Carpet Trends - Beautiful Flooring

The feel of Spring/Summer 2024

I visited interior design shows and presentations this year with a certain spring in my step and a feeling that the time was ripe for tentative ideas to develop into sustainable trends and I wasn’t disappointed! Paris, in this Olympic year, has channelled its exuberance in applicable and practical ways. Closer to home, London Design Week, Clerkenwell and WOW House at Chelsea Harbour all sang out with colour, vitality and diversity. Luxury is the keynote but not necessarily opulence. The feel of luxury can be created by a beautiful fabric, a rug, a single piece of furniture or a perfectly placed collection of accessories. If it makes us feel good it is doing us good!
How people want to decorate has recently shifted. For a start, we’re all craving a better outlook, and part of achieving that is to condition your brain to think more positively, which you can do by surrounding yourself with things that make you feel happy. Cocktail cabinets that move and rotate, furniture that’s geared towards sitting together and being convivial…. anything that is a bit playful, glamorous and dramatic is in.
Luxurious but minimalist living is not only about having a clean streamlined home, it’s also about celebrating nature and authenticity so we are not afraid to incorporate artisanal, vintage, and homemade objects and furniture but always in a quiet, neutral palette. Just a touch of elevation to every day, but not enough that it creates any visual noise.
The strong influence this season is the Rocco style. A generous flourish of swag and curves in designs giving a feel of elegance. Silk damask is having a revival.

Photos: (File A) Rococo Paris interior, Rococo inspired, Rococo styling, Zoffany damask.

Soft Earthy Hues

For a calming, relaxed, and welcoming interior, earthy or nature-inspired tones are here. Hues such as ochre, tan, taupe, light pinks, and light greys are taking over in bedrooms and dining room schemes. These will continue to be big in 2024. Farrow and Ball’s colour Jitney which is like a buttery taupe, is so atmospheric and soulful and works well with soft dusty pinks such as Calamine and Cinder Rose.

Photos: (File B)Designer Guild fabrics, Earthy tone interior, Romo mood board.

Minimaluxe

An evolution of the understated luxe trend – refined luxury experience within the home as we seek moments of rest, mindfulness and escapism. Luscious, tactile textures such as wool and bouclé are added in a considered way to a colour palette of buttery neutrals, warm white, chalky pinks and delicate blues to create a look called Minimaluxe. Patterns are abstract and dreamy instead of floral or graphic, while black accents and silver details prevent the look from becoming too saccharine. Seating is oversized – all the better for lying back on – plump and cushioned. You should want to touch everything in a room that is decorated this way, and it should make you feel held, safe, comforted and elevated.
For those with a maximalist leaning there is no end of fabrics and wallpapers with a distinct ‘Deco’ feel to pattern.

Photos: (File C) Boucle fabric, Deco influence, DG embroidered, Liberty, Zinc soft chalky tones.

Walls

Be it limewash paint or other textural finishes, the trend is moving towards spaces that have natural dimension and movement. Gone are the days of flat paints and single tone rooms. Textured walls are now at the forefront.
They can be a strategic design choice to hide imperfections or irregularities in the wall surface and by introducing texture, it can divert attention away from any blemishes or structural limitations, creating a more polished and refined look and add depth and warmth, ultimately contributing to a more visually appealing and inviting environment. Seagrass and papyrus natural materials are both overprinted as well as used in natural form.
A big trend for 2024 – Zellige tiles. These beautiful, hand-crafted beauties add depth and texture to spaces. The tile surface finish is undulating giving it a hand finished look, so really fits the artisan made brief. Be it in kitchens as splashbacks, in bathrooms or hallways, these fit into any space and add subdued glamour.

Photos: (File D) Arte texture, WOW house interior, Zellige tiles in bathroom, Zellige tiles.

Lighting

When it comes to dining, bedroom and statement lighting for living rooms, the forms take inspiration from oblong shapes, casting targeted and tantalizing glows. This shape is playful and polished and create a striking statement with a curvaceous silhouette.
These sculptural shaped fittings also funnel light, creating the ideal glow for how we want to live now – warm and flattering, and sociable. The trend is the use of statement lighting pieces that can be used both as functional and decorative elements. Lighting trends generally would imply that the era of the big light is over, and that wall and floor lamps are the most important now. But the targeted way this shape creates light means if you must have a big central light, then it must be tubularly shaped. This new trend is all about stripping out colour completely, emphasizing on shape instead.
These types of lamps are arguably not just lamps, but a piece of sculpture too. These add a touch of dimension and shape to a room and ensure that the light is always well-filtered and even.
‘Light washing’– using bulbs cleverly to cover your walls in light rather than just beaming down on them from on high. Careful positioning of wall lighting is very important to create the right atmosphere. It isn’t a coincidence that wall lights are becoming ever more sculptural, scene-stealing, sensational, and stellar.

