All The Short-Lived Interior Trends Of 2021, Ranked!

In my capacity as a writer at Refinery29 UK, I look at a lot of interior trends. Much like 2020, the last year has been a flurry of different styles and objects rising and falling from favour, like a merry-go-round lined not with wooden horses but with foam mirrors and the concept of beige.

Watching and writing about these trends I invariably form opinions and can say definitively that not all homeware moments are created equal. Some will shift the entire palette of the Habitat website; others will become oversaturated in a matter of months (admit it: you're already sick of that lamp you only just bought).

The trend cycle in interiors, as in fashion, has us craving the new and exciting and likes to encourage us (for obvious reasons) to buy almost on impulse. This is a habit we shouldn't encourage in ourselves, instead investing in long-coveted secondhand pieces or buying based only on need, not want.

But we are only human and a very shit year has been followed by a marginally less shit one. Really, who can blame you for filling your flat with things that make you smile, or feel calmer or more in control of your surroundings?

Ahead I've ranked pretty much every trend I've written about in the last year. This is entirely subjective and based on my taste so you may be inclined to disagree with me. But I'm the writer here so I'd argue this is also definitive. Until next year's ranking, obviously.