Chocolate brown ends green hues’ reign as top color, and Murano-glass lighting makes a big comeback
Miami Beach Apartment by Charlap Hyman & Herrero (Image Credit: Chris Mottalini)
1stDibs, the leading marketplace for extraordinary design, has shared the results of its eighth annual Interior Designer Trends Survey, taken by 643 interior designers worldwide. This latest iteration continues an industry-leading program to seek feedback on design trends, including project types, sourcing, styles, motifs, and colors. These insights suggest the top trends for the coming year, as well as those losing appeal, and indicate year-over-year shifts.
“Every year, our Designer Trends Survey allows us to not just identify the stylistic shifts and emerging trends that will shape the way we live in the coming months,” said Anthony Barzilay Freund, Editorial Director at 1stDibs, “but also to understand the forces dictating these trends—the “why’s”—as articulated by the talented interior designers around the world who participate.”
Here’s what the interior designers had to say:
Part 1: What’s In
Color Trends: Earthy and Rich Tones Dominate; Chocolate Brown Takes the Cake
Warm chocolate brown stakes its claim as designers’ top choice for the most popular color of 2025. The earthy hue was the top pick for 32% of those surveyed, almost doubling the percentage of designers who favored it in 2023 (17%). Although demand for this color is experiencing a significant spike, interest in dark red and burgundy has also increased, from 7% for 2024 to 20% for 2025. Meanwhile, light blues like Sky and Robin’s-egg have experienced a steady rise to 19% (up from 14% in 2023), indicating an ongoing penchant for soft, calming blues. Light green and sage may have peaked in the predictions for 2024 (26%), but these hues continue to be among the favorites in their color family for 2025 (19%), with emerald green sitting at the top (22%). These color trends reflect a desire for earthy and natural tones.
Design Styles by Decade
Vintage furniture and decor are still in high demand, with 81% of designers sourcing products from the 1920s through the 1990s in 2024. Looking at predictions made for 2023, 2024, and 2025, the Art Deco and Bauhaus aesthetics of the 1920s and 1930s continue to gain favor, increasing from 23% for 2023 to 28% for 2025. However, interest in the mid-century modern designs of the 1950s keeps cooling, with just 7% of designers saying those styles are ripe for a comeback in 2025.
Organic Patterns and Design Aesthetics
Organic patterns and motifs, along with bold and large-scale prints and florals, are expected to remain the favored patterns for 2025, even given the steady decline in both, with bold designs dropping to 15% (from 21% for 2024) and organic patterns dropping to 12% (from 18% for 2024). While some designs, like Moroccan and checks, have faded, animal prints have gained momentum, increasing from 4% for 2024 to 6% for 2025. Additionally, the 2024 design aesthetics most likely to remain popular in 2025 are maximalism (tapped by 33% of designers), eclecticism (33%), and organic modernism (31%).
Icons of Seating and Lighting
Following a slight decline for 2023 and 2024, the Eames lounge chair and ottoman have experienced a resurgence, predicted by 23% of designers to be the most popular iconic vintage seating in 2025, up from 15% for 2024. The Vladimir Kagan Serpentine sofa sits comfortably in second place (13%). Previously unranked, the Kaare Klint Safari chair has claimed third place (8%).
Murano-glass pendants and chandeliers have experienced a solid upward trend, expected to be the most popular iconic vintage lighting in 2025 by 27% of respondents (up from 19% for 2024), indicating a growing preference for ornate styles. The Noguchi Akari lamp takes second place, with 16%, rising three percentage points from predictions for 2024. The stark difference in aesthetics between the two most popular designs indicates two strong preferences dividing designers.
Curvy Shapes Continue to Dominate
When asked which furniture, lighting and decor trends will become popular in 2025, the highest percentage of designers chose curvy and irregular shapes. Claiming almost half the votes, with 47%, this trend was followed by oversized pendant lighting (27%). When it comes to design features and elements expected to be popular in 2025, colorful painted murals (28%), patterned wallpaper (26%) and wallpapered ceilings (26%) were among the top choices. Discreet technology (35%) claimed first place, with designers expecting a growing demand for seamless tech integration in homes. These preferences reflect the desire to embrace new technologies without compromising on bold interiors that welcome personalization and creativity.
