Top 6 home decorating trends right now

Comfort, colour, pattern and homeyness are dominating home trends because of our need to stay and work at home more than we ever have before. Here are our top six decorating trends:

1. Being comfortable, cosy and welcomed by our décor is critical. So when it comes to furniture, choose those pieces – couches, armchairs, dining chairs and office chairs – where you feel totally content to sit and relax for longer, for leisure and for work, rather than choosing pieces to impress the guests. You can add in a few sculptural or designer items but as ‘artwork’ rather than real living. And arrange your rooms so they are easy to navigate, tucking those special pieces away from the traffic area but still in splendid view.

2. Antique, vintage and cottage have returned. Mix your old and new in harmony, bringing together those pieces that Grandma gave you and the modern settings you bought as that trend peaked. Place stunning antiques against contemporary pieces. Vintage, as we know, is always inviting. So put yours on show. Modern art can be hung next to antique etchings: so a steam-punk sculpture can be great company for a simple timber bentwood or Windsor chair. And you can be absolutely certain that if you make cottage comfort and practicality your guide, you’re onto the crowd pleaser of all crowd pleasers. Just add warm apple pie and cream and everyone will want to be at your home forever.

3. Florals, checks, stripes and warm colours are stealing the limelight. After years of Scandi minimalism, maximalism is heading right into the décor vernacular. Combined, florals, checks, stripes and colours are beautiful. Strongish paint colours are there for you right now, to replace your safe white and off-white walls. So fall in love with the colour cards and allow your rooms to make big colour statements. Then, be unashamedly out there and choose a breathtaking floral wallpaper for one wall – or all walls – in a favourite room! Or mix your papers and fabrics in checks and stripes – this partnership is a long-time decorating favourite. All up, the message is loud and clear, go big, bold and beautiful and be noticed!

4. Do it with cushions. One of the most effective ways to incorporate decorating updates in your home is to bring it all together with cushions. They update your décor without having to make major changes. What’s more, they can collect and captivate what you love, and allow you to be as adventurous and multi-dimensional as you wish. Throw casually or place them strategically on your couches and chairs, place larger ones on the floor as a statement, and make sure you finish off your bed with a few beauties to make a decorating statement in that room too. Cushions can take you into every new trend there is. They’re genius!

5. Indoor plants are back. And who doesn’t love an indoor plant? But they do go in and out of decorating fashion more than anything. But, great news, here they are again! They contribute to us feeling more comfortable indoors because they bring us closer to nature. And not only do they give us the sense of being ‘green’ but they can also be sculptural, blowsy, enormous or joyously small, climb up walls, or trail elegantly wherever we want. They can be single, in partnerships, or indeed in crowds indoors, and look fabulous wherever. Best of all, look after them well and they will welcome you daily with a fresh, healthy ‘greeting’, freshening the air, releasing oxygen and growing well to thank you for their wellbeing.

6. The best trend of all: making your home your own and adopting whatever style you love! How we’ve been living recently in this changed world has meant a move move away from being married to trends and having the perfectly designed home, to instead making our home personal, warm, comfortable and cosy. This encourages us to combine all the items and pieces that have meaning and stories for us and living harmoniously with them.

A desire for distant shores is becoming increasingly more apparent, too, where our interiors reflect our travels. Do a little research and look at architectural and decorating styles from around the world. If you like an African palette and furnishings, go that way. If Japanese beauty wins your heart, borrow ideas that fit the house you have. Fall head over heels in love with the colours of the Caribbean and Mexico. Or simply bring Italy home. However you go, the best design news right now is that whatever you love is bang on trend. So decorate and enjoy!