The rest of us struggle to keep exposed tableware looking organized and pretty, which has scuttled this “deconstructed kitchen” trend. “For some, open shelving always felt too cluttered,” said Kobi Karp, principal of the eponymous architecture and interior-design firm, in Miami. Another reason to shelf open shelving: Dishes end up covered in (unappetizing, time-consuming) dust and grease.
IN: Neat Cabinets Sans Hardware
“Since cabinetry usually takes up most of the space in kitchens, a ton of exposed hardware can create an eyesore,” said Houston designer Nina Magon. For a serenely seamless facade and an open-sesame effect, look for push latches. Also good: drawers with grabbable undersides like the ones at right, made by London kitchen company Lanserring. The result is a decidedly more tidy kitchen. “It expresses the less-is-more approach and helps focus on the beauty of the cabinetry and surfaces,” said Ms. Magon.
OUT: Matte Black Fixtures
Industrial and farmhouse trends ushered in flat black faucets, but they’re now heading out. “Black is one-dimensional...really visually bold and heavy,” said Indianapolis designer Whittney Parkinson. The color “immediately draws your eye to an element that shouldn’t have much relevance.” Ms. Parkinson also noted that some manufacturers spray on the black finish, which means it will eventually scratch off. “People want pieces they feel will age really well,” she said, versus ones that must be replaced in a few years.
IN: Faucets You Can Talk To
Want to minimize contact with germy handles and taps? Just connect Siri or Alexa to a voice-activated fixture. “You can say, ‘Faucet, two cups of water.’ You put the pan under and it dispenses two cups!” said Sacramento, Calif., designer Kerrie Kelly. You can also program the flow’s temperature and duration for, say, rinsing dishes. Designer Dennese Guadeloupe Rojas, in Silver Lake, Md., points out that touchless faucets don’t get dirty in the first place, so finishes like matte white, as on the version at right by Jason Wu for Brizo, stay looking clean.
OUT: Modern Farmhouse
With apologies to Chip and Joanna Gaines, who popularized the farmhouse look on HGTV’s “Fixer Upper,” its white shiplap walls, fauxtiques and dark metal details are being sent to pasture. “People want home to represent who they are and the life they’ve led,” said Dallas designer Michelle Nussbaumer. “Farmhouse is too quiet, too not-real.” Another agri-feature getting the ax: sliding barn doors. Even closed they leave gaps, so they only work in places where sound and privacy are not an issue, said Mr. Karp. Places like a barn.
IN: Dusky Rooms
Design pros are noting a shift to darker, moodier spaces, like this emerald-enveloped bar at right, by Atlanta designer Melanie Turner and found in her coming book “Inviting Interiors: A Fresh Take on Beautiful Rooms” (Rizzoli, 2021). Ms. Kelly noted that in kitchens, warm woods are being mixed with deep green or blue paint. Mr. Jeffers predicts those colors, plus dark gray, will also surface in bedrooms: “Deep tones evoke calm and make the perfect sleeping atmosphere.” Andrea Goldman’s team, in Chicago, creates at least one cozy, relaxing space per project: “We start with wall color, using darker jewel hues.”
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4 years agoI’ve brought up the kitchen my mother designed in 1970, and I will again. Besides the mostly-drawers, trash pull-out, baking center, etc, she had the handle-less cabinets. Full-overlay, flat-front, with a notch on the top or bottom for your fingers. So easy to keep clean, easy to open and close, and a clean look. Her kitchen was warm wood tones and brick, and harvest gold and a bit of green for a few years, because it was the ‘70s after all, but still a clean look.
Form AND function, can’t beat that!
4 years agoOUT: Lab-Like Bathrooms
I don't think that many people had these anyway, but OTOH the sanitary movement was a century ago. Personally, sink, toilets and tubs should always be white. The rest is negotiable.
IN: Open-Air ShowersI requested one of these when we remodeled and the architect misunderstood and they built a bathroom. Just as well, since we don't live in Napa.
