This time of year, you'll see a lot of lists dedicated to the home decorating trends that will define the coming year, and many of them will overlap with the same ideas. It's easy to get caught up in the hype around some of these trends, but you probably shouldn't dwell on them all. Sometimes they don't live up to the hype.
That's not to say we don't believe these “overrated” trends apply to homes in 2025 – in fact, most of them do. This means they often claim properties on annual interior design trend lists, even though they're actually nothing new or great for most homes; Perhaps they are in the realm of overexposure, or newer ideas have emerged to replace them that we think you should know about.
Because so many trends are at risk of not living up to the hype, even more of them are flying under the radar.
Overrated: Home Wellness Spaces
(Image credit: Naho Kubota. Design: Worrell Yeung)
Most 2025 trend roundups feature the idea of ”home wellness spaces,” but as much as we all dream of home saunas, steam rooms, spas, and dedicated yoga studios, I have questions. Do you think this should be your home's priority? Do you have space? Will you use it? First, did you understand the basics?
I’m not sold on the concept, nor am I sold on the other current trend toward “hyper-specific use” spaces. The wine tasting room and the vinyl listening room, for example, have been a topic of conversation in recent years. However, let's take Kendall Jenner as an example, who recently gave an updated tour of her Calabasas home. When we first saw their property, the “art studio” filled with easels and art supplies was gone – instead a relaxing lounge with deep sofas.
Underrated: Casual Hang Out Spaces
(Image credit: Amy Bartlam. Design: Mimi Shin)
In my opinion, it is better to focus on the rooms in the home that bring the idea of wellness into everyday life. Places to disconnect from the ubiquity of technology; that instead promote human connection. We're seeing this idea reflected in the sofa trends for 2025 – they're deeper, more collaborative and more relaxing than the curved cocktail couch formality that's been so prevalent in recent years.
Custom built-ins are another investment to bring this idea to life, as pictured in this movable cinema room designed by interior designer Mimi Shin.
Ebern Designs corduroy chair with ottoman
Price: $414.99
Even if you only choose one armchair, think about wide and deep designs that make it easier to get comfortable and hang out. This one from Wayfair is perfect in both cases.
Overrated: “Primary Play”
(Image credit: Phillipe Charlot. Design: Pierre-Etienne Miniau)
Heralded by Pinterest as one of next year's big trends, Primary Play is all about the “kidult” vibe – doing fun things with paint, color and material. “It's all about channeling your inner child – from hand-painted whimsical murals on furniture to jazzing up trim with contrasting colors, Generation Z and Generation X will transform grown-up spaces into playful little havens,” Pinterest says Predicts Trend Report.
Although it may be showing my age, I feel that in 2025, even in the cheeriest and most colorful spaces, people are looking for more authenticity in their design than these wall color ideas. Yes, perhaps we'll see this more exciting use of color, but in a simpler, looser way that doesn't seem like they're trying too hard.
Underrated: Ranch Style
(Image credit: Karen Emile, courtesy of BedThreads)
Okay, maybe you'll pause when we say this trend is underrated: After all, Spotify named 2024 the Year of the Cowgirl, and the ranch-meets-prairie aesthetic was all over the pages of fashion magazines this year. However, until recently, I wasn't convinced that it would take off in the world of interior design, aside from a few quirky gems in Gen Z retail. When trends like “Coastal Cowgirl” emerge over the course of a year, I tend to to take this with caution.
However, when I think about it, it's an aesthetic that bubbles beneath the surface for stylish interiors – earthy, humble and structured in the best way possible. I can see this decorating trend escaping the realm of kitsch decor and becoming an increasingly popular style across the country in 2025, especially if you take a relaxed approach to the “horse girl” look.
Embroidered Manette curtain
Price: $86.40
Finished with a decorative border, these curtains from Anthropologie offer the perfect, grown-up take on the ranch core aesthetic.
Overrated: Color Drenching
(Image credit: Benjamin Moore)
Listen, we're big proponents of color saturation here housing etcand we still are. However, it's an idea that's been around for a few years and is on every trend list – the definition of “over-hyped.”
While the tenets of this idea still hold true—we're still not here for a contrasting white ceiling or white trim, for example—there's an evolution to this decorating trend that's emerging in the design zeitgeist of late. Ideas like “double drenching” or simply decorating with a tonal palette will give your spaces a little more nuance when using color.
Underrated: “Double Drenching”
(Image credit: Little Greene)
I think that the best examples of color saturation inherently involved unconsciously leaning on some of the elements that make “double saturation” an obvious evolution of the trend. The idea, in case you missed it, is to create a palette where there is still very little contrast but a subtle difference in tones that gives the palette more depth.
Where using a monotone color palette can seem a little superficial, artificial and plain, using these or neighboring hues on the color wheel is perhaps the 2025 way to use color.
Overrated: “Mocha Mousse”
(Image credit: Pantone)
Before Pantone's color of the year is announced every December, the housing etc All teams submit their guesses in our team chat. It's fair to say that some of us were spot on when predicting mocha mousse this year. Yes, this cozy shade of brown—an evolution of the beige tones that have dominated design for so long—is an important color, but also a little predictable.
The Pantone Color of the Year always gets the most hype out of all the Color of the Year announcements. So no matter the color, it seems overrated on the list—but even as a lover of neutrals like mocha mousse, that prediction didn't necessarily feel super new.