Photos: (File E) sculptural pendants 1, 2, 3

Note here that different ceiling treatments are being explored. Either painted a darker colour than the walls, having coving or mouldings added or in bedrooms, tented or curved. In WOW house, a showcase for leading designers nearly every room had a different ceiling treatment.
Photos: (File F) 30’s style ceiling, coving and painted, panelled ceiling, tented ceiling.

Furniture

Designers have spotted the opportunity to bring people back together again, and this new era in furniture design sees a selection of seating options that are all about encouraging the art of in-person conversation.
A curvaceous, contemporary, and modern sofa offers two people the opportunity to sit separately, but with the feeling they are still next to each other. The shape of a curved sofa is softer and less formal as it creates an enveloping environment where all the family can sit together.
Photos: (File G) chaise, curved sofa, curvy chair

Rattan

Adding a touch of organic charm to earth tone living rooms or bedrooms, rattan lights emerge as a wonderful decor staple. These add warmth to the room’s setting and the dome shape diffuses a lovely, filtered light.
Both rattan and wicker have been making a big comeback in lighting, especially in kitchens and bedrooms People are more open to the idea of natural elements in interiors. Also seen in small furniture pieces – footstools side tables.
Photos: (File H) raffia pendants, rattan stool, wicker sideboard, woven shades.

Curtain trims

Once discounted as being too trad, this new design staple has changed all that, with it’s super-contemporary approach to tassels, adornments, and finishing touches. If you are drawn to handcrafted details – whether it be an embroidered pattern, hand-quilted panels, or even a scalloped leading edge on the drapes, this look is for you.
As a curtain trend this one has definite staying power, converting a regular, ordinary-looking piece into one that has dimension and style and adds the ‘Lux’ factor.
Photos: (File I) JP Gaultier, O&L trim on curtain, On footstool.

Irregular rugs

Striking designs that undoubtedly have all been created to own the floor. Not only do they have an eye-catching print, but they’re also all shaping a new outline in design, quite literally, as they all sport an unconventional shape. Whether curvy, geometric, or angular, shaped rugs all boast a little bit of ‘out-of-the-box’ thinking, which adds excitement and statement to a room. Scallop edges are not going away for a while and unconventional borders are emerging too.
Photos: (File J) Jennifer Manners scallops, Lelievre showroom, Toulemond Bochard.

Carpets

Although colours for carpets depend on the style of interiors and the overall scheme, earth-toned hues in general are very much in favour. Particularly in bedrooms where a clean, neutral-tone carpet, is great for creating a calm feeling is key.
Darker earth tones such as mossy and olive greens are colours to watch in 2024. Darker carpet colours can work well in cozy living rooms, for staircases and they will work nicely with green hallway ideas.
Terracotta and darker umber colours are going to be popular in all areas of interior design for 2024. These shades bring with them a natural warmth, but as they are still earth tones, they are supremely easy to live with. And it’s good to know that they can work well with almost any other shade of furnishing or furniture.
Textured carpets continue to grow in popularity in 2024. Texture is a great way to add interest and depth to any room scheme.
Natural fibre floor coverings provide a very real and important issue of sustainability in our interior design and furnishings choices. A growing trend is toward 100% wool carpets which tick the boxes of sustainability, durability and beauty.

Ongoing trends previously spotted

Gold accessories. Expressed through paints, accessories or even lighting pieces. Many colours go with gold meaning that this hue can be used for layering, to make an interior feel warm and liveable.
Themed tablescapes – celebrating kinship and relationships making every day feel a bit more special.
Coloured concrete
Cork flooring
Red earth-coloured ceramics
Wavy wood – curved or fluted fronts on sideboards
Marble, onyx, alabaster, granite adding luxe.
Photos: (File K) coloured plaster, marble and onyx, red earth pots, tablescapes.