For the past few years, I’ve made it my sworn duty to predict design trends for the year ahead. I felt pretty confident about my forecast for 2024 compared to 2023, but I fear my mind went completely blank at the idea of 2025. Lately, trying to keep up with the culture has felt like being a hamster on a wheel that never stops. As much as I want to stay in the loop, sometimes I just wish I could get out of the cage and escape from it all. But alas, here we go again with a new cycle…. As the world keeps spinning on its axis, what trends will surface from the spiral?
In case you weren’t aware, 2025 is the Year of the Snake. Based on my research, we can expect the next 365 days to be full of wisdom, charm, elegance, and transformation. So far, the colors of the year decided by the paint industry seem to be leaning into purple, crimson, slime, and mocha tones. There’s so much to digest, but instead of feeling overwhelmed by it all, I’m choosing to embrace the chaos that awaits in the nooks and crannies of the internet. Below, I’ve unpacked nine design trends that I can’t get out of my head for 2025, for better or worse.
All eyes on the snail trail
Over the past six-ish months, I’ve been on a dedicated snail watch with my colleague Lila Allen. The slimy creatures have been on my radar ever since snail mucin went viral as a facial treatment about a decade ago, but the crossover into design is a trend that has been moving at a snail’s pace, if you will. (I see you, Bikini Bottomcore.) Haters might say it’s a reach, but hear me out: We saw the same exact thing happen with mushrooms from 2020 through 2021. During the pandemic, I became very obsessed with scrolling on Aleia Murawski’s aesthetically pleasing page depicting the lives of snails. (Since then, she and and Sam Copeland have published their delightful adventures in the books Snail World: Life in the Slimelight and Snail World 2: Welcome to Slimetown.) My first snail spotting in a domestic space happened in June when AD featured a Reath Design home tour in coastal Maine in the magazine—it’s pretty hard to miss on the top of the shelf. From there, I saw snails out in the wild in the streets of New Jersey and knocking on the doors of Block Shop in Los Angeles. Can I interest you in this carved wood snail table, papier-mâché snail, or medieval snail wallpaper?
This snail-aissance further supports my past theory about spirals, which have slowly replaced wiggles within the past two years. AD PRO Directory designer Jessica Helgerson’s appreciation for snails stems from her love for Mexico and the indigenous communities in Chiapas—the symbol for the Zapatista movement for indigenous liberation is a snail in a spiral shell. “The snail speaks of modesty, humility, and closeness to the earth,” Helgerson writes in an email. “The Zapatista movement spirals outward and backward, away from industrialism and toward old ways and small things; it also spirals inward via new words and new thoughts.”
Tortoise shell
If you love burl but aren’t as sold on the wood, might I suggest tortoise shell? AD PRO Directory firm James Thomas turned the sophisticated library inside a Chicago home upside down with a hand-painted tortoise shell ceiling that contrasts the surrounding cerulean blue walls. Isabel López-Quesada’s Madrid home is another case study packed with prime examples, from a tortoiseshell-patterned paneling in the living room to the ebony-and-tortoise mirror; the designer uses this finish to provide a more masculine sense of glamour. It also makes for a very sophisticated tablescape, from flatware to glassware. If you’re more restrained with your print play, perhaps a showerhead with a faux tortoiseshell strip is all you need.
What if cocktail hour never ended?
This might be a little abstract, but between fridgescaping and the foodification of color—butter yellow, beet red-purple, martini olive green, mocha mousse—it feels like we’ve all got cocktail hour on our minds. Edie Parker dropped some new Jelly Table Top lighters with a savory twist, taking cues from the delightful appetizers we consume at holiday functions like olives, lobster, deviled eggs, and shrimp cocktails. Although Laila Gohar’s dessert-inspired candles for the Luxury Collection serve as the ultimate eye candy, the collection tastefully pays homage to the exquisite food cultures where these hotel destinations are located. Meanwhile, SIDIA teamed up with Don Angie and San Sabino on a delicious batch of candles that would definitely be Strega Nona–approved for the aperitivo hour of your next dinner party. (Consider this the perfect decoy if you didn’t prep a home-cooked meal!) Analuisa Corrigan was also inspired by the timeless elegance of cocktail culture for her latest lighting collection. I’m eating it all up!
Shirts are the new skirts
Skirted sinks and tables had their fun while it lasted, but that moment seems to have passed! In recent years, I’ve been seeing shirt decor pop up in the most random places, like windows, vases, and tables. I feel very strongly about this button-down shirt shift occurring in reaction to the oversaturation of body decor that dominated domestic spaces pre-pandemic. Perhaps we’re still under the influence of corporate fetish and need to spend some more quality time out of office in 2025—set your OOO message and log off now!
Vintage bathroom fixtures with character
From spinning soap dispensers and dramatic drapes to conservatory showers, millennials and Gen Z seem to be under the influence of nostalgia when designing their dream bathrooms with fixtures that had previously been deemed outdated. Since returning from my last trip to Paris, I’ve been seeing rotating French soaps everywhere from the bathrooms of furniture stores to dive bars and five-star restaurants. And inside the charming Laurel Canyon home of Aurora James, a contemporary conservatory shower awaits in the primary bathroom. “I was very wary of ‘refinishing’ the bathroom,” she told AD. “I wanted something that felt in alignment with the energy of the house, but I was also committed to making the quintessential dream shower.” Although the latest trending aesthetics are leaning more traditional over modern, the at-home bathroom experience should still be luxurious enough that it feels like a spa.
Colonial fever
I’m not shocked or surprised to see “American colonial” and “modern colonial” ranked in the top 10 of Google’s Year in Search 2024 for design styles. Given the feral reactions to cottagecore couture, it was only a matter of time before the pendulum swung all the way back to the most traditional aesthetic in American history. So why do so many people yearn for a past that their ancestors already lived (and likely suffered)? It’s no secret that I have A LOT of thoughts about colonialism and other trends that cater to the white gaze. (In 2022, I coined the term “colonizercore” to describe the fetishization of these aesthetics.) If you consider the bigger picture, the timing of this revival perfectly aligns with our current sociopolitical landscape and the massive push to uphold “traditional” values.
Of course, there’s a huge difference between wanting a more sustainable life and learning how to live off the land, and decorating your home with problematic memorabilia to go with a theme. Obviously there are certain aspects of the colonial era that some people might find visually inspirational, but others might feel sensitive or triggered while engaging with pieces from this controversial past. This is something that Megan Dorsey, founder of Everthine Antiques, actively wrestles in both her personal and professional life. “I can appreciate the artistry and design, but I have to confront the history,” she told AD regarding her love for decor from this era. “You don’t want to separate or exclude yourself from nice things or things that you like, but you need to have a moment with yourself—don’t suppress it.”
We can’t change history, and we shouldn’t try to erase it, but we have the power to shape the future through our reinterpretations. (Is anyone else thinking about the Shonda Rhimes–produced Netflix series Bridgerton?) For the past two decades, AD100 designer Sheila Bridges has shown everyone how easy it is to consider another point of view within the lens of traditional design motifs when she started inserting African Americans into the narrative of toile. “As a visual storyteller, I see toile as an opportunity to expand the narrative to include individuals whose stories have been excluded or unrepresented in the world of design,” she previously told AD. “I’ve tried to use toile as an artistic medium to transform negative racial stereotypes into nostalgic moments.”
