23 Timeless Decor Secrets Every Homeowner Should Try

While interior design trends can come and go, some timeless decor ideas persist, either losing popularity occasionally or remaining standout and appealing options year after year.

Of course, there are many timeless decor secrets that every homeowner should try that they may not be aware of or at least haven’t considered yet. So, let’s dive in and look at 23 superb examples!

1. Sunset Colours

Sunset tones like deep browns, solar oranges and softened reds remain suitable yet subtle examples of timeless interior decor enabling a warm, traditional look.

2. Earthy Visuals

From ancient Greece to Mesoamerican cultures and beyond to modern post-industrial civilisation, earthy visuals have proven a timeless classic when it comes to interior decor. It’s no surprise given how beautiful we often find nature.

Along with utilising Earthy colours (e.g. Racing Green, Oceanic Blue, Olive, Verdure and Mauve Hues), an Earthy appearance can be achieved with the use of natural materials such as hardwood, natural stone and others.

3. Utilising Geometric Patterns

Another timeless decor style is the use of geometric patterns. This may be achieved with geometric wallpaper, geometric patterned bed covers/pillows or even a geometric style of wall tiles installation. As for the latter, this refers to the shape of tiles themselves that create the geometric patterns here as opposed to designs imprinted on individual times).

Whatever the case, geometric patterns can prove a great addition to your home and act as a way of adding flare and character.

4. Calm Pastels

Calm or muted pastels are another way of adding a touch of luxury and extra character to your home. These tones can reflect light better and create an Earthier, more spacious look and feel.

These pastel colours may include Light- to Medium-Pink, Emerald Green, Soft Yellow and Amethyst (a vibrant violet tone found as a type of quartz gemstone in nature).

5. Curved Silhouettes

This form of interior decor has a modern rendition (set to trend in 2024) in the form of ‘curved silhouettes’. This can refer to chairs, sofas or other types of furniture including cabinet furniture with curved tops.

This curved design can provide a modern, smooth aesthetic that nonetheless harks back to the curved architectural designs of antiquity.

6. Floral Interior Design Visuals

Just as geometric patterns remain popular in 2024 so do floral interior visuals. This timeless design might manifest with floral wallpaper, floral-decorated cushions or/and literally adding houseplants to suitable locations and spaces throughout.

That said, if you have pets just be sure that any houseplants you add are not poisonous to them.

7. Long-Lasting Furniture and Fittings

Relatively simple and unassuming furniture and fittings that nonetheless come with durable and long-lasting properties continue to be a standout option for households in the 2020s. This might refer to couches, shelves, pillows and more.

8. Gold Tones

From the ancient Egyptians utilising gold to create aristocratic ornaments of the highest order to the gold used, to at least coat, the medals adorned by the greatest athletes on Earth in the modern era, gold has always been a stunning and cherished material and colour for humanity.

So, it’s no surprise that gold tones have made it on this list. Even if you aren’t purchasing actual gold, these tones can be added to your home in many ways, such as with golden-framed mirrors, golden lighting fixtures and gold-toned walls.

9. Introduce Arches to Your Home

Along with curved silhouettes, you should consider having arches added to your home (e.g. between rooms). Arches can act as a timeless way of introducing a refreshing design to your home.

10. Red Earthy Ceramics

There are many ways to add red earthy ceramics to a home. Top examples include tiling (wall or/and floor tiling that is), ceramic ornaments and even wall art that utilises red earthy ceramics.

11. Minimalism (or Maximalism)

Note: Minimalism and maximalism may have different effects of mental health depending on a person’s psychology and preferences, so do keep this in mind to ensure you feel comfortable in your own space per its design/décor.

Consciously or not, minimalism and its opposing twin (no, not evil twin), maximalism, have appeared time and again in the world of interior design. What works best will depend on your preferences. It’s sort of like ‘Are you a dog person or a cat person?’. If half your house wants minimalism and half prefers maximalism… maybe skip over this one!

12. Cosy Decor

Cosy decor has been a prominent preferred feature of interior design going back centuries, though only in recent eras has it become increasingly accessible. This can be seen in the latest ‘cosy trend’, that being comfortcore which took off last year.

