The Daring '80s Trend That's Taking Over Home Design Again In 2025

Recent home design has started leaning toward something louder, a little brighter, and a lot more personal. If you've seen rooms filled with bold patterns, clashing colors, and shelves brimming with quirky treasures, you've just spotted the return of maximalism. First made popular in the 1980s, this design approach is all about embracing abundance — mixing textures, layering styles, and letting your personality spill into every corner of your home. After years of soft neutrals and minimal setups, maximalism feels like a deep design exhale. It allows people to experiment with their space, where your home tells a story that is uniquely you!

Maximalism's resurgence can be explained in part by two reasons. Similar to fashion, interior design trends tend to swing on a pendulum that every so often revives old ideals. In this instance, homes seem to be leaving behind the disappointing downsides of minimalist decor for something that feels more intentional and personal. For some homeowners, it's a reaction to pandemic restrictions, when their home became everything from an office or gym to a classroom. During that time, interior design took a more practical approach, often prioritizing functional furniture and decor over bold style choices. Now, as life finds a new rhythm and homeowners are reevaluating how they interact with their space, there seems to be a call for something more expressive and artistic. While today's maximalism may be a nostalgic callback to the 1980s, it feels less chaotic. Rather than boldness just for the sake of it, each piece is carefully curated to reflect the homeowner's unique personality and interests and layered to feel intentional, whether it's a favorite vintage find, a bright paint color, or artwork that tells your story.

While maximalism may share a name with its '80s counterpart, today's take feels noticeably different. Gone are the days of heavy clashing patterns and a "more is more" approach to design. Modern maximalism blends the traditional boldness with intentionality, as homeowners are choosing decor that tells a unique story. It's all about how each piece interacts with one another, whether it's intentionally combining earth tones and jewel tones or layering textures by hanging rugs as wall artwork and embracing vibrant patterns and textiles. Many chosen pieces have vintage or artisanal roots that reflect a growing appreciation for craftsmanship and sustainable design. Current color trends — such as rich reds, botanical greens, and golden yellows — also work seamlessly with maximalism's multi-faceted approach. Meanwhile other design features like statement lighting, patterned upholstery, and mixed-material furniture are also being used to create a space that not only feels vibrant, but calculated.

Industry experts suggest that maximalism isn't just a fleeting comeback; it's likely to remain a strong design influence at least through 2026. This is partly due to its flexibility, easily interacting with other rising trends like the return of warm wood tones, more people bringing biophilic design into the home, and the embrace of individual cultural significance through interior design. Social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok have also helped the trend thrive, with highly visual, detail-rich interiors naturally catching more attention online than pared-back minimalism. It's a style that reflects not just the return of an aesthetic preference, but a cultural shift back toward more personal, expressive living spaces.