How Long Do Interior Design Trends Last?
Written by vonsassy in Home Design,Interior Styles
Some trends are destined to fail from the outset because they were never a good idea. Others are responses to a deeper consumer ‘need’. Should you follow trends in interior design?
12 minute read
Interior Design Trends
There’s no denying that trends in the world of interior design are fun. I know that I always look forward to discovering what Pantone’s color of the year will be (whether I would actually ever use it or not).
Personally speaking, I find the psychology behind ‘color of the year’ even more fascinating than the color itself.
In case you were wondering about this year’s color. Find the original at Pantone.
Trend Talk
If you’ve ever wondered about how interior design trends come about and how long you can expect them to last, I’m so glad you’ve joined us!
Today we will look at a) what trends are in interior design, b) how they get started and c) how long they tend to stick around.
Let’s begin by defining what a “trend” is.
What is a Trend?
Trend = Fashion
A trend is essentially a ‘fashion’; something that is popular for a certain period of time.
A trend is also a general movement in a certain direction (think of the term ‘an upward trend’), which might take place over the course of months or years.
These days, thanks to social media, the term ‘trend’ often means a sudden emergence of interest in a particular thing, and can be shorter term.
Measuring Trends
Trends have never been easier to measure than they are in the 2010s-20s. This is largely due to digital measuring tools and advanced analytics.
Today we can measure trends in a range from a) hours on Twitter to b) days on Tik-Tok and c) weeks on Instagram.
Google Trends allows you to look at trends on the internet over the years since Google has been tracking them.
You can even set the time period yourself to suit your search needs.
The Cycles of Trends
Quick Cycles and The Media
Yearly trends in interior design are happening more quickly than before.
Quicker trend turnaround times have a lot to do with “instant” media streams like Instagram and Pinterest.
If you want to understand trends, Pinterest is a great place to start looking!
Interior vs. Fashion Design
Of course, interior design and home decor are not the only spheres where fashions dictate consumer behavior.
In the fashion world trends have much shorter cycles (seasons), and styles are ‘out’ almost as soon as they are ‘in’.
Graphic design is another fast-moving industry with strong trends.
The Trickle Down Effect
Believe it or not, the fashion and graphic design industries are highly influential to many other related industries, including interior design! Why is this?
Think of it this way: Fashion has been doing what it does as breakneck speed for a long time. As such it is responsible for the “big ideas” when it comes to concepts.
A lot of other creative industries take their cues from fashion!
When fashion filters down to the home products market it starts to show up in residential interior design and decorating.
Industry Forecasts
Reports for 2021 / Forecasts for 2022
There’s nothing new about industry trends being forecast for the year ahead. They are a part of every industry’s yearly evaluation process.
If we are smart, we learn from industry trends so that we can be better informed about where we’ve been and way more importantly, where we are going.
Here are some interior design industry-related reports I’d recommend:
Fashion and Production
Cheap Styles
There’s an interesting correlation between a) the time it takes to design and produce something and get it into the consumer’s hands and b) how quickly it goes out of style.
The less time a product takes to produce, the easier it is for that item to “age”, because a new version will be out in less than six months, replacing the old version and and ‘dating’ it.