“I love that you’ve always stayed true to what a home should look like.” When Rae Sutton of Three French Hens got this feedback from a friend, something struck her. It perfectly captured what she had been noticing all year: 2025 design trends weren’t about chasing the next thing—they were about coming home to what feels timeless.
“I think that clients are growing tired of the ever-present push for change and the need to keep up,” Sutton says. “I think people are longing for the classics in a way we haven’t seen in the mainstream in quite a while. Good designers will tell you that ‘classic’ never goes out of style, but I think 2025 is the year that the public finally caught on.”
While Sutton is one to advise refraining from trends, her sentiment has shifted a bit after this year; some trends are worth investing in, when done correctly. “All of these ‘trends’ are rather easy to morph into something that you’d like to live with for a long time,” she says. “To keep trends timeless, either invest in an interior designer to help guide your decisions, or take your time to create something that truly reflects your personality, rather than going to a big-box store and buying everything off their New Arrivals shelf.”
Color Drenching
Let your personality shine through your home, Sutton suggests. Use color to express yourself and invoke emotion from your spaces. Don’t be shy about using paint to make an impact. No more subtle colored accent walls or cream sofas in cream rooms with cream rugs and cream accents.
Try the trend by:
- Color drenching your walls, ceilings, and trim.
- Using a fun, maximalist wallpaper.
- Using a tonal color palette for your walls, artwork, lighting and furniture.
Where to implement this trend:
- Powder room
- Small library or study
- Dining room
- Bedroom
How to keep it timeless:
- Use saturated and complex hues and avoid novelty.
- Ensure that you are using natural materials to keep the space feeling grounded (unfinished wood, leather, etc.).
Antique revival
“Finally, people are starting to revert back to incorporating antique pieces into their designs,” Sutton says. “I love working with a family heirloom or sourcing a one-of-a-kind piece that speaks when you look at it.”
There has been a long period where clients have wanted sleek and clean at the detriment of individuality. Even newly made pieces are now reflective of decades past. Whether it be material, silhouette, or color, there is a yearning for the decadence and quality that antiques and the like provide.
Try the trend by:
- Accepting your grandparents’ hand-me-downs. If there is a piece that is sentimental to your family, put the effort in to coordinate your design around it.
- Keeping an eye out at antique stores, estate sales, and local stores for rich antiques that will elevate your home and add a new, interesting element.
- Investing in heirloom-quality, new pieces of wood furniture and upholstery that will last a lifetime and become the antiques of the future.
Where to implement this trend:
- Anywhere!
- Purposefully integrating antique and classic pieces into your entryway, kitchen, bedroom and libraries.
- Purchasing high-quality pieces that reflect antique values and style lines will instantly elevate your space.
How to keep it timeless:
- Don’t overdo the trend. Make sure that you are using pieces that are timeless, not dated (not all “antiques” are timeless)
- Mix antiques with cleaner lines, different wood tones and textures.
Sustainable Furniture
The conversation has shifted toward circular design—furnishings and interiors designed to last, be repaired, reused, or reimagined rather than replaced. Gone are the times of purchasing “cheap” furniture that you can replace in two years. You can see and feel when furniture is not made with the intention to last.
“I’ll say it again and again: I’d so much rather a client save up to purchase a piece that will last than buy something that will require replacement too soon,” Sutton says. “I have clients who after shopping with us 20 years ago are still in love with their homes and the things in them. That should be the goal.”
Your home is never “complete,” and adding little things here and there will keep your home feeling fresh, rather than replacing staple pieces according to what’s popular on Instagram at the moment.
Try the trend by:
- Shopping small and locally. Small businesses sell quality products, because each product is a testament to that business’s integrity, which is not taken lightly.
- Slowing down the process. Good things take time, and sometimes (not every time) a quicker lead time equals higher costs for an inferior product.
- Choosing pieces that really speak to your heart, so you don’t tire of them. Your home never goes out of style.
Where to implement this trend:
- Everywhere.
- If you are someone who is—and always will—fall victim to cyclical trends, opt for a less expensive rug, pillows, or floral arrangement that can be easily replaced more often.
How to keep it timeless:
- Classic silhouettes and materials will keep this trend working for you for years to come. Wool, cotton denim, performance fabrics, leather, and solid woods look better with time and wear. Rolled arms, bun feet, nailheads, solid wood, hand-painted one-of-a-kind furniture, and artwork won’t go out of style.
Putting Comfort First
Clients are increasingly turning toward comfort and a nurturing space to live and relax in, Sutton says, choosing furniture and textiles that wear beautifully and sit comfortably—homes where guests feel they can take off their coats, sit down, and put their feet up.
“A home where a coffee table is a place to… have a coffee. A library is a place to hunker down with a good book and a glass of wine at the end of the long day without fear of leaving a purple ring on the side table,” Sutton says.
The result is a home that feels timeless because it prioritizes how people live, rest, and connect.
Try the trend by:
- Investing in pieces that look better as they age. “I personally love that my leather chair has a few scratches and has been stretched and worn by family members coming to visit,” says Sutton. “I love that my sofa table has a ring from my sister-in-law’s Diet Coke that she left there as we girl-talked while I was freshly postpartum. It’s distressed anyways. Who cares?! It’s not that serious.”
- Choosing upholstery based on comfort. Consider rolled arms and a deep seat if you like to curl up with a good book, or sturdy English arm and a more shallow seat if you are someone who entertains a lot. Three French Hens will help you figure out what works best.
Where to implement this trend:
- Again, everywhere, but especially areas that you use the most, including the family room, kitchen, breakfast room, and study.
How to keep it timeless:
- To maximize timelessness, this trend is best implemented through foundational elements, rather than décor. Try curved sofas with tailored upholstery—classic styles that have stood the test of time.
- Choose colors that are warm and earthy to ensure that the space feels grounded and you won’t have to replace your pieces for the next best thing.
Natural Materials and Biophilic Design
There is nothing better than bringing the outside in when it comes to unwinding from technology and the busy world when you get home for the day. “If you’re someone who is lacking a green thumb, you can use other natural elements to achieve this look,” Sutton says.
The whole idea is to surround yourself with elements that ground yourself. “I always tell clients that a solid wood piece is a living thing, and if it is not polished and shiny, we have to respect when it wants to expand and contract—that is, show some little cracks here and there,” she says. “Again, that is something that I appreciate in some of my pieces that people are not taught to understand.”
Try the trend by:
- Incorporating natural elements like limestone, marble, wood, wool, rattan and cork.
- Adding houseplants. “My grandfather has a 40-year-old spider plant that is part of the family,” Sutton says.
- Incorporating organic shapes and patterns with wallpaper and textiles.
Where to implement this trend:
- Anywhere you need to unwind: your bedroom, kitchen, sunroom, etc.
How to keep it timeless:
- Choosing timeless elements in warm, earthy colors will ensure that your home doesn’t look dated.
- “I also think that the way living house plants are displayed is a make or break to interior design,” Sutton says. Choose antique, hefty, or organic-looking pottery to make sure your plants aren’t taking away from the vibe of your home.
This post was created by SLM Partner Studio on behalf of Three French Hens. Now that you know which trends from 2025 are here to stay, visit Rae Sutton and her team at Three French Hens in Wildwood.
