For a few years now I've made it my duty to predict design trends for the coming year. I felt pretty confident in my predictions for 2024, but my mind just went completely blank thinking about 2025. These days, trying to keep up with developments makes me feel like a hamster in a wheel that turns constantly. As much as I want to stay in the game, sometimes I want to break out of the cage and escape. But alas, here we go again for a new cycle… As the world continues to spin on its axis, what trends will emerge from the spiral?
2025 is the year of the snake. Based on my research, we can expect the next 365 days to be full of wisdom, charm, elegance and transformation. So far, the paint industry's colors of the year seem to be leaning toward purple, crimson, snot-like green, and mocha. There's so much to digest, but instead of feeling overwhelmed, I choose to embrace the chaos that awaits me in the nooks and crannies of the internet. Below are nine design trends I can't get out of my head for 2025, for better and for worse.
Follow the snail's slime trail
Over the past six months, I have been closely monitoring the snails with my colleague Lila Allen. These slimy creatures have been on my radar since snail mucin became a cult facial treatment, but their entry into design is a trend that's moving at a snail's pace, if you pardon the expression. This is quite similar to what happened with mushrooms from 2020 to 2021. During the pandemic, I was obsessed with Aleia Murawski's very aesthetic page describing the life of snails. (Aleia and Sam Copeland have since published their delightful adventures in books Snail World: Life in the Slimelight et Snail World 2: Welcome to Slimetown). I first spotted snails in an indoor space in June, when AD posted a Reath Design home tour on the Maine coast – it's hard to miss at the top of the shelf. Then I saw snails growing wild on the streets of New Jersey and landing at Block Shop in Los Angeles. Can I recommend this carved wooden snail table, this papier-mâché snail or this medieval wallpaper with snail motifs?
This snail renaissance confirms my theory about spirals, which have gradually replaced undulations over the past two years. AD PRO Directory designer Jessica Helgerson's taste for snails comes from her love for Mexico and the indigenous communities of Chiapas: the symbol of the Zapatista movement for indigenous liberation is a snail in a spiral shell. “The snail evokes modesty, humility and proximity to the earth, writes Jessica Helgerson in an email. The Zapatista movement spirals outward and toward the past, moving away from industrialism and toward the old ways and the little things; it also spirals inward, through new words and thoughts. »
Adopt the tortoiseshell
If you like the look of burlap but aren't a fan of wood, I suggest tortoiseshell. AD PRO Studio James Thomas turned the sophisticated library of a Chicago home upside down with a hand-painted tortoiseshell ceiling that contrasts with the cerulean blue walls surrounding it. Isabel López-Quesada's Madrid home is another case study full of choice examples, from the tortoiseshell-patterned paneling in the living room to the ebony and tortoiseshell mirror; the designer uses this finish to give a more masculine side to glamour. This finish also allows you to create a very sophisticated table setting, from cutlery to glasses. If you're more moderate in your print choices, a showerhead with a faux tortoiseshell stripe may be just what you need.