Some stand out cosy decor ideas include rugs atop hardwood floors, cosy reading nooks, adding more blankets (you can always have more blankets), rugs, warm wall colours and more.

13. English Country Style

The English country style is a timeless decor design that can add a quaint, homely vibe to your home, where the Carolean era (that’s what this era of King Charles III is called - though the name may not catch on for some time), the Victorian era and Regency era meet for a hi-tech yet splendid tea party.

Setting aside the metaphors, in practice an English country style may mean adding cottage furniture, an English roll arm sofa, cottage architectural designs, natural materials and treasures (or faux treasure).

14. Introducing Antiques

Continuing on from the idea of adding ‘treasure’ to your home, antiques can provide an aura of sophistication and a splendour of striking visuals, which will truly enhance the appearance of a chosen space in your home.

Some antiques worth adding (and where possible, it’s best to go with originals for a more authentic, encapsulating decor) include artwork, pottery, ornaments, cabinets and clocks. Of course, along with purchasing antiques, you may have some cherished family heirlooms you’d like to put on display in your home.

15. Add a Chandelier

Chandeliers as we know them date back to around the 15th century, however, somewhat similar designs emerged in ancient times.

Having a suitably and safely installed chandelier added to your home (you must hire an electrician and ensure that the ceiling has the strength to hold up said chandelier) can introduce glamour and luxury in a way that very few instalments can, not to mention acting as a superb timeless addition that can still inspire gasps in visitors in the age of spaceflight and touchscreen devices.

16. The Clutter-Free Look

While this seems overly simplistic, taking the approach to free your home of clutter can go a long way to improving the look and feel of your home. Ultimately, this relates to the timeless decor of spaciousness.

This may be more challenging in some households than others but by using best judgment or/and hiring an interior designer, reducing clutter to a large degree is often possible with changes such as introducing built-in storage, throwing out what you don’t need or/and placing items that you don’t currently need (but may want later) in the attic or another suitable storage space.

17. Allow Textures to Crossover

Throughout history, one decor approach that has often appeared is crossing over different textures. This can make it possible to create stand out and intriguing interior designs.

To layer different textures in practice, and as just some notable examples, you may prefer to have a dark-toned faux leather sofa placed atop a light-coloured carpet or by having a mixture of matte and glazed ornaments to contrast one another in spectacular ways.

18. Personalisation

For as long as it’s been possible, firstly with the wealthy and powerful (at least mostly so) but then increasingly with us regular folk, homes have looked for ways to personalise their interiors. This may include family photographs, family heirlooms or/and artwork close to your heart among other additions.

19. Striped Patterns

While arguably not as popular as geometric or floral patterns, striped patterns are still a valid means of introducing fresh character and visual intrigue to your home. From striped patterned walls to sofas to curtains, there exist a whole host of ways that you can achieve this decor today.

20. Shaker-Style Cabinets

Shaker-style cabinets have been popular (to varying degrees) since at least the 1800s. They are recognised for being cabinets with a simplistic design using clean lines and several piece cabinet doors, also with a slightly depressed centre panel.

21. Open-Plan Living

Open floor plans involve designing an area of your home to be spacious and, well, of course, open. To get open-plan living right, you’ll want to work an architect or interior designer (though this doesn’t come cheap).

You may also need a wall to be knocked down, if possible, to achieve the optimal results, although this requires the work of professionals to ensure if it is safe and if not, that an RJS can be installed (here a structural engineer will be needed).

So, as you can see, while a timeless approach to achieving spaciousness, open-plan living is expensive, meaning that decluttering or other methods of creating more spaciousness (e.g. adding mirrors or/and light-coloured walls) may be better options.

22. Rattan Furniture

Rattan furniture is durable in more ways than one; the material is made to last, and this form of interior design decor has been used time and time again throughout the ages. Rattan furniture is light, sustainable, budget-friendly friendly and provides a natural, timeless appearance.

23. Other Classic Furniture

From rustic dining tables to tulip tables to the Chesterfield sofa, there are many standout examples of classic furniture that can still look the part in a 21st century home. Classic furniture can provide additional character and warmth to an interior space.