A round up of what’s trending in house design in 2024 in Ireland: find out the colours, materials and lighting schemes suites to every room of the house, from kitchens and bathrooms to bedrooms.

In this article we cover:

• Trends to look out for in house design for 2024
• Cost effective ways to get the look
• Top 3 interior design tips
• What colours and materials are trending
• Design trends for kitchens
• Design trends for bathrooms
• Design trends for bedrooms
• Key terminology explained
• How to put together a mood board

House design trends

Beyond aesthetics, three elements will define the external appearance of your home: the site (sun path and ground conditions for location and massing, sloping or narrow sites can lend themselves to modernist look, etc.), your budget (size and form may be limited, rectangular compact shapes are most cost effective) and planning requirements (the planners may require some vernacular features).

As a result, externally what we’ve seen trending over the years is a mix and match approach – modern mixed with traditional elements. Don’t think you have to copy the style of the area either; the planners are more open-minded than they’re given credit for. The main thing is to base your application on their development plans and design guidelines where available.

Modern interpretations of the bungalow remain on trend with stone cladding, a mainstay of Irish designs. While the farm building aesthetic remains popular, including barrel roof designs, it’s now often incorporated as straight cladding for an even more modern look. Other popular finishes include charred timber, larch and zinc effect (either uPVC versions or the real thing).

Theme: Quiet luxury

Interior design is always a step or two behind the world of fashion, and this year is no exception.

Which is why we’re seeing the quiet luxury trend seep into interiors just now. It refers to a clean aesthetic, with understated touches of luxury. Think clutter-free and extra cosy. While this isn’t quite a ‘less is more’ trend, investing in quality does mean the item will last longer and work better making it more environmentally friendly.

It’s especially prevalent in bedroom design, meaning luxurious designs don’t have to be showy. No cables hanging off bedside tables, storage solutions that allow everything to be tidied away quickly, including clothes.

The term ‘kitchen sanctuary’ is trending up on Google searches and ties in with quiet luxury as does mixing old and new. Here you can make savings by buying secondhand online or in charity shops.

Upcycling is still popular, and doing it yourself will be kind to your wallet too.

Colour

Following on from the quiet luxury trend, earthy neutral colours are coming in fast after the recent dark greens and dark blues trending in kitchens.

Consider adding pops of colour for fun and enjoyment as it helps lift the mood. With bedrooms, remember that the colour needs to be conducive to sleep so zoning the room can help. Calming tones include blues, greens, and creams.

But the key here is to find the colour that makes you relax and feel comfortable, and to find where your neutral colour lies. Neutrals can be grey, white, or cream. Colours that signal calm and harmony – trending this year are creams. Greys have gone out of fashion but will no doubt make a comeback at some stage.

For 2024 the Pantone Colour of the Year is Peach Fuzz and you’re likely to come across the salmon hue in most furniture shops. It conveys a subtle cosy vibe, evoking feelings of self-care and compassion.

That’s the theory at least, and as with all trends, you can take it or leave it. A low cost way to incorporate it is to include it with accessories such as cushions. Unless you know you’ll get bored of your interiors in five years, invest in quality. The longer it lasts, the more eco friendly it is as it means buying less.

Materials

Wood is always popular, simply because of how versatile it is, but this year it’s firmly back in the spotlight for its warmth and unrivalled texture.

It can also readily complement an industrial chic style and as it so happens, metallics are also trending, particularly among the younger generations. It offers a modern aesthetic and can be combined with a range of materials.

In the bathroom black hardware is on trend, being softer than chrome, and geometric tiles are still very on trend with subway tiles being stacked the other way around.

In sanitaryware, self-cleaning toilets are becoming more popular too.

And in terms of textures you can expect a focus on soft and luxurious materials, with cosy and squishy bang on trend.

Natural finishes are also on trend and we’re seeing a move towards natural, tactile plasters including clay and lime, as well as polished plaster finishes.

Lighting

As we spend ever more time indoors, artificial lighting is starting to be taken more seriously than in the past. An interior designer or lighting consultant can help with lighting design but self-builders usually rely on their electrician’s experience. This often leads to two circuits for the main rooms; one for task lighting, one for ambient lighting.

Lighting consultants will tell you lighting is all about layering – one light pendant in the centre of the room doesn’t cut it. Kitchens might be designed with five circuits so you can change the lights for different meal occasions, cleaning, cooking, etc.

The top three trends this year in lighting are:

Uplights. Wall lights are trending this year, especially sconces.

LED strips. It’s come a long way since it first came on the market; sleek and slim, smaller rooms especially benefit from LED strip lighting. On trend for kitchen drawers too.

Biodynamic lighting. It refers to artificial lighting that mimics sunlight and optimises circadian rhythms; there’s also quite a bit of research into reflective materials that bounce sunlight into the room for maximum exposure. A trend to look out for in years to come.

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