As we approach the year 2025, homeowners are eager to know what decorating trends will take center stage in their living spaces. Drawing insights from leading paint brands’ Color of the Year announcements, it’s evident that several overarching themes and trends promise to shape home decor significantly. These projected trends include bold and personality-led interiors, quietly colorful hues, nostalgia-inspired colors, ‘in-between’ shades, and a preference for warm schemes over cool ones. This extensive analysis aims to consolidate key points and expert opinions to provide a comprehensive understanding of what to expect in home decor in 2025.
Bold and Personality-Led Interiors
Embracing Bold Colors
The anticipated trend of bold and personality-driven interiors stands out as the most prominent theme in the 2025 Color of the Year selections. Glidden’s 2025 Color of the Year, Purple Basil, perfectly epitomizes this trend. This year is all about embracing bold colors that speak to individual tastes and bring joy, aligning with the emergent decor style known as ‘dopamine decor.’ Homeowners are increasingly encouraged to break free from conventional palettes and opt for colors that personally resonate with them. By doing so, they inject vibrancy and vitality into their living spaces, reflecting a deeper connection with their surroundings.
Ashley McCollum, a color expert at Glidden, emphasizes that the choice of bold colors like Purple Basil signifies a significant shift towards more personalized and expressive spaces. This trend mirrors a broader movement of consumers prioritizing their joy and personal satisfaction over the potential resale value of their homes. The momentum for bold hues has been building over the past few years, with maximalist colors and designs such as Dulux’s bright yellow True Joy and Minwax’s bold purple Violet gaining traction and popularity. This shift highlights a growing confidence among homeowners to make bold color statements that celebrate their uniqueness.
Personal Expression Over Resale Value
A major aspect of the bold color trend for 2025 is the increasing importance of personal expression over traditional considerations like resale value. Homeowners are now more inclined to prioritize what brings them joy and satisfaction in their living environments. This trend gains further validation from the consistent popularity of maximalist colors seen in previous years. Decor elements that initially seem audacious or unconventional are becoming mainstream, as more individuals appreciate the expressive possibilities of vibrant hues.
Ashley McCollum further notes that this inclination towards bold colors represents a broader cultural shift towards embracing individuality and joy in interior spaces. People are inspired to personalize their homes in a way that genuinely reflects their personalities and lifestyles. The trend also resonates with the psychological benefits of living in an environment saturated with colors that stimulate positive emotions. As a result, 2025 is poised to see a flourishing of personalized, vivacious decor choices that prioritize personal fulfillment over neutral, market-friendly aesthetics.
Quietly Colorful Hues
Emphasizing Comfort and Subtlety
In stark contrast to the boldly expressive trend, 2025 will also witness a significant preference for quietly colorful hues that prioritize comfort and subtlety in home decor. A prime example of this trend is Benjamin Moore’s 2025 Color of the Year, Cinnamon Slate, a calming brownish-purple shade. Helen Shaw, Director of Marketing (International) at Benjamin Moore, underscores the importance of the shift from highly saturated hues to more comforting and understated colors for the year ahead. This transition signals a growing desire for tranquil and soothing environments that offer respite from the stresses of daily life.
The concept of quietly colorful hues revolves around achieving a balanced and harmonious look that doesn’t overwhelm but rather softly enhances a space. Such colors create a sense of peace and relaxation, making them perfect for living areas, bedrooms, and other personal spaces. Cinnamon Slate’s delicate blend of heathered plum and velvety brown undertones embodies this approach, offering both depth and a muted elegance to interiors. This trend reflects a broader move towards subtle yet impactful color choices that promote a relaxed and comfortable ambiance in home environments.
Subtle Yet Impactful Presence
The idea of ‘quietly colorful hues’ is further exemplified in the curated Color Trends palette by Benjamin Moore, which includes nine ‘in-between’ hues that transition seamlessly from room to room, promoting ease and livability. These hues possess rich undertones, whether neutral or moodier, exuding a relaxed confidence that aligns with the quieter color trend. Homeowners can expect these colors to provide a gently vibrant backdrop that enhances but never dominates their decorating schemes.
Moreover, these quietly colorful hues have a unique ability to complement a variety of interior design styles, from minimalist to more traditional settings. Their subtle presence offers versatility and sophistication, allowing decorators to play with textures, materials, and light without the colors overpowering the space. This subtle yet impactful approach marks a significant trend for 2025, wherein homeowners seek serene and comforting environments that delight the senses while maintaining an understated elegance.
Nostalgia-Inspired Colors
Blending Retro and Contemporary
Another noteworthy trend for 2025 is the resurgence of nostalgia-inspired shades. Sherwin-Williams’ 2025 Color Capsule perfectly encapsulates this trend, drawing inspiration from iconic design styles of the past, particularly the 1970s, while blending them with contemporary hues. This approach acknowledges the growing impact of nostalgia on design as homeowners increasingly seek out authentic and vintage elements to incorporate into their spaces. The marriage of retro and modern elements provides a fresh take that feels both familiar and new, appealing to a wide range of tastes.
