What's Hot, Not in Home Decor in 2016

The Wall Street Journal recently had interior designers weigh in on the top design trends likely to make a big splash in 2016 as well as what’s likely to fall out of style. Here are some design trends to keep in mind when staging your listings.

What’s In

Black metals: This metal was once reserved for outdoor furniture or bed frames, but not anymore. This unflashy metal is appearing as simple hardware, bathroom fixtures, and even flatware, British interior designer Martyn Lawrence Bullard told The Wall Street Journal. Black metal is also being blended into wood and glass.

Curvy home décor: Rounded tables and curvy aesthetics will likely appear in more furnishings. Radial and bullnose edges soften hard materials like marble, says Glenn Lawson of Lawson Flenning in Los Angeles.

Old-world style: “People want the traditional and dressy, with a shot of nostalgia, to feel like everything is going to be OK,” Tobi Fairley, an interior designer in Little Rock, Ark., told The Wall Street Journal. Expect to see more brocades, tapestries, Georgian and Empire antiques, as well as fringe, cording and tassels.

Scandinavian flat weaves: “With elegantly balanced geometric compositions, these rugs are a sophisticated answer to the omnipresent neutrals and sisals,” said Los Angeles designer Madeline Stuart. The Scandinavian designs are being weaved into both contemporary and traditional spaces.

What’s Out

Rosy metallic: Copper and rose-gold metals were big in 2015, but, alas, the rosy-gold hues may have a look of being “cheap” in 2016, warns Barclay Butera, a designer with offices in Los Angeles and Park City, Utah.

The industrial look: “Enough of looking like we are living in the garage,” says Joe Lucas of Lucas Studio in Los Angeles. The millennial-coffeehouse design is finally showing signs of fading, co-signs Timothy Brown, an interior designer based in New York.

Sisal and jute: These two types of fiber rugs may have overstayed their welcome in home décor, designers say. “They don’t feel soft or cushy on bare feet and are not very child- or pet-friendly,” says Timothy Corrigon, a Los Angeles designer. “It wears quickly, stains easily and is virtually un-cleanable,” adds Philip Gorrivan, a designer in New York.

View more of what’s in and what’s out in 2016 in interior design at The Wall Street Journal.

Source: “Top 5 Interior Design Trends for 2016,” The Wall Street Journal (Dec. 29, 2015)