The trend was hard to ignore: the techno-colored, oversized bulbous shapes; the melted popsicle textures and the overwhelming whimsy. Vibrant, cartoon fruit covered tabletops – like viewing The Last Supper through a funhouse mirror.
I started to see it during Deco Off in Paris in January and then again at Ambiente in Frankfurt in February – Bright, bold cabana stripes covered what seemed like every other trade show booth, and the investment in children’s furnishings and decor was everywhere.
By the time Frieze Week in Los Angeles rolled around and I was perusing the previews for Milan Design Week, it became apparent that this wasn’t just about the children: these themes of whimsy, color and comedic excess were everywhere, fun for people of all ages, and for every room.
It is the next logical evolution of design in a world that is craving comfort and delight. It is a rejection of austerity in the traditional sense, in favor of designs that engage the senses with a surge of dopamine and childhood nostalgia. Today we’re unpacking the aesthetic trends we’re seeing within these dopamine-infused spaces:
History repeating
What came after the clean lines of the midcentury movement was the wild, rebellious Memphis Movement, giving rise to Ettore Sottsass popularity in the early 80s. He is having a moment again, just in time for the design pendulum to swing towards rainbow-splattered spaces after a decade-plus of apple store aesthetics.
For its highly anticipated second exhibition of the year, Galerie56 in New York City is currently showing Et Tu, Ettore in collaboration with Friedman Benda. The pieces on display range in medium and time period including rarely seen examples of his early ceramic prototypes from the 60s, two of his iconic totems, and works from his Geology series produced in the early 2000s. Contemporary collections have popped up in recent year’s paying homage to Ettore and the Memphis Movement, like New York designer Sasha Bikoff’s collection with Abner Henry.
Historically-inspired groovy hospitality design
Wimberly Interiors also reached back in time for their imagining of the new Tempo by Hilton hotel in Nashville, envoking the rock n’ roll stylings of the 70s with a surrealist touch. Joon Kim, Creative Director of Wimberly Interiors had this to say about infusing the space with a sense of whimsy:
“Our imagined character, Mary Louise, was the inspiration behind the design approach for Tempo by Hilton, Nashville. She’s a 1970s Nashville musician and fashion icon with a love for Art Deco aesthetics and a bold, vibrant lifestyle. She also has an affinity for the Mod era, known for its playful colors and patterns, which shapes her unique sense of style.
“With that in mind, we chose jewel tones for the fabric selections, reflecting the richness of her stage outfits and jewelry—glitzy, glamorous, and full of personality. The textures and patterned wall coverings were inspired by her performance costumes, bringing that same dynamic energy and expressive spirit into the space.”
Luxury children’s decor & furniture: The generational wealth shift
Millennials and Gen Z are stepping into parenthood and are on the cusp of receiving a significant generational wealth transfer. They have been raised with an acute awareness of aesthetics, wellness and online aesthetics. They’re investing in full-room concepts that cater to childlike wonder without aesthetic compromise and they plan to invest in their homes now and stay a while.
Designer Noz Nozawa has certainly noticed the shift: “I have noticed more willingness from parents to invest in joyful, creativity-and-imagination-nurturing spaces for their children. It’s beautiful for me as a family’s designer to have the opportunity to create spaces that feel like they are being made both for the kids in the family, but also the parents’ inner child too! I also think because more “grown-up” furniture has become blobbier, more colorful, and more mixed-mediums over the past several years, higher-quality kid furniture and decor makes more sense with the aesthetic distinction between these categories becoming more fluid.”
Colorful collections for all ages
Take, also, for example, the rainbow forrest mural with corresponding rug and window treatments from Villa Nova’s Storypaper’s collection, which premiered at Paris Deco Off. Emily Mould, design director of Villa Nova had this to say of the customers’ embrace of whimsy:
“We are becoming bolder in how we approach our interiors, embracing playful and fun elements that reflect our personalities, with candy-coated hues, rainbow shades, and whimsical touches no longer confined to children’s bedrooms. This trend aligns with the growing preference for more personalised, joyful interiors that embrace maximalism, celebrating bold colours and imaginative designs to create mood-boosting retreats.”
Dopamine details
Even the details with the tiniest footprint are getting an infusion of dopamine. Priya Vij, founder of hardware company Hapny Home, had this to say about the trend:
“We’ve been witnessing an exciting shift away from the minimal, neutral spaces that defined the 2010s.
