Our Design Expert's Guide to 2025: Trends to Skip & Tips for Personalizing Your Space

Key Takeaways

Shift from Mass-Produced to Meaningful Decor

• Moving away from generic decor toward personalized, memory-evoking pieces like framed handwritten notes and vintage family photos.

Farewell to “Sad Beige” Neutrals

• Embracing vibrant, mismatched decor (“dopamine decor”) that brings color and individuality back into spaces.

DIY Decor as a Rising Trend

• Growing popularity of DIY projects for adding a personal touch, including custom holiday cards and photo books that reflect cherished memories.

Luxurious Touches in Holiday Greetings

• Trends in high-quality materials for holiday cards (e.g., real gold foil, pearl paper) and durable, stylish lay-flat photo albums as decor staples.

Minimalism with a Preppy Twist

• Minimalism remains, but with classic, playful details like gingham, plaid, monograms, and wavy frames that add charm to holiday decor.

Cooler Holiday Color Schemes

• Shift toward inclusive and neutral holiday colors (blue, white, silver), allowing for broader, non-specific holiday messages.

Handmade Gifts Driven by TikTok DIY Trends

• DIY gifts, like custom photo calendars and homemade treats, gain popularity as thoughtful, budget-friendly alternatives to store-bought gifts.

Mindfulness and Gratitude through Holiday Cards

• Holiday cards become a reflective practice, emphasizing gratitude, memory-sharing, and a mindful connection with loved ones.

Quirky Holiday Cards for 2025

• Rise in creative, humorous holiday cards, such as those featuring pets' perspectives or witty captions, to reflect personality and originality.

As we look ahead to 2025, interior design is entering a new era. The once-popular minimalist aesthetic is being traded for more meaningful, personal touches that breathe life into home decor. Mixbook Design Manager, Ellie Trebino Kelm, shared the design trends she’s excited to see fade away, what’s coming next, and how creativity will shape the future of home and holiday design.

Here’s what she had to say about the trends making their exit—and how to stay ahead of the design curve.

The Shift from Mass-Produced to Meaningful Decor

In recent years, mass-produced home decor from big-box retailers like Target or HomeGoods has dominated living spaces, with many homes starting to look more alike than different. The sterile, copy-paste decor has finally reached a breaking point. According to Ellie, "I’m excited to see less of the mass-produced home decor that lacks personality and meaning. People are gravitating towards items that have personal value and evoke memories."

There’s a growing appreciation for decorating with pieces that tell a story. Ellie mentioned a few favorites: framing handwritten notes, postcards from memorable trips, matchbooks from favorite restaurants, and vintage family photos. These elements add a layer of warmth and individuality that generic decor simply can’t match.

Say Goodbye to “Sad Beige” Neutrals

For the past few years, we’ve been living in the era of beige—rooms awash in neutrals that, while calming, can feel uninspiring. However, 2025 promises a departure from this drab palette. "It’s exciting to see color and personality coming back to home decor," our designer shared. TikTok has coined a term for this—“dopamine decor”—which embraces bright, mismatched, and collected items that spark joy, regardless of whether they perfectly match.

The idea here is to celebrate what makes your home uniquely yours. Gone are the days of bland minimalism; in its place is vibrant, personal expression.

DIY Decor: Crafting Memories for Your Space

One of the most significant design trends predicted to dominate the holiday season and beyond is the rise of DIY decor. As people seek to infuse their homes with more of their own creativity, TikTok has exploded with innovative ideas for crafting custom home decor. “Making something yourself adds another level of value that you don’t get from purchasing,” our designer said.

This DIY trend also extends to custom holiday cards and creative photo books. As travel experiences take center stage in people’s lives post-pandemic, more people are designing personalized coffee table books that fit their aesthetic and serve as visual reminders of their favorite moments.

This desire for meaningful, bespoke items over cookie-cutter designs is part of a broader cultural shift toward more mindful living, where every object in a home tells a story.

