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It’s already the end of January. Am I too late for a ‘2025 design trends’ write-up?

Actually, scratch that. This isn’t a list of what I think will be ‘in’ in 2025. This is just a list of trendy interior design techniques that I’ve used in my home and will probably continue to use in client homes.

So here goes!

Painted Ceilings

I’m obsessed with the look of a bold painted ceiling, especially when paired with white walls.

I think the first time I saw it done really well was by interior designer Natalie Papier, which of course inspired me to try it myself in our bedroom and guest bedroom.

A painted ceiling basically blankets the room in colour from above. For me, this means I can get away with a more pared back colour scheme on ground level, since the ceiling does a lot of the heavy lifting when it comes to colour.

Painting a ceiling is not for the fainthearted, though! Despite the back ache, the yellow ceiling wasn’t too difficult to achieve ourselves, however the black ceiling was a b*tch to get right. We attempted it, but the streaks from the roller were no joke! So we enlisted the services of a professional painter, who sprayed both the ceiling and cornice.

The finished ceiling was definitely worth the extra expense. So hot tip: if you’re going dark, get someone who knows what they’re doing to spray it. If you’re going light, you should be alright.

🎬 WATCH: Painted Ceilings

Colour Drenching

Taking the painted ceiling trend a few steps further, colour drenching is when you paint the walls, ceiling, trim and any built-in cabinetry all the same colour.

It’s a trend that has quickly gained momentum. Instagram is chockablock full with colour drenched interiors, including our home library which we drenched in 2023. It didn’t start out that way; everything except the ceiling was green. Once we painted the ceiling, it finally felt cosy and correct.

If you’re going for cosy, colour drenching will do that for you. A lot of people might tell you that painting your ceiling or using a darker colour will make the room feel smaller, but colour drenching actually has the opposite effect.

Having your walls, ceiling, trim and built-ins different colours creates lines, giving your eye more zones to “read”. In a colour drenched room, the eye reads it all as one, in turn making the room feel like a big, cosy, monochrome masterpiece.

🎬 WATCH: Colour Drenched Library

Mismatched Chairs

Who said all your dining chairs need to be the same?

Here are a few reasons to go mismatched:

🤑 One-off chairs are cheap secondhand
😍 You can get all the styles you like
🤓 Different shapes add visual interest
😊 Replacing a damaged one will be easy
🧐 No confusion over which chair is “my chair”

When done well, mismatched dining chairs can add a whole lot of personality to a space.

The chairs could be completely different styles, shapes or colours. Or to play it a little safer, you could get your mismatched chairs in matching colours.

We bought six secondhand chairs on Facebook Marketplace then gave them all a lick of white paint to unify them. There are a couple of wobblers now, but no biggy. We can easily source more and do the same thing.

🎬 WATCH: Mismatched Chairs

Irregular Shaped Rugs

I’ve always thought that rugs make a room, so you’ll find them everywhere in our house.

But guess what? They’re not all straight!

There’s no reason all your rugs have to be rectangular. Irregular shaped rugs add movement and surprise to a space, and even more so than other rugs, they’re artwork for your floor.

In our playroom, we have an amazing chinoserie tiger rug that’s perfect for practicing handstands on.

We also have a trippy black and white wool rug that covers some dodgy mismatched flooring between our living space and home library. While I initially put a rug here to cover up the ugly intersection, it’s now one of my favourite parts of the house because of how weird, wonderful and unexpected it is.

🎬 WATCH: Irregular Rugs

Gallery Walls

Gallery walls have been all the rage for years now, but they’re certainly not a modern design technique.

Gallery walls have adorned majestic homes since 17th century Paris, because sometimes more is more and just one piece of art won’t cut it.

If, like me, you have a lot of likes, gallery walls are a surefire way to say everything you want to say. And if one day you don’t want to express yourself that way anymore, you can switch up the art whenever you like.

There’s definitely a bit of pre-planning involved in hanging a gallery wall, but they’re oh so worth it!