Part 2: What’s Out
Color Trends: Muted Hues Decline, and Goodbye, Barbie Pink
While deep earthy and rich tones are on the rise, muted hues have suffered a significant drop. Dark yellow and mustard colorways fell five percentage points, to 15% for 2025 from 20% for 2024. Dark blue and navy returned to their 2023 spot, at 11%, after experiencing a quick spike in popularity during 2024, at 14%. Meanwhile, the popularity of dark gray and slate has fallen by half for 2025, sitting as low as 5% versus 10% for 2024. Barbie’s hot pink, which owned a 6% share of popularity for 2024, has experienced a dramatic decrease to 2% for 2025.
Home Office Boom Fades
As hybrid work becomes the norm, the demand for dedicated home offices has drastically decreased. Only 13% of designers expect that home office renovations will be their most requested projects in 2025, down from 32% for 2023, signaling a shift toward more flexible, functional living spaces.
Iconic Seating Falls Off
A consistent and meaningful shift has been noted for Wishbone and Soriana seating. The Hans Wegner Wishbone chair declined from 11% for 2023 to 7% for 2025. Likewise, the Afra & Tobia Scarpa Soriana designs have decreased steadily in popularity over the past three years, from 10% for 2022 to 5% for 2025.
Custom Pieces Continue to Decline
The average percentage of customized pieces designers use in their projects continues to decline, dropping from 51% for 2020 to 46% for 2024. Additionally, 62% of designers responded that they plan to purchase more artisan furniture in 2025, compared with 35% who plan to purchase more items from large manufacturers. Sourcing expectations for 2025 remain consistent with 2024, favoring new or contemporary items, while antique pieces — those made before 1920 — are least likely to be sourced. That said, there has been an uptick in designers expecting to shop antiques, from 56% for 2024 to 62% for 2025, which is also more than in the previous 4 years.
Part 3: Room-by-Room Design Requests
Living Rooms and Kitchens Are Top Priorities for 2025
Kitchens are predicted to be the most requested renovation projects for 2025, with 61% of homeowners expected to be seeking updates, up from 54% for 2024. Living rooms follow closely at 51%, down from 62% for 2024. These shifts reflect a growing emphasis on personal wellness as homeowners prioritize creating spaces that support self-care and everyday comfort. With more time spent at home cooking and focusing on self-care routines, living rooms and kitchens are essential areas for renovation, aligning with a broader trend toward enhancing wellness-focused, multifunctional spaces.
What If Money Were No Object?
For projects with unlimited budgets, closets with extra space and storage are still tops among additional rooms designers expect to recommend to their clients, coming in at 53% for 2025, down from 2024’s 57%. Recommendations for guest suites follow close behind, at 50%, with scullery and outdoor kitchens tying at 45%, part of a continued trend for more cooking and meal preparation space to entertain. Massage rooms, treehouses and pet rooms continue to be among the least recommended spaces. Bowling alleys have seen an unexpected uptick, with 2% of designers saying they would recommend them to clients, up from 1% last year.
Part 4: The Impact of AI
AI’s Impact Remains Unclear
While Artificial intelligence (AI) has not yet heavily penetrated the design process, with just 16% of designers leveraging the technology in their work in 2024, its adoption is expected to increase, with 24% of designers saying they plan to use it in 2025. Still, almost 60% of designers indicate that they will not use AI-powered processes in 2025 or are undecided about implementing the technology. Their responses to the open-ended survey questions reflect awareness and expectation that AI’s influence will undoubtedly grow.
Part 5: Predictions for the Future
While trends are ever-evolving, the focus on sustainability and technology has noticeably intensified in recent years, with designers consistently looking to incorporate more of these products and materials in their projects. The number of projects expected to have some sustainability requirement in 2025 averages 43%. In 2023, there was a heightened emphasis on supply-chain challenges and pandemic-related disruptions. Now, the conversation is shifting toward technological integration and client demands for more unusual, sustainable solutions.
Methodology
1stDibs commissioned researchers with Surveys & Forecasts, LLC, a full-service strategic research consultancy based in South Norwalk, CT, to conduct 643 online interviews between July and August 2024. The interior designers who were interviewed are part of the 1stDibs Trade 1st Program.
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