OUT: Glitzy Textileslight-catching lamés and shimmery satins were "in"?
OUT: Chaos-Courting Open ShelvingI like this look, I don't care about cleaning, and nothing in my kitchen gets greasy. We don't fry much and we use fan so IDK, but if surfaces are getting greasy you have more than a decor issue IMHO. All that said, most people rejected this look anyway, as it provides less storage.
IN: Neat Cabinets Sans Hardware"...a ton of exposed hardware can create an eyesore,” Hardware is hardly an eyesore, and going w/o is 100% modern
.
OUT: Matte Black Fixtures
these were in?
IN: Faucets You Can Talk Toyeah no
OUT: Modern FarmhouseHere is something I agree with. Like all trends, once it goes off-trend it is only fitting where it started. Tuscan style is still fine in Tuscany. Barn doors are still lovely on barns. Both are out everywhere else.
IN: Dusky RoomsEven though the more time that passed the more wed I am to white, I totally get needing more color. And deep rich tones like emerald green are IMHO timeless.
3katz4me
Original Author4 years agoOur last house had handle free kitchen cabinets before we remodeled - slab front "soft contemporary" house from mid-70s. That part of the cabinet was pretty worn and grungy after 30 years.
Not that I follow trends nor do I have any major decorating planned but it suits me well that cold white and barn doors are out - never cared for either. I love warm wood and cozy, dusky spaces. The article did capture my exact philosophy on decor for the past, present and future: "....want home to represent who they are and the life they’ve led..." Since we and our life are one of a kind there is no way I want my home to look like anyone else's.
4 years agoI've been loving hardware-less cabinets for ages and I know when it comes up in the other sub-forums on Houzz, Pros kvetch about cabinets becoming grimy from the oils from our fingers. I say this COVID-era with the never-ending hand washing is the perfect time for them!
That sofa is gorgeous, Jinx! I want it in navy. (I've been wanting a velvet navy sofa for 20 years now.)
Yesterday, I was searching the forum for living room layouts and it was interesting to see the "outdated" advice from just 7 years ago. Home decor's cycles are just a bit too short and quick for my budget. :)
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agoEvery time designers try to drag people back to dark palettes they generally resist because we are drawn to light. Purpose specific rooms like dining rooms, libraries or powder rooms, even laundry rooms, have always been more worthy targets of bold color or statement decor than the spaces we live, work and sleep in every day. Jewel tones are fine, exotically appealing, in small doses or alternatively in rooms so vast they need something to bring down the scale to a more livable proportion. In most of our homes we crave light and bright, and the size and configuration of the “average“ home in the US benefits from that treatment.
Adding, I’ve given up the WSJ for its consistent right wing bias, so I certainly would not be taking design advice from it! For me that is not the non sequitur it may seem.
adding again that I agree context is everything. Buh bye farmhouses.... don’t let the handle-less kitchen cabinets that get filthy and off which the finish eventually rubs away hit you on the way out, as they‘ll soon be following!- 4 years ago
Lol @mtnrdredux_gw....I had the same thoughts about the matte black fixtures and shiny fabrics, I must have missed those two.😂
I like me a nice, clean, lab-like bathroom...not sure if mine qualifies as our vanity is cherry stained almost black, but give me a boat load of marble and white porcelain basket weave or penny round mosaic floor tiles and I‘m a happy camper.
And I am another who is obsessed with velvet lately...I used it for my headboard and am actually seriously toying with using white velvet for the drapes in my bedroom. It’s going to be so.much.yardage. bc we have 4 windows ganged together and I have this thing about making them operable even though they don’t need to be...Anyway, these soft fabrics will help to make our room a bit more cocoon-like than the loud echo chamber it currently is with the wood floors, wood shutters, and vaulted ceiling. 😂 - 4 years ago
I was in Anthro yesterday and they had both a navy velvet sofa and navy velvet DR chairs. Dreamy.
