Is Light Wood Furniture And Home Decor Coming Back In Style?

For years, all-white and neutral interiors have reigned supreme. Slick furniture with black and gray finishes was featured throughout the home, and gray-toned planks and tiles were the most popular flooring trends. However, designers and experts have noted a move away from these stoic and minimalist interiors. For example, 21 Oak reports that more and more people are moving away from using metal or exposed brick in their spaces — and that's allowing for natural wood to take more of a featured role in interior design.

Indeed, wood furniture and décor have both been trending recently. They both add more warmth to a space, a popular design element from recent years; interior styles like Scandinavian, Japandi, and mid-century modern have been gaining popularity because of the minimalist and modern — yet still warm and cozy — feeling they bring in. But though these aesthetics are trending, wood finishes work well with most other interior styles, according to LuxDeco. Notably, light woods like cedar, pines, and spruces are options to watch for furniture and décor.

Plenty of people find the all-white modern aesthetic (among others) very cold and unfeeling. That has fueled the move towards warmer interiors that feel more cozy and comforting. To that end, natural and light-colored woods bring pleasant tones back into the home, making spaces feel not like a showroom of beautiful furniture, but rather an enjoyable place to gather. Lighter wood shades in furniture are manifesting in organic textures like woven and wicker pieces, says Pella Windows and Doors.

Many homeowners are specifically using these woods for floors and furniture pieces. Lighter tones add a bit of color without darkening the space, after all, which can explain the reasoning for pivoting toward this trend. These floors and furniture pieces also allow a space to be bright and airy, says Wilding Wallbeds, a design feature that most people don't want to give up. Furthermore, light wood tones prevent the space from looking too sterile.

Lighter woods are part of a larger trend of incorporating natural tones and nature-inspired elements in the home. These highlights bring an organic sense into the space, which has led to resurgences in materials like terracotta and stoneware along with earthy textures like wood, says The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Earth tones and colors like reds, oranges, yellows, and beiges also complement lighter woods. This trend may also be the reason people are filling their spaces with greenery and foliage as well. Many people are switching to light wood finishes in places where metal tended to be, too. Furniture like coffee, side, and console tables, as well as décor accents like shelves and even tabletop trays, also feature this aesthetic. 

While darker stains feel more traditional, lighter woods definitely have a more modern feel. It's clear that natural woods are becoming the new neutral in interior design, and this design trend isn't going anywhere as people embrace cozier spaces.