If you’re tempted to go bold or more personalized with your living space, here’s some good news: The cool gray and white interiors that dominated the 2010s are giving way to a more personal and lived-in aesthetic in home design in the 2020s. This shift reflects a broader movement toward creating spaces that prioritize individual expression rather than following rigid design rules, for a result that feels both stylish and approachable.
Carolyn McCarter of Leesburg’s 27 South furniture and interior design boutique welcomes the trend she sees toward creating more personal, authentic, and meaningful living spaces that are sophisticated without being pretentious.
It’s a vibe that also permeates 27 South, which has relocated from downtown to a farm just outside town that McCarter and husband Nick own. The couple left their small condo in D.C. back in 2011, furnishing their new Loudoun County house with finds from Craigslist and thrift, antique, and vintage marketplaces. That led Carolyn to selling antiques and vintage furniture at The Cottage and Lucketts, designing interiors for friends, and then to opening her own shop and interior design boutique.
“My aesthetic and 27 South’s aesthetic really lend themselves to our new space,” Carolyn explained. “It feels very down to earth, very casual and lived-in but sophisticated at the same time. We have beautiful surroundings and a lot of animals, so we’re trying to make this a place where you can come out, hang out for an hour or two with friends, enjoy shopping, and enjoy your surroundings. I’ve got three young kids, so they’re often running around the farm, too, and they help entertain guests and customers, too.”
We caught up with Carolyn to get her take on the shift in interior design styles—and her quick tips for getting on trend on a budget.
What are some of the key design trends you're seeing emerge?
One of the biggest trends we're seeing is creating more comfortable, lived-in, approachable homes that are still sophisticated without trying to achieve a particular look. We're seeing a lot more vintage and antique items coming into homes to create that collected, curated look. That’s really exciting and fun, because it brings in a wow factor, a unique factor, and a cozy feel. We’re also seeing a lot more emphasis on patina and pattern. Patina lends itself to the antique and vintage, but even on reproductions, it adds that loved and worldly feel. With pattern, we're seeing a ton of wallpaper with bold patterns, a lot of florals, more depth and color. We’re seeing color and pattern on upholstery and drapes, too. In the last 10 years, everything has been a gray wash, very cool and monochromatic, a kind of safe approach. We’d buy white sofas, gray accent chairs—everything was muted and in the same color tone. But now people are doing fun fabrics and bold patterns on couches and chairs. It’s fun, and I love it.
How do you suggest people transition from the previous gray-and-white aesthetic to this new, more colorful approach?
Start with walls and floors and with painting your space—it's a relatively small investment that you can do yourself. Move away from gray tones and bring in some warmth with taupes, khakis, and browns, or try a more saturated color in a small space like an office or bathroom. Then pair that with a floor covering that has a lot of pattern and color. You can completely transform your space just by changing walls and floors. We can’t all just go and get new hardwood floors or new tile, but you can make a small investment in a rug. We sell vinyl floor cloths that look like tile or rugs – they're perfect for kitchens and mud rooms, relatively inexpensive, but pack a powerful punch.
What are some quick design tips for refreshing a space without a complete overhaul?
Start by reimagining your room's layout and work with what you have—rearrange furniture, swap out pieces between rooms, or just orient your sofa differently. Shop your house first—can you swap chairs here and put them there instead? Can you orient your sofa slightly differently, move an end table to a different place, or swap some lamps out? Then you might think, "Maybe I can bring in a couple of new art pieces." Find art that speaks to you. You can make it yourself or purchase it relatively inexpensively from Target or Etsy or at thrift stores. Lastly, try adding new throw blankets and pillows. It can be transformative if you’ve got a neutral palette and you bring in a pretty plaid throw to put across a large portion of the back of your sofa. When you bring in pillows, make them different, so they’re coordinating but not all the same. It’s about mixing patterns and creating interest rather than having everything be identical.
What common mistakes should people avoid when redesigning their spaces?
One of the biggest mistakes is not setting a budget from the start, even for small projects. Then you can be comfortable and allow yourself so many things within that budget. Another is not understanding scale of what they’re purchasing or putting in their spaces—getting the right size area rug, proper length drapes, and appropriately sized furniture can make or break a room. Is it too big? Is it too small? Does it shrink your room or make it feel cavernous? You can go online and Google the appropriate sizes for things.
If you’re doing something bolder in your space and bringing in more saturated colors and patterns, find things that are coordinating but not all the same. “Matchy-matchy” is no bueno! Don't buy the nightstands that match the bed that then match the dresser. Creating a collected look means coordinating elements rather than matching everything perfectly.
How important is it for homeowners to trust their personal style?
This is your home. A lot of people feel like they need to design their home for somebody else, for how it looks on Instagram. But they're not the ones living there. If you love the color purple, make it work in your home. Right now, we're in this moment where it's allowed and encouraged to design for yourself, which is really exciting. People are feeling more comfortable stepping outside the box they might have been in before, getting more creative with colors, patterns, and layout. I think there’s a lot more openness all around right now.
Get more interior inspiration at 27 South online 27-south.com or in person Thursday through Saturday 11 a.m.-4 p.m. (or by appointment) at 18822 Woodburn Road in Leesburg.
"A lot of people feel like they need to design their home for somebody else, for how it looks on Instagram. But they're not the ones living there."
"We're in this moment where it's allowed and encouraged to design for yourself, which is really exciting."