4 years agoTartan, please share what can be outdated in living room advice. I am beyond curious ;-)
- 4 years ago
Zalco, I won't link to the threads but one Pro was recommending the OP replace their beige floor to floor carpeting with dark hardwood. (How long was dark hardwood flooring a "thing"?) Mantel decor or refacing suggestions were out of scale or convoluted as well.
Can't imagine this mantel treatment in a late 60s suburban split level (which is what the OP had):
Not sure if below was a bad photo edit for a suggestion or an actual picture of something to be replicated. When did this ever look good?
- 4 years ago
@bpath, do you have any pictures of your mother's kitchen you can share? It does sound well designed (and we all know avocado's "back" ;-)).
With every passing year, I want a house that's easy to maintain and keep clean. Ornate details are lovely but make no sense in my life since I have such an aversion to dusting. :P - 4 years ago
Velvet really isn‘t a new upholstery choice, or a nee trend. I had a green velvet sofa since 2002 and got rid of it when we moved here. The summer of 2019 I purchased two big navy velvet club chairs for the new house, and they were available literally everywhere online. RH has had velvet curtains forever, ditto Ballard’s. maybe someone at the wsj finally noticed what people were already buying.
Nini, I think white velvet curtains would be luscious! - 4 years ago
IN: Open-Air Showers
Meanwhile, the al fresco shower has acquired powerful appeal, part of the continuing push to “make the outdoor as well-designed and comfortable as the indoor,” as New York architect West Chin put it. San Francisco designer Jay Jeffers, who often installs showers like the one at right on clients’ properties in Napa Valley, points to the dreamy sense of escape they conjure. “You’re almost in a different world—Mexico or the Cayman Islands or Anguilla—somewhere else that’s not your home.”
Almost ... but um, definitely not.
Seriously, that wouldn't work for the vast majority of homeowners. I guess I'm just not a fan. The only place I've ever used an outdoor shower was in Zihuatanejo, Mexico. It was regularly visited by all manner of creepy-crawly things. Granted, it was in the middle of the jungle, but still. Nope. I'll take a hard pass on this 'trend'. 3katz4me
Original Author4 years agolast modified: 4 years agoNot much is a new choice - many things just keep cycling through. Popular now, not popular in a few years and then the cycle repeats.
Our neighbors at our last lake cabin tore down their seasonal cabin and built a new house with as many bells and whistles as they could fit on a 90 foot lot. One of those was an outdoor shower that was about 10 feet from one of our guest room windows. That was around the time we decided to move to the woods. I remember talking to the Mrs about all the choices you have to make when you build a new house and she told me she spent a lot of time on Houzz figuring it all out. That was about seven years ago. Oh and this is in MN where that shower might get used three months of the year.
- 4 years ago
Not to mention, in re outdoor showers, it's not as simple as it sounds, given that so many places restrict greywater. Our beach house has an outdoor shower from the PO but it's not allowed in a new build.
- 4 years ago
Tartan, right now Mom’s kitchen is in the throes of being readied for an estate sale . . . One of these days . . . So no pictures. Funny, I don’t recall ever taking pictures in there.
As to grungy handle-less doors, why would they be any grungier than handled-doors? We find that the little area around the handle, not to mention the handle itself, gets dirty and is harder to clean. If a handle-less door is designed with a fingernotch beneath, it‘s an easy swoop with a damp cloth from time to time. (And tbh, I rarely use the knobs to close my own cabinets and drawers, but rather the back of the hand or my hip. Two drawers get the foot treatment! )
Deep blue velvet, oh I can see the cat loving that.
