Interiors trends 2020: Nature, wallpaper, & greige!

Sponsored by Sydney Gift Fair

Reconnecting with nature and sending less to landfill has become a real focus, while grey is slowly being replaced by ‘greige’ and velvet is going nowhere! Here are our top interiors trends for 2020.

Dulux’s latest nature-inspired palette draws on our desire to escape the digital onslaught and reconnect with the natural world. “These colour trends are influenced by what’s happening in the world around us. With more focus on mental health, the wellness movement continues to gain momentum, as does an emphasis on natural materiality,” says their communications manager Andrea Lucena-Orr.

“Colours for 2020 are more restrained than in previous years. Brights are pulled back and influenced by nature. They appear in smaller doses – think feature walls and details – and are often used tonally as a backdrop for hero furniture pieces. Neutrals are soft and sophisticated, with a gently faded feel that speaks of stillness and calm. Clay, with its warm, earthy appeal, is emerging as a key neutral,” says Andrea.

Greg Ollerhead of One World Collections, agrees that the consumer is becoming more environmentally conscious. “I think people are over cheap throwaway wood and plastic novelties that just end up in landfill. Buy a bit less but better quality as the mass cheap market seems to be running out of steam a bit, both here and in the USA.”

With much of the brand’s range coming under the very popular Hamptons aesthetic, Greg says their philosophy is to create timeless furniture pieces that are on trend now. This year, he sees sage green and baby blue as key hues and adds that velvet is going nowhere: “Everyone thought that was a one-year wonder but on the right piece it is still selling really well and I think will continue to be a part of furniture design for the next few years.”

Award-winning interior designer Lynne Bradley, of Sydney’s Lynne Bradley Interiors, says the huge trend for grey is waning, but there’ll always be a place for it in our homes because it pairs with almost everything. “I think there has been a big decline in the use of grey this year however, grey is a wonderful neutral that is timeless and can be either feminine or masculine. Grey is a staple in the designer’s tool kit and no two greys are the same. However, there is a trend towards brown being a replacement for grey, transitioning from ‘greige’ through to caramels and dark browns,” she says.

The growing use of wallpaper is another key trend to watch and one which Lynne is very happy about! “No longer seen as old fashioned or difficult to remove, it is fast becoming the new vernacular in adding personality to a space and offers an inexpensive way to create depth and scale as well as cover imperfections,” she says. “Wallpaper can be calming, bold or energising and seriously transform a room.”

Read the full trend report in the Sydney Gift Fair catalogue. Presented by the Australian Gift & Homewares Association (AGHA), the leading industry event starts on Friday this year, and is at Sydney Olympic Park from 21 to 24 February 2020. We’re delighted to be this year’s media partner for the second time, and I’ll be running a workshop on branding and getting your business in the media.

For more information, visit the Sydney Gift Fair website. This is a trade-only event which is free to attend. One World Collections are exhibiting at this year’s event for the first time.