Decor trends: The white-wall backlash

The joke about home decor is that if you wait long enough the pieces you’ve tired of will become fashionable again. Take that has-been wenge. In the early aughts, the reddish-brown African hardwood appeared in everything from credenzas to bookshelves before falling from grace. But as 2024 fall trends go, wenge’s cousin walnut, as well as teak — and, to an extent, wenge itself — is enjoying a renaissance.  

So, too, is old-timey printed wallpaper, rich colours, nature-inspired decor and personal collections that are the antithesis of minimalism. 

“Chocolate brown is a big trend for fall,” says Olivia Botrie, the principal designer behind Dart Studio. “It’s a huge paint colour for walls, on furniture and in fashion,” adding that it reads classic, timeless and rich.  

She’s also happy that her clients “have opened their minds to colour,” such as olive green and burgundy, which are popular autumnal hues that add drama. 

“Before the pandemic everything was open-concept. White or warm cream walls work well in such layouts; you can’t do a lot of colour drenching in open spaces,” says Botrie. “But everyone has shifted how they live, and they like enclosed spaces [now].”  

Darker tones that can warm up a more self-contained room also work well in accessories such as small kitchen appliances and even bathroom hardware.  

For a “cozy fall kitchen,” says Andrea Moody, senior manager of product development and design, home and seasonal, for Walmart, “an easy and affordable move is to swap out a small appliance like a toaster or air-fryer for something richer in tone than stainless steel.” 

She points to Drew Barrymore’s Beautiful line for Walmart. The celebrity’s touch-screen 3 Qt Air Fryer with TurboCrisp Technology and coffee maker are available in a host of hues, including green and Porcini.  

Earlier this year, the appliance brand Breville also launched an olive-toned toaster (and coordinating cousins, including a food processor) as part of its popular Toast Select Luxe line. It makes a bright, autumnal addition in a white kitchen.  

Launched in Canada last week is yet another green kitchen goddess: KitchenAid’s Artisan Design Series Evergreen 5-Quart Tilt-Head Stand Mixer. The appliance features a forest-green stand with a walnut-wood bowl, a stunning spin on silver.  

Another wood-centric flourish comes care of kitchen and bath specialists, Moen. In their Tenon kitchen faucet collection, released earlier this year, handles can be swapped for a teak one. The Cia hands-free voice-activated kitchen faucet even allows customers to mix metals by changing up the escutcheon plate — the bit around the faucet base — so that a brushed brass faucet can be paired with a black accent.   

The bathroom retailer Brizo, meanwhile, embraced the Japandi aesthetic, unveiling taps that feature inlays such as Mother of Pearl, concrete and — you guessed it — teak. Japanese design is a prevailing trend, for fall and into 2025, says Sydney Stanback, Pinterest’s global trends and insights lead.  

“Calm Japanese design is at the top of this season’s trends,” says Stanback. “We’ve seen an increase in searches for ‘zen houses’ up by 405 percent, along with ‘zen bathroom’ (+200 percent), highlighting the desire to curate tranquil areas to decompress from our busy lives.”  

While designers are calling green, burgundy and brown fall’s It colours, Stanback says the pins tell a different story. “We’re seeing a shift from last year’s earthy tones to serene hues with some of the top searches being ‘sage blue colour palette’ (+570%) and ‘seafoam’ (+200%).”  

On the furniture front, Cozey founder Frédéric Aubé, who sells sofas in a box, says fall is the busiest time for sales. Darker colours always sell better as temperatures drop, he notes, adding that their Ciello Corduroy sofas in Cypress Green or Dune with washable covers and storage have just landed at the retailer’s flagship store on Queen West in Toronto. Atmosphere, a boxy modern model, is also available in corduroy. Or check out Luna, the newest sofa to hit the shop, in moss green.  

For Sébastien Fauteux, general merchandise manager at Urban Barn, “this season is all about layering fall into every corner of our homes,” he says. “We’re seeing reading nooks with soft lighting, plush throws and thick rugs to create a peaceful ambience.”  

Designer and stylist Christian Dare says personalization is another trend for fall. “My favourite interiors connect me to the local place I am in; they are unique and not Instagram copycats,” he says. “The best way to achieve this is through local craft and materials.” 

Dare recommends hitting up markets and artisans for handmade and one-of-a-kind pieces. Collections make for killer fall eye candy, he says. Think baskets, grandma’s dishes, vintage oil paintings and pottery with an aged patina.  

“With pottery, I am most attracted to interesting but classic shapes. I tend to shy away from any glossy pieces but it is sometimes fun to add in one or two to the collection to add contrast,” says Dare. “I am all about opting for larger-scale pieces and grouping them together — add in stacks of books underneath if you need extra height.” 

But if you aren’t into rifling through shops, Dare suggests trying an online gallery like Vessels + Sticks for artisanal ceramics and other objects. 

The big box shops also have options, especially for playing with pattern and fabric. IKEA’s new HOSTAGILLE collection of cushions, containers, a tablecloth, scalloped dishes and the like come in patterned flashes of red, orange, green and black.  

“With the weather beginning to cool and the leaves changing, colours that are deeper, darker and inspired by nature become more popular around this time of the year,” says EJ Middelhoven, country home furnishing and retail design manager for IKEA, who prefers adding prints in small doses. He suggests pairing the tomato-red corduroy cushion in the HOSTAGILLE collection with its botanical print. 

“Pattern is so huge right now,” says Arren Williams, interior stylist and designer. “There’s been such an explosion of it over the last while.” No longer thought of as fusty, “people are adoring William Morris Arts and Crafts patterns,” he says of the historical prints. “They are crazily coming back to the fore. It’s such a strong look.” 

Williams says pattern, in fall and always, brings personalization into a home. Right now, he sees it as a backlash against something he describes as “the white wall overload that everyone is so sick of. Magazines won’t even publish white homes anymore,” says Williams. “It’s a fight against the dull minimalism we’ve been saddled with over the last while.”