2023 Interior Design Trends – What’s In and What’s Out? (No, Thanks. You can keep your Lists.)

Have you read all the lists put out by various publications, bloggers, and “influencers” at the beginning of each year? I’m talking about lists of “what is inside and what is outside” where they tell us what we should put in our homes in the new year to stay fresh, and what we should get rid of so we don’t find ourselves living in shameful old ones house with *gasp* gray walls and floating shelves in 2023. How awesome! 😀

These lists appear on a yearly basis. Every home decor publication I follow has its own list. Many bloggers, “influencers” (have I mentioned how much I hate that word?), designers, decorators, and home decor YouTubers have their own lists. Every November or December, I get at least one email from some publication (not the big ones, always the small ones) wanting my input on what I think “on“and”APART” for next year. (Those emails will be deleted without a reply.)

But the funny thing is that as you look at these lists, they often contradict each other. That makes me wonder who, exactly, makes these lists? Why should we listen to them? Who dictates to their authorities what we should like and what we should not like in our homes? And what is the real purpose of these lists?

I can’t help but think that the whole point of these lists is to keep us constantly dissatisfied with what we have, and always yearning for more, better, and different. When we hear that something we have now will be outdated or “out” by 2023, the trap is to drive discontent into our homes, and keep us in a constant state of consumerism.

Of course, there’s nothing wrong with spending your hard-earned money on your home, and updating things as you see fit. We all know that I have no problem changing things in my home. 😀 But I really hope none of us do that because we read a list from these publications/bloggers/influencers, and thought, “Well, if Vogue says my chairs I bought in January are out of season, I might have to replace them!“

Here are some examples that have me rolling my eyes on this year’s lists:

According to Vogueearth tones (especially browns and pinks) are in, and Inside saying that there are no more shades of gray. So I guess those who have spent the last five years ridding their homes of all the browns, and swapping those for the “in” colors of gray and more gray should now move everything back to earth tones and browns. If your kitchen looks like this, well….how embarrassing for you.

But if you are planning to paint your kitchen gray to get rid of your old grays and make it new in 2023, don’t just paint it white! According to The Kitchn, the all white kitchen is gone. So if your kitchen looks like the one below, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it’s only 1900-2022. But we’re done with it now, so grab your brush.

Besides, according to Vogue, the gold and bronze hardware. “Except with unlacquered brass hardware,” they said. So if you just spent $2300 on your Perrin and Rowe Georgian era bridge kitchen faucet in unlacquered brass, it’s time to trade that in for something in the silver/nickel family.

But wait! Your beautiful brass faucet is probably okay buzzfeed tells us that gold accents are available for 2023, and Good Housekeeping agreed. In fact, interior designer Susan Hayward says, “We, hopefully, will never see brushed nickel again.” So you need to make a judgment call on your $2300 Perrin and Rowe unlacquered brass kitchen faucet. Vogue seems to be up against Buzzfeed, Good Housekeeping, and Susan Hayward.

Now I know you are on the edge of your seat wondering what Architectural Digest should say what we should do with our houses in 2023, right? Rest assured, I have important information for you. According to AD, you should ditch your modern minimalist kitchens, open floor plans, TV-centric living rooms, greige interiors, chesterfield sofas, and bouclé furniture.

The Kitchn also tells us that the bouclé furniture is gone. So if you’ve seen the recent ad from McGee & Co. for them Magda Teddy Bear Boucle Lounge Chair that cost $2400, trap! Don’t grab it!

Obviously, I’m being facetious. If you love bouclé, fill your house with it. Put your walls on it. Make curtains out of it. I don’t have a bouclé in my house because I have a cat, and she will claim it the moment it walks through the front door, and it will be her new scratching post within minutes of its arrival. But I think it’s a really nice chair, and on this cold day, I sure like to grab a blanket, a cup of hot chocolate, and a good book, and make myself cozy in that chair! Isn’t it like a warm hug?

So do what you want. Fill your home with gold and copper…or polished nickel, if that’s what you prefer. Cover your furniture with bouclé. Paint your cabinets white, gray, or hot pink. Do whatever you want to do in your home. Whatever you do, don’t let these people influence you and make you think that the things you love are “out” and you need to get rid of them and buy more “in” things to replace them. Because next year, they will tell you that all the new things you bought to “get in” in 2023 have been overplayed and are now “out” for 2024, so it’s time to replace them with the latest ones -or “in” thing. It’s a vicious cycle, and that’s the real trap.

This is your house. Do what you love. I have personally lived with the same color cabinets in my kitchen for the better part of the last 11 years. The kitchen in our condo was painted Behr Hallowed Hush, and after a brief detour with green cabinets in this house, my kitchen is now the same beloved Behr Hallowed Hush, and I can’t see the myself tired of it at any time.

I personally think that from now on, in 2023, what should be “out” from this point forward are all these lists that tell us “Interior Design Trends to Know in 2023 -And What Comes Out”. No, thank you, Vogue and the rest. You can save your lists.