Interiors trends to ditch this spring

Interiors trends drift in and out every few years so slowly that you mightn’t notice them. It’s not like fashion where one day you’re absent-mindedly thinking leopard print could be cool and then BAM! the next day every single corner of Zara declares it’s cool – and its oversaturated already.

Interiors equivalents include hygge, tropical prints, velvet everything, subway tiles… and the list goes on. However, just because it’s here, there and everywhere doesn’t mean you should incorporate it into your home. Particularly when it comes to interiors, you can’t just let an unloved couch hide away in a wardrobe just because you aren’t “feeling it” today, like you can with a dress or jumper.

We’re all about buying things you absolutely can’t bear to leave behind or throw away, ever. I bought this deep pink velvet tasselled lamp recently. My partner calls it “the boudoir lamp” because it looks right out of Moulin Rouge and it sits in the window of our teeny tiny cottage and looks totally bonkers. But every day I throw it at least one loving glance because I love it. And I know, because I’d love it even it was hideously uncool, that my love for it is going to last.

So on that note, from someone who looks at an inordinate number of fabulous houses every day of the week, is the list of interiors trends to wave goodbye to in 2019.

Mindless pink

Paint companies like Dulux have been keeping up with the pink trend.

“Do I like pink?” pondered a colleague who is currently redecorating her home. If you’re not sure, it’s safe to say you’re not a pink person. Pink people have been into it since the height of Barbie and never let it go. Let those people have pink. They are far more committed than us and will, therefore, do it much better.

Mid-century knock-offs

Hans J. Wegner’s original 1950 Wishbone chair has been in continuous production ever since.

Stop with the cheap replicas. If you don’t love it enough to buy one of the pricey originals (just one!) then you don’t love it enough. Pieces like the Hans Wegner Wishbone chairs (above) were architectural and design feats of their time, and the recent rise of Scandinavian interiors (a trend that’s not going anywhere just yet) has resulted in a number of cheaper imitations that only dilute the ideas of the original.

Navy walls

Farrow & Ball are always retiring colours, wonder if Stiffkey Blue might be next?

Again, let the good people who really love navy have it. If dim lighting and cosiness with a masculine edge is your thing, lash it on there.

Tropical leaf prints

Rio pink wallpaper from MuralsWallpaper

From wallpaper to cushions, bed linen, art prints, and even serving dishes, I do not live in the jungle nor do I want to. Think of the bugs and the humidity ­– just, no. So while indoor plants continue as a trend (and they have positive, oxygen-creating benefits too), recreating them on some kind of textile or another is not the same thing, and thankfully, is on its way out the door. Recycle your fabrics into dishcloths and move on.

Gold accessories

Ikea is giving the people what they want – gold home accessories.

Something had to take over from copper and rose gold. And silver was still too early 2000s to be cool again (yet). So we were not left with many other options, were we? The learning: whatever colour metal is your jam, go for it. If your friend makes a sly dig about your beloved rose gold coffee press, she can make her own brew next time.

Golden pineapples

Pols Potten revived the 1960s trend with their golden pineapple, which went on to spawn thousands more.

This is a combination of the tropical and gold trends mentioned above. They are the Easter eggs of the interiors world, and a time capsule of the past. Whoever managed to get one into every second house we looked at for at least two years deserves a prize. Who is doing their PR?

Mis-matched patterned tiles

Once it’s made it into the deli of your local shop, it’s time to let go… A rule to live by.

Featured image: Banana leaf prints from Etsy