What are the trends that will guide interior design in the year 2024? Some interesting answers are provided by the annual report of 1stDibs, a research conducted by 624 interior designers from all over the world that sheds light on the needs and desires of living 2024. 

Multifunctional spaces, natural and sustainable materials, sinuous and enveloping shapes, colours inspired by nature: these are some of the main furnishing trends for 2024. 

Only a few weeks to go until the Salone del Mobile.Milano (16-21 April 2024) and the Fuorisalone where we will discover all the new trends in living.

Flexible and multifunctional spaces 

Furniture trends 2024 include the need to make spaces flexible, capable of fulfilling multiple functions, without the need to erect walls. Bookcases that act as partitions, modular furniture and systems, stage backdrops, tables that transform into desks, sofas with integrated storage or beds with built-in drawers to make the most of space, are just some ideas for designing flexible and multifunctional spaces. 

As far as furniture is concerned, the trend towards minimalism continues, towards refinement provided by a certain rigour, towards the creation of cosy spaces with attention to detail. Fluid spaces able to adapt to the different needs of the day, enveloping shapes, soft colours and green materials to reconnect with nature.

Marac, Cloud sofa 

Sofas, armchairs, coffee tables, chairs and lamps, abandon angular corners and move towards rounded shapes and soft fabrics. The result is a harmonious feeling that relates the different rooms in the home. 

Quiet luxury, already a trend in recent years in the fashion industry, has also carved out a place for itself in the field of furniture. Dominating this trend is that discreet luxury that pays attention to details, finishes and materials that become precious and unadorned. The secret is to place few objects in the rooms, but all of them refined and in soft, natural shades, where monochrome tends to prevail. One also feels the pleasure of combining pieces by the masters of design with handcrafted furniture.

Sustainable and innovative materials 

Let us come to materials. The search for a connection with nature has already been one of the main trends in furniture for some years now, and will be even stronger in this 2024. 

The use of sustainable and innovative materials is becoming more and more important, which is why companies are turning to innovative, non-toxic, recyclable, certified products that meet the principles of the circular economy. In adherence to the principles of sustainability there is also the search for an extension of the useful life of furniture, which consequently requires higher quality products.

Copper Kitchen in HIMACS and copper, designed by the Dutch design studio Opstals Interieurmakers 

Sustainability will also be at the centre of the 2024 edition of the Fuorisalone with the theme 'Materia Natura', which will promote, through an exploration of the profound connection between these two words, a conscious design culture, highlighting sustainability as a guiding principle and fundamental virtue in the creative and design process. 

Among materials, wood is certainly the protagonist of 2024; despite the passage of time, it is still one of the most fascinating and therefore most used materials by architects and designers. 

This is due to the fact that it manages to convey a sense of warmth and enables a deep relationship with nature. It also easily combines with any finish and colour, from chrome to pastel or dark shades such as red.

Colours: nature as the protagonist 

The colour palette of furniture design is still dominated by natural colours. Putting aside the brighter hues, shades coming straight from the earth such as brick, orange and brown are now experiencing a real boom in popularity, as are greens in all their softer variations, i.e. sage green, marble green and deep sea. In the catalogue of blues, we find Tiffany blue, along with cobalt blue and petrol. 

Among the trend colours there will obviously also be Peach Fuzz, the shade chosen by Pantone to represent 2024, a delicate peach colour that goes well with different furnishing styles, from the most classic to the most modern and minimal.

Urban chic mood for R-Evolution by Casalgrande Padana, Peach Fuzz coloured porcelain stoneware slabs 

As for patterns, eliminated the stripes, vegetable patterns and floral decorative themes are back, always for that need to be in tune with nature. The growing appreciation for the use of wallpapers with these same decors is confirmed.

Home environments: the kitchen always dominates 

Among the rooms of the home, the kitchen is once again the favourite and will be even more of a protagonist this year with the next edition of EuroCucina / FTK - Technology For the Kitchen, which will showcase all the avant-garde innovation and design achieved by manufacturers. 

Immediately after appears the living room followed by the bathroom, while the interest in outdoor environments grows. In the bedrooms, the most popular desires include walk-in wardrobes, spaces designed to store clothes and accessories in an orderly and elegant manner, representing the perfect combination of functionality and aesthetics.

Doxa walk-in wardrobe by Tomasella

 Special attention is also paid to entertainment spaces where custom-built bookcases and, above all, multimedia rooms can be constructed.

Kitchen: functionality and conviviality

The kitchen reaffirms its central role by taking over more and more space to dedicate to family, friends and all related activities. The absolute centre of gravity of the modern home, an open and fluid space capable of sharing space with the living room, the kitchen is conviviality, well-being, serenity, nature and sustainability. Not only that, the kitchen also tends to move out of the home and into the outdoors with super-equipped solutions for outdoor living.

Lapitec sintered stone for the outdoor kitchen 

The central element of the kitchen is the island, which is becoming increasingly large, equipped and technological. In response to a need for tidiness and cleanliness, concealed kitchens are also making a comeback. Thanks to increasingly high-tech door systems, they discreetly conceal equipment, appliances, larder unit and taps and fittings. 

The new kitchens are characterised by a natural aesthetic; a green need leads to the use of sober materials and colours that evoke a sense of tranquillity and comfortable beauty. Hence the use of stone, granite, quartz, marble, but also porcelain stoneware and technological materials that can faithfully reproduce many material aesthetic effects. Thanks to technological innovation, materials improve in surface hardness, chemical, abrasion, impact, UV and thermal shock resistance, guaranteeing a long life span. Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

LAB13 kitchen Rigoletto Plus door by Aran cucine 

Wood, especially light wood, remains among the preferred materials for furniture finishes in the kitchen. However, stainless steel is making a comeback, echoing the aesthetics of professional kitchens, which are becoming increasingly popular thanks to the various television programmes linked to the world of starred chefs. 

As far as nuances are concerned, even in this environment they are inspired by nature, opting for a mix of soft colours reminiscent of the aromas and spices used in the kitchen such as rosemary, lavender and saffron, or focusing on all shades of green flanked by warmer tones such as terracotta red and ochre yellow.

Unox Casa, SuperOven oven with digital platform 

Inside the kitchen, increasingly intelligent appliances, equipped with connected devices and serving people, simplify habits and guarantee energy efficiency. 

In the opening image, a refined environment proposed by Porro: in evidence the Materic table and Frank chairs, designed by Piero Lissoni.