At this time of year we look ahead to the big interior design style trends for 2021. After a year like no other, when we've all been spending much more time at home you’ll notice a theme with trends making your home cosier. We are looking for more personal and inviting spaces with warmer with softer textures, bringing the outdoors in with natural materials and lots of plants.
Your home is a reflection of you and the other people you live with. A home should really be about living with what you love. Sooz Gordon, Dundee-based interior designer says: ‘Home for me is about being surrounded by personal and meaningful objects. I am drawn to pieces that have character and have an interesting narrative. As a designer and maker, I look for quality materials, and appreciate craftsmanship and artistry’.
So we're going to bring you trends that'll allow you to dig in again in 2021. Whatever you choose you can't really go wrong. Use your home space to express yourself in 2021.
We would never advise following trends for big spend pieces because they could easily fall out of trend and you may be left with an expensive piece or an entire room that you regret having spent so much on to not like anymore.
We've picked out all our fave 2021 trends that are really easy to bring into your home right now. Nothing crazy, no remodels required, just little things you can change in your home to bring it up to date with the latest interior design ideas.
So here’s some Scaramanga inspiration for 2021.
Rustic Vogue
OK, this is our favourite trend. It seems to have been influenced by one of our favourites from 2020's global bohemian. This look is a crowd-pleaser, appealing to anyone who loves their modern home comforts but wants to inject some character details into their living spaces, too. It works ideally in homes that already have some interesting features, such as exposed beams, original floorboards or panelled walls, but can equally be re-created with a considered balance of old and new pieces that work together in harmony. You don't need a period property the look and style works with modern houses and flats. Think Bohemian style meets modern rustic.
It’s a real fusion of decorative patterns, earthy colours and natural textures found in handmade crafts and interiors mixed with contemporary, authentic vintage and antique interiors from across the eras. So imagine hand-thrown ochre-coloured pots, mixed with bold spiced honey block-print textiles and rough-cut honey-coloured hardwoods mixed with vibrant coloured 1970s pop-art and subtle 60’s Scandi cool. Reclaimed wood is often the core material that holds this look together. It could be natural wooden floorboards, old exposed beams or even panelled walls. Antique cupboards and armoires can be used to frame other pieces with colour and texture. Look for unique pieces that show plenty of grain and texture, rather than items that are perfectly finished.
It’s a celebration of rich tones and rugged textures from distant lands and eclectic mixing. Overall it’s a trend style we’ve loved for years. If Like Scaramanga’s founder, Carl, you like collecting and buying handmade curios and eclectic vintage and antique items on your travels then it’s a style that’s not hard to recreate.
There are really no hard a fast rules. Mix old and new.
Image credit: Future / Kasia Fiszer
Cottagecore
So what exactly is cottagecore? In short, it would seem cottagecore is an aesthetic that seems to have started out on social media. It's all very wholesome, pastoral and based around rural life. It could be described as ‘country rustic’. Look for classic off-white cupboards and storage. Faded painted dining table and chairs. Printed Morris and Co inspired printed fabrics. You can mix styles and eras by incorporating antique French country styles with vintage shabby chic. Just think cosy, a touch of kitsch and in a good way ‘cluttered’. Try car boot sales, eBay and Etsy.
The Home Office
Working from home is now a reality for millions more people across the UK. Even once things start to return to normal many more people will continue to be based at home. This permanency means many more people are going to be designing their home spaces differently as a proportion of their day will be spent at home working. We will see more dedicated and private homeworking space in place of makeshift desks. So spare rooms / guest rooms will be set up as permanent home offices.
A home office really needs to be a comfortable space that allows thought and creativity. So, think artwork or patterned wallpaper.
Even if you don't have a dedicated home office you can still create a 'separate' space to work in, you just have to think out the box a bit – use an alcove, corner of a room, transform a hallway we have even seen people using a wardrobe as an office! Of course, a home office chair needs to be comfortable. Try an antique library for a classic look, or mid-century cantilevered seat for an interesting look.
image: Ideal Home copyright
Maximalism
It seems that we’re seeing a swing away from the stark no-fuss Scandi minimalism towards bold, bright in-your-face full-on flamboyant interiors. Expect bold colours, lots of patterns, different styles and eras mixed and mismatched. Eclectic glamour – imagine 20s elegance mixed with 70s sass. So curved pink velvet sofa with scalloped and curved edges paired with a vintage hand-made copper pot and a 60’s dark teak sideboard. It’s not such an easy style to achieve, but once mastered it looks amazing and will over-power the senses.
Maximalism is having a major moment as we seek to curate our homes. After a decade of minimalism we love the inventive return of highly decorative and personal interiors. We are evolving our homes as spaces to be fulfilling, memorable and cabinets of curiosities.
Homeowners are styling their interiors to tell a story, layering old with new to create exciting interior stories. Every piece in their home makes a statement either through the silhouette, fabric choice, colour or unique backstory. It also reflects a growing interest in furniture and objects acting as souvenirs of our lives. People are regaining a sense of individualism by using historical references, dark floral patterns and stained woods in their homes.
Buying responsibly and sustainably
Fast fashion has been under the spotlight for a little while and it seems like the spotlight is now shining brighter on the things we buy for our homes. People want to know where they come from, what materials are used and how they’re made. Of course, reusing and repurposing is nothing new, but people are becoming a lot more accepting of using older materials and reusing furniture and homewares that have been used before. Especially as often things were so well made 50, 100 and 150 years ago. Furniture was handmade using traditional tools using durable materials like hardwoods and iron. This ensures less new materials are being used and less is being resigned to landfill. We're also seeing traditional craft-based skills in higher demand as people look for well-made items and the demand for restorers with cabinet making and traditional carpentry skills. Read more about our skilled carpenters and artisan
restoring vintage furniture and
how we buy our interiors and vintage furniture.
House Plants
House plants have never been so popular. Just look at Pinterest and Instagram to see that houseplants have never been more fashionable. From retro 1970s-style cheese plants and hanging creepers to spiky cacti towers and fragile micro succulents. We sure there're plants to suit your space and style. They bring a myriad of subtle colours, texture and vibrancy like nothing else. We think their resurgence is due their ability to freshen the air and removing pollutants.
We hope you’ve been inspired by our five interior design style trends for 2021. Remember style and buy what you like and not what you’re told to like!
Look out for more detail look at each Scaramanga top interior trend for 2021 starting with rustic vogue in February.
To see more of our vintage furniture visit our website. We have new stock arriving every week. So if you don’t see what you’re looking for contact us and we’ll try to find it for you.
