2024 Home & Interior Retail Trends: Mood Boosting Décor

This winter season, homeware trends balance frivolous and playful design with the reassuring familiarity of nostalgia as householders invest in items that bring joy and seek reasons to be cheerful. 

Consumer confidence and inflation continue to play a crucial part in setting the mood for this season, with the cost of energy becoming a recurring point of concern over the colder months. While frugal attitudes will influence the design of products for the home, another key shift is towards the mood boosting benefits of colour, material and play; a form of treat culture during a season when we’ll be staying home more than usual. 

Neuro-aesthetic design grows in significance, seeing householders surround themselves with feel-good colours, textures and prints, rejecting traditional norms in favour of freedom and self-expression.  

The influence of Gen Z is evident here, embracing a fearless approach to decorating as a form of self-therapy. In opposition to the carefully conformist and minimalist styles that appealed to generations before them, a new cohort of ‘thrift-fluencers’ hunt down more affordable, outlandish, and attention-grabbing retro furniture to furnish their homes on a budget. 70s and 80s references along with early digital aesthetics to create spaces that feel energising and vibrant. 

2024 E-commerce and Retail Trends: Tracking ‘High Vibe’ 

Our Home & Interiors ‘High Vibe’ trend originally forecasted this movement towards modern heritage in our seasonal trend forecast published in 2022.   

We explore the adoption of ‘High Vibe’, as we track and validate how this has been applied across 2024 retail trends and e-commerce this season. 

What we said 

This trend embraces a post-guilt mindset, as consumers reach a stage of empathy and crisis fatigue, turning to play and indulgence as a form of self-care. Blending nostalgia with a forward-thinking outlook, it cherry-picks the most uplifting design elements from the ’70s and ’80s, infused with a distinctly youthful twist. Homes become vibrant havens of joy and self-medicating happiness through rich colours, bold patterns, comfort foods, and a dose of disco therapy. 

What we saw 

Prevalent across UK and US retailers, playful wiggles, spotted at H&M and Target, infused products with character, reflecting the dynamic energy of dance and disco. 

Zesty, bright stationery and furniture added fun pops of colour to the winter season, embracing a bold and fearless approach to decor. Rounded, chubby proportions refreshed accessories and tableware at Liberty London, giving a nostalgic yet modern charm. 

Are you ready for the next shifts in householder attitudes towards home and interior design aesthetics?  

Our seasonal trend forecasts provide inspiration for designers, product developers and creatives working in the home industries. These reports and full forecasts are available now on My TrendBible Premium.