Top and shorts, Petar Petrov. Earrings, Ana Khouri. Wysiwyg chair; Wysiwyg ottoman, both by Vladimir Kagan for Holly Hunt. E.T.A. fibreglass lamp (just seen) by Guglielmo Berchicci for Kundalini for Pop Up Home curated by Tricia Benitez Beanum
Expressive Elegance combines an updated view of Art Deco and Italian midcentury with today’s minimal sensibility. One way this manifests itself is in artfully graceful furniture that is both sleek and comfortable.
‘One of the best things about the way that the great Italian masters designed is how comfortable the shapes they used were,’ says the New York and London-based designer Lee Broom. ‘High-backed chairs, rounded edges, an effortless elegance. This same approach is being seen today, used to create rooms that blend curves and geometry in a way that invites you to unwind.’
Choose graceful, comfortable furniture
interiors don’t need
to feel ostentatious
Photography by Ricardo Labougle. Design by Maddux Creative
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Shop the Expressive Elegance look
What is Expressive Elegance? 2024’s new trend explained
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Shop the Expressive Elegance look
What is Expressive Elegance? 2024’s new trend explained
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Despite the gilt edges, the refined materials and imbued sense of luxury, don’t confuse the Expressive Elegance trend with being expressly expensive.
‘Interiors need to not feel ostentatious, and luxury is being redefined,’ says the interior designer Noa Santos. ‘You don’t want to feel like you’re in a museum, you want to be comfortable, and have a house that works for the way you live. Just like in fashion, gone are the days when you might be decked out in labels head to toe, and now it’s about the high/low mentality as overspending doesn’t feel chic. We did a dining room where the wallpaper was a wonderful de Gournay mural but the chairs were from cb2.’
Don't Mistake Expense for Elegance
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Interior designer Brigette Romanek is one the leading lights of the expressive elegance trend, and the home she designed for Gwyneth Paltrow is what kickstarted the movement. Bar, swing seat and all.
It’s a space full of contrasts.’Textures are so important,’ Brigette says. ‘[Gwyneth and I] put samples together until we came up with what felt really livable and easy. It's a fancy bar, but you could have your shoes off on this cosy rug to walk over to it. I love linen because it supports anything you want to do, whether you want a cosy look or something more smart. It's got such a relaxed beauty to it. I also really like mohair and all of the fun colors on offer now; I love alpaca, I love worn-in leather. But I think having a lot of mixed textures makes a space cozier.’
Blend sleek finishes with softness
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Being cosseted and comforted is a key part of this trend - don’t be afraid to add (a few) sensual textures to give you the feeling of being wrapped up. A plush rug or even carpet is shorthand for this.
‘It’s the textures,’ agrees the interior designer Olga Ashby, when it comes to this aesthetic. ‘There should be a whole variety. Something very silky like a good quality velvet - but not too shiny a one - on the couch. Then a tactile rug. I want your feet to have an experience. If you can walk on something barefoot then you know it’s safe, which is very comforting.’
Use Textures for Warmth
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A simple way to soften smarter rooms - and make them more expressively elegant - is to play with curved shapes and rounded edges. They create a sense of fluidity, peace and a social vibe. Avoid chunkiness at all costs - it hampers flow and stops spaces feeling quite so inviting.
‘This formal dining room is not so formal,’ says Kristen Peña, founder of San Francisco-based K Interiors. The reason - in big part - is because of the sensually-shaped table. ‘Its design makes it a piece that encourages conversation,’ Kristen adds.
Flow Curved Furniture into Typically Formal Spaces
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What elevates every choice you make, what really expresses the most elegance, is the finishing touch of some well-curated art. Because walls are left neutral or earth toned, and furniture layouts tend to be sparing, you’ll need add some art. Think of it as the room’s jewelry.
