My home is my sanctuary and lord knows I’ve spent more than enough time inside it of late. This has left me with an undying need to refresh, repaint and reinvigorate any and all surfaces, but it’s only recently that I’ve come to truly appreciate the power of a good design decision, be it an investment furniture piece or a feature wall, there’s just something quite precious about customising your own home.

After my recent first home purchase and move into a new office HQ, there’s been a lot (I mean A LOT) of Pinterest deep dives leaving me with more questions than answers when it comes to interior trends. So who better to tap than the interior experts themselves to hold my hand and guide me through this newfound hobby: Interior Design.

Let’s Talk Furniture Trends

Curation powerhouse, Curated Spaces shared some thoughts on where we can start when it comes to furniture trends with Founder, Pip Newell telling me “This year we are going to see a lot more timber in interior design and furniture. Especially chunkier, primitive style pieces that fit into the more minimalistic wabi-sabi style. This is definitely one to watch”

The design team over at Pillow Talk add that we should consider opting for pieces with “Arcs, curves and rounded shapes with rattan outdoor furniture coming indoors to extend our green living spaces.

Heavier Fabrics, specifically the 70’s retro cord is a homely addition when it comes to furniture.”

Amy Hillary an Interiors Content Creator at Wallsauce.com adds that “Sustainable materials closely connected to the texture trend, alongside sustainable décor made from wicker, rattan, hessian, cork and hemp are totally on-trend with interiors as well as our growing awareness of looking after our environment. Bye-bye plastic!

For anyone keen to add painting to their interior design resume, Eva encourages us to consider making small rooms look big through optical illusions and using sneaky contrasts. But how?

“Light and vivid colours make a space look bigger and brighter, while dark colours absorb the light and make the room look smaller. So, it’s natural to go with white, grey, light blue and green shades, as they are mild and will really open up the space. In case you want to go a step further, you could use sneaky contrasts to create optical illusions of space. For instance, you can paint the walls in one colour, and the wall trims and mouldings in white, this way the walls will appear further back and the room will seem bigger. Another great trick is to use mirrors, they always make a room look more spacious”

Amy Hillary, Interiors Content Creator at Wallsauce.com, can’t hide her excitement when we chat 2021 Interior trends opening with “It is an exciting place to be in the world of interior design. We are going to see texture, texture, texture: You need texture in your home this year whether that be a velvet headboard on your bed, bold texture effect wallpapers and panel wall murals, faux-fur rugs or wicker lampshades, it’s ALL about texture in 2021!”

In terms of art for the home, Amy recommends “Minimalist art: Face line art is hot this year! Find pastel-toned designs and frame them in thin, minimalist style frames.”

For me, what I am most excited about is dabbling in a wallpaper feature wall and Amy explains it’s all about the:

• Bold tropical prints for the powder room
• The minimalist Japanese and delicate geometrics for the living spaces
• The micro florals for the entryway and bedrooms
• And of course, we can’t forget the Pantone Colours of 2021 for an option

Style Tip: Chintz or Chinoiserie wallpapers in bright colours create the most spectacular feature walls.

For The Blinds and Curtains Fans

Matthew Walsh, Managing Director of Tuiss Blinds Online tells me “Soft furnishings such as S-fold curtains, and Roman blinds have a made a huge comeback to the Australian market. One of the biggest new trends that we at Tuiss Blinds Online are seeing is Blockout Rollers in the recess of the window and then S-Fold Sheers mounted to the face of the window. This gives you the modern feel with the roller blind, but the S-Fold sheer gives you that warm, cosy feeling in your home.”

But what about those of us renting, what options do we have?

“Renters are now allowed to add window furnishings if your landlord allows it.  This means that you can install your own curtains or blinds for the time that you reside in the property. Details like this make a huge difference to the overall look and feel of a room, so if you can change those heavy, outdated flowery curtains for something a bit more modern, take that opportunity. Objects like pot plants or hanging decorations also alter the window aesthetic, giving you the capabilities of customising your rental property to feel like home.”