The once-dominant ‘safe’ and ‘clean’ neutral palettes are being replaced with vibrant, personality-packed details that spark joy and allow homeowners to express themselves. This transformation is taking shape in many ways—from bold paint choices to striking geometric wallpapers in living rooms and bathrooms. Lately, we’ve also seen a surge in smaller-scale design elements, such as mismatched frames in gallery walls, colorful upholstery, and playful statement fixtures.
While color remains one of the most powerful tools for creating an uplifting space, playful motifs are also making an impact. Take the Hapny Home Smiley knobs, for example—though available in classic neutral finishes like gold, silver, and black, their cheerful design adds an unexpected burst of happiness to the simple act of opening a door or drawer.
At the heart of this dopamine decor trend is a deeper awareness of how our surroundings—especially our homes—affect our mental well-being. In times of political and economic uncertainty, our homes have become more than just places to live; they’re our sanctuaries. Now more than ever, people are looking to create spaces that offer warmth, comfort, and a true sense of belonging.”
Slime time live
There’s a direct link between the hyper-digital world, the revived interest in space exploration in our zietgist and the rise of surreal, liquid undone forms. As our screens become more immersive, design is reflecting that fluidity in the physical world. These slime-like textures have a biomorphic quality, tapping into both our fascination with the organic and our desire to feel materials in a world that’s increasingly touchless.
Nozawa, had this to say about how AI, specifically, is impacting our spacial awareness, “The rise of A.I. generated spaces will for a while impact people’s expectations of surfaces, since digitally rendered curvy surfaces are still quite a ways off versus reality — and that valley between the digital and real might be interesting to chase for some design lovers. On my end, I’m observing more so that textures dancing off one surface onto another unexpected surface is increasing. An example of this is wall-to-wall carpeting going from the floors up onto walls or even up onto ceilings!”
We also spend so much time on screens that the real world has to compete for our attention. This is a sensory rebellion, and it’s why we’re seeing hyper-tactile materials—lacquered finishes, gelatinous resins and glossy silicone-like surfaces with biomorphic qualities—dominate furniture, lighting and art objects.
Excess and escapism
Fruit and flowers have always been motifs of abundance, pleasure and indulgence. The cartoonishly exaggerated forms appearing now are a response to global uncertainty and looming environmental decline—a way of injecting humor and sensuality into everyday spaces and giving ‘natural forms’ like fruit and flowers an ironic nod by making them out of non-organic materials, covering them in material like lacquer.
This also leans into the trompe-l’œil revival we’ve been seeing, where objects play with perception and scale. There’s a subconscious longing for nature, but not in a rustic, earthy way —this is surreal, hyper-saturated and slightly absurd. Flowers and fruit become not just decorative but symbolic, referencing both historical still-life paintings as well symbols of ironic nostalgia.
Color as commitment
The real test of whether an interior trend will have longevity or not is its success in higher-commitment categories like kitchens and baths. You’re not as likely to replace a toilet as you are a throw pillow or even a sofa, after all.
In Paris, I had the pleasure of touring the Le Cornue factory, witnessing their meticulous attention to detail with every custom, colorful, handmade range. One of the major takeaways was the increase in whole-kitchen demand. Le Cornue is color-matching their ranges with custom cabinetry, dishwashers and islands.
While I was there, they were finalizing a bright colorful kitchen, complete with all the bells and whistles, preparing to ship it off to an island off the coast of Sweden. This kitchen costs upwards of $700k and it wasn’t the only one they were working on that day… That is some commitment to the bit.
Seeing other kitchen and bath manufacturers’ pushing color-range collections, like the colorful Toto bathtubs pictured below, further reinforce that this is not a fleeting trend, but is, indeed, here to stay a while.
Loud luxury
Luxury has traditionally been associated with restraint, but the next generation of affluent consumers wants something irreverent. The rise of exaggerated, whimsical forms signals a new kind of status symbol: one that still comes with a hefty price tag but doesn’t take itself too seriously. High-end design is embracing humor, irony and storytelling—moving away from quiet luxury and into something more expressive.
These shifts in design—playful surrealism, hyper-tactility, oversized fruit and luxury children’s decor—aren’t emerging in a vacuum. They’re a direct response to cultural, economic and technological forces shaping how people engage with the world. After years of restraint, people want abundance, humor and a sense of joy in their spaces.