4 years ago@lizzie_grow ... it came up on Pinterest, so I don’t know the source. Am saving it for inspiration. :)
I‘ve wanted a velvet sofa since I discovered my fav blog over a decade ago — The Peak of Chic. The swoon-worthy vintage rooms! She hasn’t posted in so long, I hope she’s ok.- 4 years ago
My sofa dream just got squashed. It’s not velvet! It’s polyester blends! 😥
I love the style so much. Boo!
https://www.jennifertaylorhome.com/alana-lawson-sofa/
4 years agoThese annual “What’s in and what’s now out” articles always make me chuckle and shake my head. I’ve truly believed, my entire life, that everyone should decorate/ surround themselves with what makes THEM happy and not what some decorator in NYC or wherever decrees is “in“ or “out”. If warm woods make you happy, go for it! If it’s light woods, or painted, or black, why create a room or a home to please a decorating tome that doesn’t even live there? What’s enjoyable about this particular site here is seeing the individual personalities shining through on rooms you all post. But, getting back to the article, it IS always interesting to see new decorating ideas and items available. As for the yearly decorating “Ins & Outs”, I just shake my head and chuckle!
4 years agoapparently it's been years since I'm on trend. and not only me-much f this been in magazines and stores and allover for several years already
except for a talking faucet (thank you..I already talk to brooms and teapots...) . that's really a new one.and outdoor shower-why would I have an outdoor shower? it's pretty chilly here I must say. lol
hardware...actualy I love hardware. I also love a look without. can be lovely - as long as I don't jam my fiingers or something.
yes I'm into green myself..my new sofa in an abroad apartment is green. Not velvet (which I l o v e) but still very nice fabric in very nice green.(I need to decorate differently there though..that apartment has superugly window frames that restrict me severely in just about everything. Whoever thought it's some great modern choice for new, better aluminium(c), really did;t think things through. Very irritating)
what WSJ stand for?
4 years agoI was seeing the matte black everywhere, including appliances. Knew it was going to be shortlived. I still like handles and favor practicality. The wear on the finishes is real -- it happened to my mothers in a pretty short time.
I've always loved velvet, so I am texture loving and trend resistant, I saw. The comment about textures and Chanel made me chuckle. In any case, all this time indoors has made everyone more conscious of comfort, I believe.
4 years agoI totally agree with Lynn.
Re: velvet, I love it but I think of it as winter fabric, so would not want a piece of furniture out of it (even though it is luscious!). Here in our (mostly) warm weather, it just doesn't work for me. I have thought of switching living room drapes in the winter to velvet, but that doesn't work for me either. LOL I do have some velvet pillows out right now and I have a velvet blanket/cover that I use on our bed during colder weather.- 4 years ago
"The comment about textures and Chanel made me chuckle."
Me too, Gooster. It also reminded me this type of advice really isn't for the average homeowner. 
4 years agoI live in a county adjacent to Napa (and my county is far nicer and prettier BTW), and unless it's during the summer, it's too cold to take a shower outside.
4 years agoWhat Lynn said. I'll take an outdoor shower any day in the summer after working in the flowerbed or after standing on the porch for five minutes.
I know some have see through glass doors on their showers, or no door at all, and I have to ask, why?
Agree about modern farmhouse style unless you live on a farm. Many of the young couples out here who farm decorate that way except they still feel the need to put a "Farm" sign in the kitchen. And Live, Love, Laugh. Go away.
I do like shiplap and bead board. Bead board will always be classic, IMO.
- 4 years ago
Agree with Lynn. You look at your house every day——it should please YOU.
I also never bought into the idea (with a few exceptions) that the interior should match the exterior style of the house. If that were the case then 90% of the houses where I used to live should all have had traditional/colonial furniture.
I recently read a designer say your house should either be all warm colors or all cool colors but not to mix the two. Really? I can’t put a yellow pillow on a blue sofa?
Oakley—-re glass shower doors—-they make the bathroom seem larger and the shower gets natural light from the the BR windows. I actually prefer a glass door to a shower curtain.
- 4 years ago
Trend or not, I love my outdoor shower! I have not had poison ivy since it was installed! Also sand and kid mess is kept outside. With a hand held included many of my neighbors use it for their dogs frequently too.