We’ve taken a colourful ‘intentional clutter’ route with our obnoxiously large gallery wall, but I’ve seen beautiful, warm, neutral gallery walls done too. There are gallery walls for every vibe; Pinterest is your friend!

🎬 WATCH: How to hang a gallery wall

Sculptural Overhead Lighting

Even though I avoid turning on overhead lighting unless I absolutely must, I still want anything that’s functional to also be beautiful.

Ceilings (or the ‘fifth wall’) are sadly often overlooked. In a world full of boring downlights, do not miss the opportunity to add sculpture to your ceiling via pretty pendants, flush mounts and chandeliers.

If you’ve got high ceilings, you’re lucky. Go crazy! If you haven’t got high ceilings, you can still get away with hanging pendants over dining tables and coffee tables, since you won’t be walking under them. Doing this is also a great way to help zone a space.

In our entryway, we chose a close-to-ceiling chandelier which ticks the sculpture box for me, without my 6 foot 1 baby daddy hitting his head on it.

Of course, you’ll need an electrician to install most of your overhead lighting for you, but it’s worth the investment.

If you’re in the market for eclectic lighting, visit Residence Supply and use code MISMATCHED for a 10% discount.

🎬 WATCH: Entry Light

Bookshelf Wealth

You won’t find too many empty shelves in my home. Actually, you won’t find any.

Bookshelf wealth is a maximalist interior design trend that describes shelves filled with books and other objects that reflect the owner’s personality, likes and interests.

Shelves are a great opportunity to showcase all your quirky collections. For me, it’s travel mementos, little trinkets I find while opshopping, family photos, mini bud vases and of course, book collections and bookends.

The great thing about bookshelf wealth is that “less is more” doesn’t apply, which makes decorating a bit easier. Start with a collection of books, then add a pretty bookend (or something chunky that can act as a bookend), then decorate the empty space in a visual three; a large item, a medium item and a smaller item.

🎬 WATCH: Bookshelf Wealth

Layered Linen Sheets

OK so this probably isn’t an eclectic interior design trend as such, but it’s still one I’m obsessed with!

Beds tend to look better with more. More pillows. More patterns. More layers. But that can be quite impractical day-to-day, and personally, my partner will not tolerate too many pillows on the bed or on the floor, so what’s the point of having that argument every day?

So instead, I like to keep it simple with layered linen sheets in contrasting colours, with a chunky blanket in Winter or a light bedspread in Summer. Pop a long lumbar cushion in the middle and Bob’s your Uncle!

🎬 WATCH: Make Your Bed

Built-In Picture Ledges

Wall panelling is just another way to make your wall more interesting.

Of course, you could stick with just adding panelling (or beadboard) to your walls, paint it a cute colour and call it a day. Or, you could take it one step further and add a ledge on top of it so you can display art, books and small decor along the wall.

Ledges are great because you don’t have to commit to hanging anything on the wall, giving you the freedom to change things whenever you like.

In our playroom, a picture ledge is home to super cute Cass Danson art plus a collection of Little People Big Dreams books. We took it another step further and added a peg rail all along the wall so our daughter can hang her little handbags, Polly Pockets and what have her.

🎬 WATCH: Playroom Peg Rail Ledge

Half & Half Walls

If you’re scared of committing to floor-to-ceiling colour (especially if your chosen hue is a little bolder), painting just the lower half of your walls is a great way to add colour without going gung ho.

We initially chose to paint the lower half of our daughter’s bedroom a bold purple colour (Taubmans Grape Juice) because everything was low; a lower bed to avoid ouchies and shorter furniture to promote her independence. Painting the lower half of the walls helps distract the eye from the fact that everything is closer to the ground.

It was definitely tricky getting the line just right though. If you want to give it a go, make sure you use good quality painters tape to seperate the two areas, and before you go in with your bold colour, paint over the tape seam with the original colour (in our case, white). This will ensure that if there is any paint bleed, it’s the same colour as the first half… so you’ll have a clean line every time.

🎬 WATCH: How to paint a clean line

👉 Follow @mismatchedhome on Instagram and Pinterest for more design tips.