‘Art creates a focal point,’ says the international interior designer Russell Sage. ‘And I like to see twice as much as you think you need on a wall. We’re not in a minimalist era, and moving art around is the easiest thing to do.’ Far easier, of course, than furniture. ‘Swap [your art] as your mood changes,’ Russell adds. ‘Perhaps even think of it as a Spring collection and a Fall one.’ Have you ever heard of any approach to curation that is quite so decadent? Quite so…fabulously elegant?
Use Art as a Colorful Finishing Touch
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Daybeds are the hero piece of the Expressive Elegance trend, the one item of furniture that everything else revolves around. Why? Because they symbolize and imply an approach to life that is refined yet relaxed. Plus they allow light - and conversation - to flow.
‘I love them because they’re double sided,’ says interior designer Jake Arnold, who rarely completes a project without one. ‘You can sit on one and part of you can face the sofa in one direction, the other part can face the dining table - it’s so sociable. They also help to create a more intimate space as its backless nature means it doesn’t cause any sense of separation. Two sofas opposite each other doesn’t feel very right for now - they’re too rigid, and create too much a zone in the middle of a space. Plus, why wouldn’t you want to lounge on a daybed?!’
You’ll Need Furniture to Lie Down on
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One of the most elegant tenets of this take on expressiveness is to have the confidence not to overcrowd your space. There is the design equivalent of a deep breath and well-chosen and favored pieces are allowed to be shown off - uncluttered - to their best advantage.
‘In order to let a beautiful piece of furniture sing you have to give it some room,’ says Jo le Gleud, co-founder of the international design agency Maddux Creative. ‘I am a maximalist at heart, but that doesn’t mean I don’t like space around the pieces I decorate with - that’s where you find the peace. With any room, know when to stop. Keep taking a step back, look at the vignettes you’re putting together. I always advise anyone to take a photo on their phone as it gives you a frame and helps you isolate pockets within a room, helping you to understand who and why each corner works - or doesn’t. They may well be enough just as they are.’
Carefully Curate your Objets
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Architectural features or strongly graphic furniture are a key part of this look, and they will pop out against the neutral backdrop if strong colors are chosen for them. This staircase - an original from the Hollywood Regency era - is was painted black by design studio LALA Reimagined when it was refurbishing this home in Los Angeles.
‘The staircase was brown,’ says studio co-founder Azar Fattah, who chose black to be reminiscent of the mid-century designer Jean Royere. ‘We find focal moments have more impact when they are not expected.’
But Don’t be Afraid of Dark Accents
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New York and London-based designer Bryan O’Sullivan is known for his expressivly elegant interiors, introducing curves and tactile textures into spaces like the Maybourne Beverly Hills Hotel. But his schemes always layer on top of corals, creams and an undercurrent of neutrality, which helps to make everything feel more elegant.
‘We always use quite a lot of neutrals,’ he says. ‘Whites, off-whites, chalky plaster walls which I like because they’re quite calm. Soft pinks, corals, light blues - shades on the pastel end of the spectrum so they’re not too oppressive. Using those colors can remind you of the wonderful weather, the Instagram-like filter of the LA sunset. The good times.’
Use a Base Palette of Soft Neutrals and Blush Tones
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Photography by Roberto Garcia. Design by LALA Reimagined
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Feature Pip Rich
The Expressive Elegance trend helps to create rooms that are relaxed,
refined and revitalizing. It does it through updating elegant historical references – Art Deco and Italian post-war design - and adding in an understated but individual expression. Some of the world’s best interior designers explain how to get it right
Expressive Elegance: The Design Rules
Behind 2024's Hottest New Trend
Photography Shane McCauley fashion stylist Danielle Goldberg VP of Creative Alexa Wiley Director of Production Samantha Rockman
Actress Laura Harrier is the embodiment of Expressive Elegance - the emerging design style of 2024. She's also interiors obsessed. Global Brand Director Sarah Spiteri meets her and gets to the bottom of it all
Laura Harrier on Modern Maximalism, Martini Vibes and Why She Hates Quiet Luxury
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