Home Decor Trends That Will Lead 2012 By Storm: Part 1

Home decor has become quite a happening thing that can encompass your whim and personality more and more. It is more widely accepted to make your space a unique one instead of trying to keep up with the Jones’. Let’s take a look at what trends became red hot in 2011 and are sure to become more so as 2012 launches off.

Owls & Birds

The owl is a decor trend that has been there all along in some shape or form since the 1900’s. Through taxidermy, design inlay on a leather piece or stitched in to a hanky, these mysterious night creatures have been a part of our culture as a piece of interest for a very long time. I remember my grandmother had a macramé owl in her indoor greenhouse when I was a child and other various owl decor in a very 1970’s fashion.

green ceramic | white ceramic | tan ceramic | stonewarewooden | pillow with print | dish set  | pillow screen print  | coastersceramic wall hook | calendar

The recent trend of owls from about 2009 through the present has definitely picked up on a new level of design playing off of vintage styles with a modern day twist that makes them not so tasteless, but fascinating and simply adorable from everything home decor, holiday ornaments, fashion and party decor. People can’t seem to get enough owl.

grey and pink room | pink and green room | neuteral | white minimalist

The owl and bird trend in general, is not slowing down. At any rate it’s expanding with every which way it can. Other flighted creatures can also be seen in home decor in continuing trends, such as the little “blue bird” but owls seem to be on a branch of their own.

Wall Art – The Family Tree

circles with patterns & colors | blue lettered tree | 3D boxed tree | vintage blue and black treeelegant large tree | curly tree Continue Pinterest search on family tree wall art…

Wall decals and wall silhouettes with paint are not super new, but more recent trending is the art of the family tree, literally. Family tree, wall art is something to look out for more of in 2012.

Stair Makeovers

I am constantly amazed at what people are doing these days with their houses. These stair makeovers certainly came to be in 2011 and I don’t see them going anywhere except up in 2012. Think of the possibilities! I don’t know about you, but I’d love to makeover a set of stairs with COLOURlovers patterns! If only I had stairs…

yellow patterns | candy colors | rose girly wordspetal pattern | pantone swatches | colorfully carpeted

I adore these yellow stairs with varying patterns! Definitely something one could do with custom wall paper and some COLOURlovers made patterns! Aside from big booming bright

light blue patterns | black zig zagcrazy pattern mix | happy colorful words 

Patterns, patterns everywhere! There is also no shortage of big bold colorful stairs with a variety of messages leading up or down the steps. Why wasn’t this a fad 20 years ago, it’s so simple?

color names + slide stairs

If all else fails, go with stairs and a slide! I love how minimal, yet fun this set of stairs look. I love how this area is centered around the kids in the house, noting that there is a slide with a huge arrow pointing downhill. I could see many hours being spent here!

The Rebirth of Ruffles, Ruffles and more Ruffles

Boy have ruffles really been hot the last year or two and they’re only getting hotter and more varied. Pre-ruffled fabric, now available to everyone, has been taking fashion and home decor enthusiasts by storm in 2011.

white duvet partial ruffles | beige duvet partial ruffles | plumb full ruffle duvet | aqua gradient full ruffle duvet

In the past, ruffles have more traditionally been a seen on the fashion scene or when done with interiors in the 90’s on fairly tasteless fabric (to our generation) and nothing like what’s happening now. People love ruffles so much that it seems they have been incorporating them anywhere possible!

pile of ruffled pillows | coral pillow | dark gray pillow | pale pink ruffle-line pillow | stripes single ruffle pillow | hot pink full of ruffles pillow

From throw pillows, bed spreads, curtains, you name it, it can be covered in ruffles! What a great way to add physical texture to your home, but personally, take in to consideration that too much ruffle could happen.

dark gray ruffled curtains | tiny white ruffle striped curtains | teal and purple ruffle curtains | white ruffled tablecloth | hot pink 2 row ruffled curtains | gradient orange, coral to plumb ruffle curtains

The year is sure to bring on some exciting changes as well as morph and continue some of the quite popular trends of 2011.

Do you see any brand new trends for 2012 to claim all by itself? Were you looking for some digital assets to add to your decor? Check out Creative Market for some awesome downloads.

Author: Molly Bermea
Hi! I'm the COLOURlovers Community Curator. I come from a family with five imaginative kids. My mom instilled creativity to the max and you can usually find us scheming together, figuring out new ways to sew, craft or build DIY projects. The core of my artistic bone is in the art of painting.