Do your living spaces need a refresh for 2024?

A new year always feels like the best time for a fresh start. If your home needs a refresh, but you’re not quite sure what style you’d like to go for, you can take a look at the predictions for the hottest interior design trends in the new year.

While these trends are things that might become popular for homes in 2024, they’re just meant to inspire you for ways to make your space your own.

“Don’t be afraid that something’s trending. Just ask yourself why you like it and what it’s inspiring you to do,” said HGTV personality Noel Gatts, founder and principal designer of Beam and Bloom based in Bloomfield. “Don’t just do it because it’s a trend, but think about what you like about it and how you can incorporate that into a really good design into your own home.”

Here’s what we can expect to see in interior design trends for 2024, according to North Jersey designers:

Earthy and neutral color palettes

While bright colors and deep hues aren’t necessarily going out of style, earthy and neutral color palettes have become increasingly popular, and that’s expected to continue into 2024.

“I think in general, we’re seeing a lot more earthy tones,” Gatts said. “So, although people still enjoy vibrant touches, there’s a lot of returns to earthy browns, terracotta colors, even that sort of warm, dusty rosy beige,”

These color palettes might also include olive green, forest green, dark brown and saffron. Amanda Scotto, CEO and principal designer of AMA Designs and Interiors in Little Falls, said that not only does she see people prioritizing the use of warm tones in their homes, but also that she’s seeing many mix those dark neutral colors with colors that are more bright.

“Earth tones never go out of style, but will reign supreme in 2024 as we have already started to shift away from cool tones,” she said. “Not only will we see more warm tones, but there will be pastel primary colors such as baby blue, blush and cream neutrals.”

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More natural and sustainable materials

While we might not always remember, the materials of items we choose to buy for our home are quite important. In 2024, we can expect to see people incorporate more natural materials into their homes, including wood and metals.

Whether it be for furniture or to create accent walls in a home, Gatts said using sustainable or recyclable materials has become more popular.

“It’s interesting because we’ve always liked things like sisal rugs and stucco walls and woven materials that are more sustainably sourced,” she said. “So, people are paying attention to that, which I love to see. It’s sort of brand new, a trend where people are really focusing on that.”

Funky and multifunctional furniture

This one might be controversial to some, but we could see more furniture with interesting shapes in the new year.

What does that mean? Gatts said instead of just rectangular shapes, more people will break out of this and introduce items with more creative designs, specifically those with curves and rounded edges.

“The curves are back big time. I think people are getting a little more creative than just standard rectangular shapes and basic rounded curves on the tops and sides of things,” she said. “More are doing entire shapes that are curved for even bigger products like sofas, which are definitely finding a lot more unique shapes. So, not just one curve, but maybe funkier shapes.”

She said this will also blend with the use of sustainable materials, as more fabric lines are releasing ethically conscious materials, as well as more colorways.

Gatts said multifunctional furniture will also be big in 2024. She said this not only ensures that people will keep pieces longer because they serve more than one purpose, but that it will help people think outside the box more when designing their space.

“I’m noticing things that allow people to function in multiple ways,” she said. “Thinking outside the box, like using rounded tables in an office and just seeing more trends where we’re trying to be different but with function in mind.”

Standout kitchen spaces

In the new year, kitchen designs are expected to move away from their traditional sleek white designs.

Scotto said that instead of white cabinets, there will be more earth-toned or wood-stained cabinets. She said we can also expect to see statement hoods and beverage centers, as well as integrated appliances that are more hidden in our kitchen spaces, as opposed to being freestanding.

More: See the most expensive home sold in your North Jersey county in 2023

For those who have the luxury of a larger kitchen space, Gatts said oversized pantries and sculleries − a smaller, fully functional overflow kitchen − are expected to become more popular.

Plants and artistic decor

A home isn’t complete without its décor.

While plants are nothing new in interior design, Scotto said certain plants will become more popular in the new year. ZZ plants and Chinese money trees − also known as the coin plant − offer more unique styles of leaves and are also easier to manage.

“While the fiddle leaf fig is still popular, it is fickle to maintain and these other plants are easier to take care of,” she said.

Incorporating work from local artists is also expected to trend in the new year, Gatts said. She said commissionable work has become more accessible over time, allowing people to find local artists and invest in original, personal pieces for their homes. Similarly, Scotto said we’ll see more blown glass statement pieces and sculptural art in the new year.

Going back to the use of sustainable and recyclable materials, Gatts said she noticed a trend in people 3D printing décor items, like vases, out of recycled material.

“Something really cool I saw that I think has a future is recyclable material being used in 3D printing décor items,” she said. “So, they’re using technology, but they’re using sustainable, recycled products, which is really cool. You’re getting some modern shapes and designs on vases and things that you couldn’t really get naturally because there’s no way to sort of hand mold those shapes.”

In terms of lighting, Gatts said people have started to move away from typical light designs. Instead, she said dynamic flush mount light fixtures and chandeliers with more creative designs will become popular.

“These are fixtures that are spreading horizontally on the surface on the ceiling, rather than dangling down all the time,” Gatts said “When it comes to chandeliers, I’m seeing a lot more linear − they’re calling them garland-type chandeliers, where you can drape them in various directions.”

Popular rooms

In 2023, we saw a big demand for properties with a primary bedroom on the first floor. While that’s expected to remain popular, Gatts said she now foresees there being a trend in homes having two primary bedrooms.

“I’m hearing a lot of trends of people wanting two primary suites, so like couples who want to sleep separately but still want to live together, which is interesting,” she said.

In addition to in-home bars and wine cellars, Gatts said having a lounge space for entertaining that is separate from the living room or family room is a must. Because many people are entertaining guests in their home more than ever before, including a social lounge space or a sipping room in homes will pop up more and more.

When it comes to home office spaces, these areas primarily popped up when many people began working from home due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While they are still really popular, Gatts said they have grown to incorporate a small area where you can relax during the work day.

“Having a place to work that also looks fabulous is big, but it could also have an area that’s almost like a sanctuary space where you get a little retreat in your office,” she said. “Making sure you have a chaise lounge in there somewhere to relax, take your breaks and then go back to your virtual meetings.”

Maddie McGay is the real estate reporter for NorthJersey.com and The Record, covering all things worth celebrating about living in North Jersey. Find her on Instagram @maddiemcgay, on X @maddiemcgayy, and sign up for her North Jersey Living newsletter. Do you have a tip, trend or terrific house she should know about? Email her at MMcGay@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Expect to see these interior design trends in 2024