Say farewell to minimalism, stark white rooms, fast furniture and mid-century modern; welcome home to maximalism, moody earth hues, antiques and Art Deco.

If the idea of changing your décor as radically as from minimalism to maximalism is giving you the heebie-jeebies, you should know that acceptance and implementation of new home styles can take years, so you don’t have to be the first one on your block to embrace them. Home design and interior design are not so much based in fickle fashion as they are in cultural changes shaped by new attitudes, world events, and the economy.

Sometimes, we’re lucky to have a word or a catchphrase that communicates the latest ethos. After 9/11, “cocooning” influenced home design—the nation responded to the tragedy by focusing more on home life, flying our stars and stripes, and creating cocoon-like environments in our homes.

In a way, cocooning is coming back in a new iteration, as 2025 becomes the year to focus on comfort, well-being, and personal preferences.

Maximalism

When people feel flush, they tend to spend more on décor, collectibles, art, and finer furnishings, just as they did during the Victorian Gilded Age. The antithesis of minimalism, maximalism in 2025 is a curated expression of excess, abundance, and extravagance. It’s rich saturated colors, one-of-a-kind antiques, and the return of opulent fabrics and patterns in upholstery, drapery, and wallpaper. More is more, but that doesn’t mean your home will or should decline into a cluttered mess.

Maximalism involves bold creative decorating that is all about personal style and preferences, embellished with collected treasures, mementoes, favorite colors and textures, and putting it all on display in a meaningful way. An art lover may cover every wall in a living area or den with a collection of paintings, drawings, fiber art, and photographs of all eras. What makes it audacious is the feast for the eyes in color and texture. Instead of painting the walls in white like a gallery, a maximalist may choose a deep burgundy, olive green, or navy blue. This dramatic paint color is then repeated throughout the room along with two or three other “main colors” in patterned draperies, velvet-covered sofas and goose-down pillows. Anchoring the themes will be a fabulous rug in silk and wool, saturated with vibrant vegetable-based dyes.

Drenching

While it may seem that you’re constructing a museum of your life, your goal should be to create a plush, comfortable room where you’re “drenched” in colors and surrounded by things you love. Drenching is using color to the max, on the walls, ceilings, and all trims and doors, instead of separating wall colors from other elements with white or light-colored trim. The advantage is that the color, despite covering the room, doesn’t have a focal point, which means that whatever is hanging on the walls or abutting them will garner more attention.

Rich, saturated paint colors have been trending for several years, but with the all-in totality that is a hallmark of maximalism, the color, whether dark and moody, becomes a an almost neutralized backdrop, which is one reason why so-called moody hues like eggplant, deep navy, and forest green are trending. In addition, moody interior design can complement a variety of styles, from boho to transitional to specific styles such as Art Deco and other design movements of the past.

Antiques

Many people believe that new is better than old, but with the onset of maximalism, it’s obvious that fast furniture, cheap reproductions, and minimal plainness aren’t compatible with the personalization trend. Ultra-modern homes tend to look alike and offer little insight into the personality, interests, and preferences of their owners.

After all, if you’ve seen one all-white kitchen with marble countertops, touch cabinets with no pulls, and built-into-the-wall stainless appliances, you’ve seen them all. Furnishings with nominal cushioning may look sleek, but they aren’t nearly as comfortable to sit upon. While fast furniture has cup holders and panels for charging phones, what is there to entertain the eye? We need all our senses engaged.

As we mature in age and life experience, one thing many people have in common is nostalgia for the comforts of the past. Many appreciate the fine antiques collected by their families and passed down to them. While some don’t want labor-intensive items like sterling flatware which has to be polished, they do appreciate the unique features and workmanship that are the hallmark of a cherished antique credenza, table, club chairs or crystal vases.

Art Deco

Between 1919 and 1939, French-inspired Art Deco became the rage. It was embodied by modernism and advanced technologies expressed in many ways—from the “flappers”, young single women who wore short skirts, bobbed hair, and rebelled against traditional female roles, to the technological achievement of building the largest skyscraper at the time—New York’s iconic Chrysler Building.

It was a time of rapid change and experimentation, similar to the 1960s, when it was said that “speed is beauty.” Art Deco began in a period of great wealth, so many of its hallmarks were grounded in expensive, opulent, and rare materials. What’s interesting about the era is that it celebrated the artistic and technological advancements between World War I and World War II.

Art Deco décor is glamorous, chic, and elegant, with an emphasis on height, natural materials like jade, silver, and chrome, and also an appreciation of well-made, man-made materials like vita-glass, that allowed UV rays to come indoors, and bake-lite, which was used to reduce friction in gears, protect electrical components, and prevent electric currents from passing through circuit boards, sockets, and more.

According to TheSpruce.com, Art Deco elements can include:

• Geometric shapes 
• Zigzag and chevron patterns
• Stepped forms
• Sweeping curves
• Sunburst shapes
• Stylized wildlife
• Sensuous, sometimes abstract, nudes 
• Jagged, pointed edges inspired by skyscrapers

Interior design trends for 2025 also feature “pattern drenching” on fabrics, lush textiles like velvet and raw silk, plenty of plants and flowers, and rooms that feel immersed in the homeowner’s individuality. Amp up with glam with metal accents, unique well-built furnishings, and lighting fixtures crafted as artistic statements.