Home decor trends for 2017 are all about ease, comfort

Decor trends take us on a little emotional journey every season. Some speak to how we’re feeling, some to how we want to feel.

For 2017, trend spotters say we’re looking for ease and comfort. Even at the luxury end of the decor spectrum, the look is less stiff suit, more velvet smoking jacket.

‘Ephemeral’

“When you look at this palette, it’s a Sunday morning,” said Laurie Pressman, a vice president at the Pantone Color Institute. These delicate hues — what she and others are calling an “ephemeral” trend — evoke airiness and light.

Gentle whites and chalky pastels, which gained popularity over the last year or two, now combine with darker yet soothing neutrals like marine, earth, moss and heather. Textures are soft. Woods are low-luster.

“You can fall into it and relax,” says Tom Mirabile, a New York-based consumer trends expert.

And watch for lots of yellow, says Stephanie Pierce, design director at MasterBrand Cabinets. “From pale butter to dark mustard, yellows are cropping up everywhere,” she says, in styles ranging from midcentury modern to country farmhouse.

Some motifs are getting re-worked in subtler ways. California-based designer Alison Palevsky points to animal prints like antelope and cheetah done in gray and beige instead of the traditional colors.

Luxury’s new look

If “ephemeral” is decor’s languid glass of lemonade, “luxe” is a goblet of heady merlot.

Jewel tones, lustrous leathers and heftier, colored metals appeal to a new “visually expressive” generation, says Pantone’s Pressman. “It’s all about the finish — shine and luster.”

Shiny brass and copper have been growing more popular, note Mat Sanders and Brandon Quattrone of the Los Angeles-based interior design studio Consort. “But 2017 will be about embracing the beauty of aged metals in furniture, hardware and fixtures.” Look for burnished finishes in pieces large and small.

You’ll see Art Deco references as well, and more of the simplicity and elegance of Danish, Italian and French modernism.

Setting the mood

“The moody palate was huge” at spring’s Milan Furniture Fair and is catching on among retailers, says New York designer Drew McGukin.

“I’ve been encouraging my clients to incorporate color in bold applications, like countertops,” he said, citing in particular a new hue from Silestone “that captures the essence of soapstone — a deep, dusty, blue-gray hue softened with white veining.” (www.silestone.com)

Benjamin Moore’s Color of 2017 is Shadow, a deep grayed purple. And homes magazines are touting Farrow &Ball’s eggplant Brinjal, Behr’s Havana Coffee and Dunn-Edwards’ Mackintosh Midnight as moody must-haves. (www.benjaminmoore.com; www.farrowandball.com; www.behr.com)

Look for drama in other wallcoverings too, where artistry is flourishing. California photographer Don Flood’s micro-images of abalone shells, insects, agave leaves and minerals are blown up into bold wallpapers. (www.fliepaper.com)

Calico Wallpapers’ Satori collection interprets Japanese pottery techniques in tones of burnished metallic and clay. Their Fragments collection evokes rainy, fog-bound mountains. (www.calicowallpaper.com)

Outdoorsy

Relaxing and refreshing, this trend hits all the “green” notes with an emphasis on a natural palette, organic silhouettes and sustainable materials. Think farmstead, writ urban.

“It’s kicking off your shoes, whether you’re indoors or out,” says Mirabile.

Crate &Barrel’s chunky Big Sur furniture, in white oak, fits the vibe, as does a verdant assortment of faux banana trees, orchids and magnolias.

Donna Garlough of Joss &Main has noted the tropical look expanding.

“I’m seeing citrus trees in the mix — wallpaper with lemon branches, and botanical sketches of orange trees,” she says. “Complementing the trend, colors like kiwi, citron and chartreuse made a splash at last fall’s decor markets, meaning they’re probably going to hit homes and stores in 2017.”

Sky and ocean blues are perennial favorites, in cloud-patterned textiles in PB Teen’s collection, and in embroidered, chambray and shibori table linens at Pottery Barn.

Florals are a key component of the outdoorsy trend; they’re on everything from lampshades to lounge chairs.