INTERIORS & INTERIOR DESIGN
THE 8 DESIGN MOVEMENTS THAT WILL CHANGE HOW OUR HOMES LOOK IN 2027
By Sarah Bianchi, CEO of Arighi Bianchi.
Every year( generally December and January) we ' re presented with a new set of interiors trends: a colour we ' re apparently all going to paint our walls, a new version of minimalism and a declaration that one previously fashionable material is " out ". While these micro-level ideas are great- the changes that really influence our homes rarely happen that neatly.
So to understand where interiors are heading, so that we can make smart purchasing decisions for our customers, I tend to look further upstream- at the ideas emerging from the world ' s major design fairs, the materials designers are experimenting with and the furniture being launched by the international design houses. These are proven sources at a macro level that result in the more specific trends we see influencing UK homes.
Using this insight and from my experience of the shows, what has interested me most this year is that there isn ' t one dominant " look ". What I saw coming through Milan, Copenhagen and Paris is actually something much bigger: a rejection of sameness.
And this is what I’ m tipping as my trend of 2027.
It doesn ' t mean we all need to start buying investment-grade collectible furniture. The influence will be much broader than that. I think we ' re going to see people becoming much more comfortable combining contemporary furniture with vintage pieces, inherited objects, handmade pieces and things they ' ve found on their travels.
We ' ve spent years being encouraged to make
everything coordinate. Now the most interesting rooms are doing almost the opposite.
2. FURNITURE BECOMES THE ART
The statement piece is moving from the wall to the middle of the room.
At Salone del Mobile and Milan Design Week, we saw exceptional craftsmanship, collectible pieces, expressive natural materials, sculptural furniture and unexpected combinations of old and new. Copenhagen ' s 3daysofdesign reinforced the movement towards material provenance, longevity and furniture designed around a more relaxed way of living. Maison & Objet has similarly been talking about craftsmanship, distinctiveness and the relationship between past and future.
For me, these are the ideas that will move beyond the design shows and start influencing British homes in 2027, and these can be broken down as the following eight key trends.
1. THE COLLECTIBLE HOME
We ' re moving away from rooms that look " done " towards homes that look collected.
Another thing that was impossible to ignore in Milan was how sculptural furniture has become.
Dining tables were particularly interesting. Designers including Ronan Bouroullec, Hannes Peer and Sebastian Herkner treated the table base almost as architecture, using expressive stone, unusual forms and exaggerated proportions.
We ' re seeing the same thing across cabinets, chairs, lighting and occasional furniture.
This isn ' t simply another version of the " curved furniture " trend. It is about objects having enough presence to become the focal point of a room. After years of very restrained furniture designed to blend quietly into neutral interiors, that feels like an important shift.
One of the most significant developments at Salone del Mobile this year wasn ' t a particular sofa or colour. It was the launch of Salone Raritas, an entire platform devoted to collectible design, one-off pieces, limited editions, antiques and exceptional craftsmanship. For an international furniture fair historically associated with industrial production to give this much prominence to rarity and individuality tells us something about where design is moving.
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