While working on a recent project in Washington State, Heidi Caillier decided to go bold with the bathroom. Instead of installing uniform tiles, she covered the space in black and white bars that stretched from the walls to the floor. “Stripes typically add that masculine detail I’m looking for,” she says. “It perfectly balances out a more feminine print I’ve used in a space, like a favourite chintz or floral.”
Over in Beverly Hills, Nicole Fuller recently put black and white striped drapes over the living room windows of an estate. She liked the pattern so much that she used it again in a Miami penthouse project, where she lavished Loro Piana stripe fabrics across both walls and furniture. In a neighbourhood back in Brentwood, California, Tatum Kendrick turned a black-and-white striped fabric from Storheim into a wallpaper and installed it in a closet. And across the Atlantic in Madrid, Nacho Polo, gallerist and founder of STUDIOTWENTYSEVEN, put thick black and white stripes in his Madrid bathroom to lend it a “British touch”.
Back in Brooklyn, Crina Arghirescu Rogard also added a subtle striped floor runner to a Bed-Stuy townhouse to act as a visual foil to a pair of distinct fibreglass and resin wall sconces. “We often integrate stripes as a sophisticated accent pattern to our interiors to create rhythm and strike interest,” she says.
Stripes in the nursery of Emilia Wickstead’s London home.
Kate Martin
So, yes. If you want to keep up with the latest interior design trends, you may need to lean into stripes. According to multiple interior designers, the classic geometric pattern has seen a newfound surge in popularity. Why? Many point to the pandemic, where the pendulum of interior design swung towards muted earth tones, minimal decoration, and spa-like interiors. When the world outside was so uncertain, inside, we craved temples of calm.
That aforementioned style is still very much in. But fast forward to 2024, and people want their homes to make a visual statement again: “After several years of quiet plaster and monochromatic themes in design, I think people are craving a bit more visual impact and stripes are a natural first choice. Stripes give that punch but are still relatively easy to work with stylistically,” says Tatum Kendrick of Tatum Kendrick Design. Callier agrees: “We’re all craving a bit more fun with design this year, and stripes are an easy way to punch up an upholstered piece, soft accessories, and wall coverings.”