Luxurious Touches: Holiday Cards & Photo Books

For those looking to add a touch of luxury to their holiday greetings and photo albums, our designer pointed out some trending materials: "Real gold foil on holiday cards adds a beautiful, professional touch that makes them stand out, and pearl paper helps photos pop with an elegant sheen."

The trend toward lay-flat photo albums is also worth noting. "A lay-flat album is perfect for creating high-end guest books or wedding albums, or even a statement coffee table book," our designer said. These albums are durable, sleek, and can serve as centerpieces in your home, blending function and style effortlessly.

Minimalism with a Twist: Timeless, Preppy Holiday Styles

When it comes to holiday decor, minimalism isn’t going away, but it’s taking on a fresh look. Rather than the stark and cold aesthetics of recent years, we’re seeing a resurgence of traditional holiday elements infused with preppy, timeless styles.

Think bows and ribbons, gingham and plaid patterns, monograms, and serif fonts. "We’ll also see playful framing with wavy and organic shapes," the designer added, giving a modern edge to familiar, classic designs.

This approach extends to holiday cards, where clean, elegant designs are favored, but with fun twists that keep them from feeling too formal or impersonal.

Cooler Tones: A New Take on Holiday Colors

One of the more interesting shifts we’ve seen recently is the movement away from classic warm holiday tones—red, green, and gold—and toward cooler hues like blue, white, and silver. "Color trends cycle, and people are gravitating toward schemes that feel fresh," Ellie explained.

This shift isn’t just about aesthetics. It also speaks to inclusivity. "Moving away from the traditional red and green opens the door for holiday decor to feel more inclusive, acknowledging the many holidays celebrated at this time of year."

Additionally, more neutral or cooler-toned cards tend to be used for messages that embrace inclusivity, such as "Happy Everything" or "Season’s Greetings," as opposed to holiday-specific sentiments. This reflects a broader cultural desire to make the holiday season welcoming to all.

DIY, TikTok, and Handmade Gifts: A Crafty Holiday Season

With TikTok driving DIY trends, handmade crafts and gifts are enjoying a major resurgence. "TikTok has shown that there are many ways to create gifts that don’t require a high price tag," Ellie said. DIY projects are gaining popularity because they offer a personal, heartfelt alternative to store-bought gifts, especially during the holiday season.

Whether it’s crafting homemade fudge or designing a custom photo calendar filled with family memories, handmade gifts allow givers to show loved ones how much they care. "To be loved is to be seen," Ellie shared, emphasizing how personal gifts and custom holiday cards create a lasting impact.

Practicing Mindfulness and Gratitude with Holiday Cards

Holiday cards aren’t just about sending greetings—they’re also an opportunity to reflect on the past year. "Designing a holiday card allows you to spend time reflecting on your favorite memories," says Ellie. Sorting through photos, picking out your favorite moments, and sharing them with loved ones is a creative and mindful practice.

Holiday cards have become a form of self-expression, giving families a chance to showcase their personalities. And this mindfulness extends beyond the cards themselves—it’s a way to connect, to be present, and to find gratitude for the memories made throughout the year.

Quirky Holiday Cards for 2025: Humor and Creativity Shine

Finally, for those tired of the standard holiday card, Ellie offered some creative ideas: "Send a card from the perspective of your pet, or share a collage of family selfies from the year." Humor and originality are key here. Poses inspired by the Brady Bunch, or witty captions like “Naughty List, Party of 2” and “Well, we tried,” are just some of the quirky and fun ways to create unforgettable holiday greetings.

As we move into 2025, the design trends show a clear shift toward personalization, creativity, and meaning. Whether it’s ditching mass-produced decor, embracing DIY projects, or designing holiday cards that reflect your family’s unique style, there’s never been a better time to express yourself through design. The future of decor is full of personality, and we can’t wait to see how it transforms our spaces and holiday traditions.