Brown walls, happy corners and a lot of drapes: Inside the homes of 2025

A year-end look at the textures, colours and moods that quietly reshaped how our homes felt in 2025.

Every year brings its own mood to interiors. And 2025 was all about feeling at home in the truest sense. Decor moved away from perfection and leaned into comfort, emotion and personality. Spaces felt warmer, more layered and deeply lived in, reflecting a collective desire for calm, joy and familiarity. From expressive fabrics to playful accents, these were the decor trends that defined the year.

A year-end look at the textures, colours and moods that turned houses into deeply personal spaces.

The new mood: Cortisol vs dopamine

The most significant shift in 2025 was the intentional use of decor to regulate our nervous systems. There was a fascinating split between two opposing philosophies. Dopamine decor took over for those seeking joy and stimulation. This meant walls painted in electric citrus hues, checkered rugs, and blobby furniture that felt playful and rebellious. It was about surrounding yourself with things that trigger an immediate hit of happiness.

On the other end of the spectrum, cortisol decor became the ultimate luxury. This trend focused on reducing visual noise to lower stress levels. It relied on silent textures like bouclé and raw silk, curved edges that mimic nature, and a complete absence of sharp contrasts.

By using monochromatic palettes and hidden storage to eliminate clutter, it transformed the home into a sensory deprivation tank from the outside world.

The warmth of mocha mousse

If this year had a signature colour, it was mocha mousse. This specific shade of brown, reminiscent of whipped cocoa and soft suede, became the foundation of the year’s best palettes. It provided a grounding, sophisticated alternative to beige.

We saw it everywhere from lacquered kitchen cabinetry to oversized corduroy sectionals. It felt expensive yet approachable, bridging the gap between modern minimalism and cosy traditionalism.

The Ralph Lauren revival and heavy drapery

The quiet luxury of previous years evolved into a full-blown obsession with the Ralph Lauren aesthetic. This wasn't just about polo shirts; it was about the American Manor look. Think dark mahogany, equestrian prints, and layered Persian rugs. It celebrated an aspirational, well-travelled life.

Crucial to this look was the return of serious drapery. We said goodbye to naked windows and sheer panels.

In 2025, windows were framed with floor-to-ceiling velvet and heavy brocade. This added a sense of architectural weight to rooms, making even new-build apartments feel like they had a history.

Edible art: Food decor

Perhaps the most whimsical trend of the year was the rise of food decor. We saw sophisticated glass-blown vegetables as ornaments, table lamps shaped like artichokes, and still life kitchen displays that treated real ingredients like sculpture.

The kitchen became less of a clinical workspace and more of a gallery, celebrating the textures and colours of what we eat.

The small and the soulful: Tiny paintings and retro

As people moved away from mass-produced art, tiny paintings took centre stage. These miniature masterpieces offered an affordable way to collect real art. Homeowners created jewel-box moments in hallways and bathrooms, grouping small oil landscapes or portraits in heavy vintage frames.

This leaned into the broader retro movement that swept 2025. This wasn't a strict devotion to one era but a remix culture. We saw 1970s conversation pits paired with 1930s art deco lighting. Chrome accents made a huge comeback, bringing a sleek, futuristic edge to these otherwise nostalgic rooms.

New frontiers: Bookshelf wealth and indoor gardens

We also saw the rise of bookshelf wealth, where shelves were no longer colour-coordinated but filled with actual books, tattered spines, and personal mementoes. It was about showing off a life of reading rather than a life of shopping.

Alongside this, indoor gardens moved beyond the single fiddle-leaf fig. We saw "living walls" and herb gardens integrated directly into kitchen islands, bringing a literal breath of fresh air into our daily routines.