
Are you looking to update a few pieces in your home in the new year? Or maybe update your whole look? This gorgeous living room belongs to my best friend, and it embodies so many of the home decor trends of 2021!
Here are the top 5 home decor trends of 2021!
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Trend #1-Texture
We’re seeing the texture trend continue. Texture in pillows, rugs, throws, bedding, baskets! You can’t go wrong with texture! It just makes thing so warm, cozy, welcoming, while being stylish! Be sure to incorporate texture in your rooms for that cozy and inviting look!
Trend #2-Gold Metallics
Gold is going strong in 2021! But it’s important to go with the right tones. Avoid anything too yellow, orange, or shiny, basically if it looks straight like 24 K gold, its best to avoid it. Go instead with brushed or champagne gold tones, or an antique or vintage look. Golds also look beautiful when mixed with stone, woods, earthen tones, or black.
Trend #3-Pattern on Pattern

Pattern on pattern on pattern in pillows is an easy and fairly affordable (depending on which pillows you select!) way to update your decor. Honestly, I struggle a bit in this, and I think a lot of us do. But the good thing about this trend is that you can’t really go wrong. Anything seems to go. And there’s enough inspiration out there, that it’s pretty easy to get inspiration and “copying” a look instead of trying to come up with something on our own! In this picture above, Emily used a solid blue as an anchor color, and then used a couple of patterns in three different sizes to coordinate.

This gorgeous image, again by mStarr design, is a great example of both texture, and pattern on pattern. There is texture in the pillows, the throw, the basket, the shade, and the rug. The pattern on pattern is stripes and texture.
If you still want more guidance on mixing patterns in pillows, this is a great tutorial by Caroline on Design!
A few tips on throw pillows-
~Try to purchase pillow covers vs. pillows. This way you can swap out the looks seasonally, or when you want to change up your look without having to store a bunch of pillows. Covers take up much less space! Etsy and Amazon are a great source for affordable pillow covers, and they often are shown all matched up for you!
~Buy good inserts! To get that karate-chopped, cozy look, a good insert is needed. Look for feather inserts that are either down, or imitation down. I buy my inserts at IKEA, or on Amazon.
~Have a variety of sizes. A good rule of thumb is to have a 22″, 20″, 18″ and maybe a bolster. The two examples above show a variety of sizes.
Trend #4-Wood is Good

OK, maybe I made that phrase up, but both warm and cool wood tones are going to be around for awhile!
The tones to avoid-dark espresso tones, very orange tones, and cherry reddish tones. Although I still have a few pieces from long ago that need the dark stripped right out of them!!!
The tones to use- warm, rich tones or conversely, cool, beachy tones. Woods are so popular right now in charcuterie boards, bowls, occasional furniture, candle holders, vases, picture frames and accessory pieces like wood bead garlands and links. It’s very easy, and affordable to add some wood pieces into decor. I even find quite a bit in thrift stores that I incorporate as modern pieces into my decor. If you are unsure what tones to buy, look for terms like acacia wood, mango wood, bamboo, seadrift, and beachwood.
Trend #5-Dark and Moody
While light and bright is still very on-trend, so is dark and moody. We’re seeing accent walls, kitchen islands, pieces of furniture, and even ceilings painted dark. (I would be cautious about doing a ceiling or whole room dark!) But with just a quart of paint and an hour or two, you could transform the look of your room by painting one wall, your island, a bookcase, or buffet!


This moody master bedroom is by Lauren at Bless’er House. You can see the whole makeover here! I’ve been reading her blog for years, and it’s such a great source for simple but incredible room makeovers and home decor inspiration!
Check out these moody shades from Sherwin Williams.






Which of the top 5 home decor trends of 2021 are you going to use this year???
Do you want to see another picture of my bestie’s home? Here is a simple makeover we did on her back porch this summer!

Great round up!! Im excited for this years trends!
I am too, Christin! I’ve already added a little more texture in pillow covers, and painted a few things gold.
Great information, Danielle! I really needed the info about pattern mixing! I struggle with that! I love the idea about using pillow covers vs pillows. I am running out of space to store all my pillows!
Thanks so much, Kim! Pillow covers are the way to go! Mixing patterns can be tricky, but at least right now anything seems to go as long as you stay with a color scheme.
Love the trends! Love your friend’s home and all the items you rounded up!
I’m loving the trends too! Her home is just gorgeous, and she has a beautiful waterfront view! I keep telling her that she’s the one who should be a blogger!
Thanks for sharing this. I don’t think I’ll be adopting some of them (dark and moody) but I do love to see what’s trending.
Haha! Thanks, Carol! I’m thinking of painting my buffet dark, but that’s about it for the dark and moody!
Making my home more comfortable is always a priority, so I really like the idea of adding more cozy texture to my home decor. ♥
Texture is an easy and affordable element to add into our home decor!
I think you and I need to go shopping Danielle. We like the same things, I could have picked all of these items out myself.
Yes, let’s go shopping, Sydney! Thanks girl!
I loved scrolling through your ideas!!! Sooo many cute ideas now I just have to find room in the budget 😉
Ohhh that pesky budget! That always gets in the way, doesn’t it!
Wow, these are some great tips! I especially like the use of wood accent pieces – great for that rustic look.
Thanks so much, Caleb! Wood pieces are some of my favorites too!
These are some great trends, Love the gold metallics!
Thanks, Josiah! That’s one of my favorite trends too!
it’s fascinating to know how gold metallic decorations are trending now but i should be careful about the specific gold color as i should avoid shiny tacky-looking ones and opt for more brassy, brushed, and champagne-looking tones. my house has a lot of metallic accents to it and I especially like gold, copper, and silver colors so I might buy decorative colored glass balls of the same color scheme. I wonder where you can find these types of unique pieces.
Yes, you definitely have to find the right tone of gold! Maybe try World Market for glass balls?