When Pinterest, the arbiter of data-driven changing preferences, released its 2026 trend forecast and announced ‘the decade of decadence is back’ after a 225% increase in searches for 1980s luxury, it was confirming an IRL shift already visible across design and culture.
Power dressing is taking over catwalks and wardrobes, while martnis – the liquid signifier of retro opulence – have replaced worthy natural wines as the drink du jour. The London outpost of New York institution Carbone, a byword for indulgent entertaining, was one of the capital’s most anticipated restaurant openings in years, while Peter Mikic’s animal-print-adorned Faena Hotel in Manhattan (an ELLE Decoration A-List Project) captures a growing appetite for largesse when it comes to interior decorating.
Carpeted walls, chintz, swag curtains and even avocado bathrooms are being reinterpreted for the modern home and, in the process, calling into question the notion of taste and what it takes for something once considered ‘bad’ to become ‘good’. ‘I don’t believe that design styles or eras should be put into categories of “good” or “bad”,’ says interior designer Olivia Snow, founder of Mother’s Daughter Design. ‘There are a lot of people who turn away from a space that makes a bold statement or has a time stamp, while others can look at something that appears outdated and see the potential to create something special.’
After the reign of quiet luxury, designers and homeowners are craving the kind of extravagant flourishes not seen since the martini’s last heyday. Decorating, it seems, has gotten its groove back.
Pile it on
Polished concrete, terrazzo, lacquer – until recently, it seemed anything could cover a floor except carpet. Now an increasingly common choice for underfoot (with colours overtaking neutrals), it’s also creeping across steps, ledges and even up walls. During last month’s Paris design week, Necchi Architecture launched its debut furniture collection for Monde Singulier in a showroom lined with baby-blue shag carpet to create ‘a fantasy mancave’, according to designers Charlotte Albert and Alexis Lamesta. Multifunctional design studio RedDuo collaborated with Besana Carpet Lab on the colour-drenched library in their home/showroom in Milan.
Animal instinct
There is no pattern more potentially polarising than animal print. A mainstay of design across fashion, furniture and interiors throughout the 20th century, it came to be embraced by camp cultural icons such as Joan Collins, Pat Butcher and, more recently, Alex Consani in a tiger-print faux-fur coat for Gucci’s short film The Tiger. After years of association with a lascivious brand of glamour, animal print is enjoying a revival across the design realm. Interior decorators are demonstrating restraint by using it as an accent on furniture and accessories, rather than across walls or floors. In the Paris home of Alexander Rash and Ravenna Sohst, Poltronova’s ‘Safari’ sofa by Archizoom is paired with an eclectic mix of decor that traverses time periods from the 1940s onwards. The 1968 design is as iconic as leopard print itself, and showcases this print’s timeless appeal (when used in moderation).
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More is moiré
The economic boom of the 1980s was reflected in opulent interiors. Luxurious textiles were integral to creating an extravagant mood: fabrics such as silk taffeta were draped, ruched and pleated to create tented ceilings, swag curtains and ruffled bedding. With the advent of 1990s minimalism and the influence of Scandinavian design, rooms cosseted in lengths of fabric soon felt outdated. Today, designers are channelling this decadent aesthetic by using moiré wallcoverings to capture 1980s excess, often turning to Italian fabric and wallpaper company Dedar: in a Naples home, architect Giuliano dell’Uva cloaked a room in ‘Amoir Fou’ from the brand, and interior-design studio Lizée Hugot also used a Dedar moiré
to create this jewel-box dressing room in a Parisian residence.
Avocado is good for you
Avocado bathrooms were so ubiquitous during the 1970s and 80s that homeowners were repelled for generations – until now. Instead of the murky green-brown suites of yesteryear, designers are introducing the hue through tiling and wall colours. Designers Monica Klink and Ségolène Peyrichou kept the scheme for this Parisian bathroom cohesive, pairing an avocado wall colour with green terrazzo tiles, while the interior architect Maye Ruiz appreciated the ‘subtle yellow undertone’ of the tiles she used for a project in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. ‘Darker greens absorbed too much light and flattened the space, so discovering this avocado shade felt almost like a turning point,’ she says.
Serious swag
Heavily swagged curtains are a signifier of the 1980s, but this style of drapery is currently enjoying a serious revival. When Olivia Snow first saw this Brooklyn sunroom, cloaked in a ruched, chintzy blue fabric, she ‘immediately felt inspired by upholstered walls in vintage design magazines’. ‘We doubled down on navy and added warm amber and brass tones to continue the vibe – with vintage tiger chairs and chainmail lamps by Wretched Flowers. The space was already maximalist, but we wanted to add furnishings that were special enough to hold their own against the window coverings and fabric walls,’ she says. Those not brave enough to commit fully could start with smaller details – exaggerated ruffles on sofa skirts are an accessible gateway to this look.