Emily Kantz, Color Marketing Manager at Sherwin-Williams, points out that the Color Capsule tells a compelling story by combining eclectic and retro influences with modern twists to keep the trend fresh and engaging. This blending of past and future trends is especially significant as it addresses a collective desire to reconnect with comforting memories while pushing design boundaries with contemporary innovations. Nostalgia-inspired colors such as mauve, burgundy, burnt orange, and dusty pink are making a notable comeback, not just in paints but also in fabrics and rugs, reflecting a broader cultural movement towards embracing the aesthetic of yesteryears with a modern flair.
Cyclical Nature of Design Trends
The resurgence of nostalgia-inspired colors also alludes to the cyclical nature of fashion and design, where trends from previous decades periodically resurface with renewed relevance. Chicago-based designer Andrea Goldman observes that shades reminiscent of the 1980s, such as mauve, burgundy, burnt orange, and dusty pink, are making a significant comeback. These colors bring a sentimental charm while being reinterpreted to suit contemporary tastes, offering a sense of continuity and evolution in home decor.
This longing for nostalgic influences reflects a deeper psychological need to find comfort in the familiar, especially in times of uncertainty. Homeowners are gravitating towards interiors that evoke a sense of warmth, familiarity, and history, but with updated aesthetics that keep the spaces current. The trend underscores an appreciation for timeless design elements and a recognition that revisiting and rejuvenating past styles can lead to innovative and enduring decorating choices.
‘In-Between’ Shades
Complex and Nuanced Colors
A defining trend for 2025 is the emergence of ‘in-between’ shades – complex and nuanced colors that do not fit neatly into traditional color families. These shades reflect a more sophisticated and adventurous approach to color selection. Dunn-Edwards’ 2025 Color of the Year, Caramelized, a rich terracotta-brown shade, and HGTV Home by Sherwin-Williams’ Color of the Year, Quietude, a tranquil blue-green hue, exemplify this trend. These ‘in-between’ shades present a unique aesthetic that moves away from the straightforward pops of color and jewel tones typical in previous years.
Interior designer Ghislaine Viñas highlights the appeal of these mixed tertiary colors, which are comforting while avoiding being too bold or brash. These shades resonate with the complexities of the contemporary world, offering a palette that encourages introspection and individuality. By moving away from familiar, crayon box colors to more unique and nuanced hues, homeowners achieve a distinctive look that stands out without overwhelming the space. This trend underscores a desire for interiors that reflect a rich tapestry of influences and complexities.
Unique Aesthetic and Individuality
The attraction of ‘in-between’ shades lies in their ability to provide a distinctive yet versatile aesthetic. These colors bridge the gap between bold statements and muted tones, offering a middle ground that can be both striking and understated depending on the context. Such unconventional colors encourage homeowners to experiment with their decor, adding layers and depth that reflect their personal style. Unlike more conventional color choices, ‘in-between’ shades create an individualized ambiance, making spaces feel unique and thoughtfully curated.
Additionally, these shades work well across various design aesthetics, from contemporary to eclectic styles. Their nuanced nature allows for creative pairings with different textures, patterns, and materials, adding a dynamic quality to interior decor. The rise of ‘in-between’ shades in 2025 highlights a shift towards more complex and sophisticated color palettes that celebrate individuality and the multi-faceted nature of modern living.
Warm Schemes Over Cool Ones
Shift Towards Warmer Tones
The preference for warm color schemes over cooler palettes is another significant trend for 2025. While some cooler tones like Valspar’s 2025 Color of the Year, Encore, a dark blue, remain relevant, there is a noticeable shift towards warmer, earthier tones. Behr’s Color of the Year, Rumors, a warming ruby red, and other rich browns and purples signify a return to cozy and inviting color schemes. This shift marks a departure from the stark whites and high-contrast black and white schemes that were popular in recent years.
Designer Rosanna Bassford of Memmo Interiors notes a strong inclination towards warmer, richer colors as people seek to create more welcoming and enveloping spaces. Warm hues have an inherent ability to make spaces feel more intimate and comforting, aligning with a growing desire for homes that offer a retreat from the outside world. This renewed interest in warm schemes underscores a broader trend of prioritizing coziness and comfort in home environments, enhancing the overall feeling of well-being and relaxation.
Cozy and Inviting Color Schemes
As we near the year 2025, homeowners are keen to discover the latest decorating trends that will define their living spaces. Insights from leading paint brands’ Color of the Year announcements reveal several significant trends set to shape home decor. These trends encompass bold and personality-driven interiors, subtle colorful shades, nostalgia-inspired hues, versatile ‘in-between’ colors, and a preference for warm tones over cool ones. Anticipating these upcoming directions in home decor, one can expect to see spaces that reflect individual personalities through daring color choices, spaces that radiate warmth, and palettes that evoke a sense of familiarity and nostalgia. Such trends indicate a move towards more personalized and comforting environments that blend modernity with a touch of the past. Homeowners can look forward to embracing these themes, resulting in living spaces that are both fashionable and uniquely their own. This thorough analysis consolidates key insights and expert opinions to provide a well-rounded understanding of home decor expectations for 2025.