I have a ten year old blue/green velvet sofa and a navy bedroom chair and I love both. And I do love moody dark rooms but do not think many others do so not sure if that will stick. I think my distaste of light rooms stems from a life long history of ocular migraines that are now a thing of the past thanks to a heart fix and now I actually painted my first ever white walls just as they are going off trend, lol. - 4 years ago
Outdoor showers are awesome!! My step-mom has one at the cottage and it's used more than the indoor shower. The cottage is very remote so only the wildlife will see you in the buff.
I've had a dark green chenille sofa for about 10 years now and when I get new kitchen cabinets I want slab doors with no hardware. Keeping the handles and crevices clean on my current cabinets is a royal PITA. I want low maintenance now more than ever!! 
4 years agoI got a navy velvet sofa last year. It’s lovely but has to be vacuumed regularly - dog hair, dust, lint - everything shows. In-between I use a lint brush or Dustbuster. It’s constant.
- 4 years ago
Thanks for chiming in, Kitchenwitch. Something to keep in mind because I just started pinning pics... :P
4 years agoFor me to use an outdoor shower, it would have to be at least 90° outside, which would restrict the showers I take to summers in the desert. I suppose some people like cold showers - I'm not one of them.
I never liked the barn doors, mainly for the gaps, as mentioned.
I do like dark colors on walls, even for living rooms and bedrooms, especially if there are plenty of windows and light sources. I like light colors (but not white) in kitchens because I need more light there and also in studies and libraries. I need extra light in any room where I will be sewing as well. I find dark colors in libraries and studies to be depressing, but that is the only place where I have this impression.
- 4 years ago
Tartan, we’ve been really lucky with our navy velvet chairs. I haven’t ever vacuumed them or even been tempted to. We have three dogs and two of them like the chairs. Our velvet is almost all cotton, if that helps.
- 4 years ago
Yes, that helps! Thanks so much. (I'll probably start a post about my living room at some point.)
- 4 years ago
While I generally agree with the 'decorate for what you love' crowd, some trends and styles always seem simply unrealistic or suboptimal, so I wouldn't ever consider them for my own home.
That includes the ubiquitous barn door. The first time I saw one used as an interior decor option I rolled my eyes. They simply don't make much sense: as a door they fail to completely close off an opening so that alone is a huge thumbs down. Especially for a bathroom (ahem) or a bedroom, makes no sense. Not to mention the design closes off a large area on the wall which can no longer be used since the barn door will need to push over onto that portion so again, less utility.
Same with open shelving in the kitchen. Many/most people don't live a life in which a minimal amount of tasteful monochromatic matched pieces can be styled on a shelf. Then let's get to the utility: open shelves not only look cluttered but things can easily fall off and break. Everything on open shelves is susceptible to kitchen grease, dust etc so that's certainly less useful.
Moving on to outdoor showers-unless you live in the subtropics how useless is the opportunity to stand outside shivering for most of the year while you shower?!?! Who in their right mind will even want to do that?
And even in the subtropics take it from me, you probably aren't going to enjoy your shower while dodging cockroaches (they love moist warm areas), lizards etc. Once again, simply not useful in real life. Sure some people may like having a place to rinse off after gardening etc but really how large a group is that?
While not wedded to a non-aesthetic aesthetic, putting stuff in your home decor that looks good but either creates more work or simply doesn't work well makes no sense to me and never has.
4 years agoAnother velvet lover here, always “in” at my house. Had a green velvet sofa for many years. Currently have an off-white velvet sofa. It is my favorite sofa fabric.
My love of velvet may come from growing up in a house with a brown velvet sofa. A heavy duty 1940’s vintage sofa, originally a nubby raspberry color fabric with fringe around the bottom, my parent’s reupholstered in velvet. My brother owns the very same sofa now. He has the brown velvet sofa in his den and a navy velvet sofa in his living room.
Jilly