A Year, Seen Through Design

It’s the end of the year, and our homes are feeling cool, calm and full of those beautiful pieces we’ve collected over the last 12 months. They’re confident and considered, really representing our personal style in a way that’s time-proof and deeply personal. Don’t say the word ‘trend’ around here right now, it’s been about so much more than that. If last year was about eclecticism and experimenting, 2024 was when we put what we’d learned to good use and discovered ourselves along the way.

Twelve months ago, our homes were progressive but actually a bit all over the place, weren’t they? Yes, it was the year’s trends – sorry, ‘interiors phases’ shall we say – really faded into the background, and we began to think about what we really want, but in the transition things were a little bit mish-mashy. A taste of this, a sample of that – in 2023 we tried it all out, and 2024 was when we made our choices.

Another year of interiors (and exteriors) has reached its colourful crescendo here at Chaplins. With it comes our all-encompassing retrospective round-up deciphering 365 days of furniture favourites, timeless trends, evolving spaces, showroom celebrations, and the design stories we’ve been so proud to be part of. A Chaplins Wrapped, if you will: an overarching look at what was, and a little peek into what will be (minus the ghosts and Tiny Tim).

While we’ll let our beautiful spaces speak for themselves soon enough, we’re starting our yearly review by looking at what the most important stats and styles of 2025 are telling us.

2025 saw our showroom play host to everything from major exclusives and colossal collaborations to the future of micro-living technology. We expanded our ever-evolving, UK largest displays of Cattelan Italia, Moroso, and Porada to better represent the best of our biggest names. We were the exclusive home for exciting reissues and designs from the likes of Pierre Paulin, Jil Sander and Michael Anastassiades. We even helped our brands blur the lines between furniture and fame by co-launching the Moooi x Robbie Williams Introvert chair.

We were also fortunate enough to welcome back some old friends, with De Sede and Interlübke returning to our furniture family. Leather-clad icons like the DS-600 Snake Sofa and DS-266 Yoga Lounge Chair have taken pride of place, while we’ve also introduced a new collection of multi-functional furniture, which operates on a level like no other.

This year’s design desires spanned everything from colour to concept. The 70s Revival took off, painting a canvas of gorgeous hues lifted straight from a technicolour palette. For a more muted alternative, we explored a gritty blend of greens and browns in our Of the Earth collection.

Stepping away from the purely visual, we also explored ideas that reshaped how we think about the home. From shining a light on unsung spaces in A New Home Hierarchy, to championing the belief that luxury and comfort are no longer at odds in Liveable Luxury. Only to return to finish discussing the value of visual ideas by delving into the world of Concave Curves.

We also looked at trends on a global scale, far beyond our London design bubble. We cycled through the streets during 3Days of Design in Copenhagen, walked the hallowed halls of Salone del Mobile in Milan, and even ventured into factories across Europe from the heart of the Czech Republic to the historic towns of France.

Much of our year was spent beyond the walls of our 25,000 Sq ft showroom. Because if you look for it, I've got a sneaky feeling that you'll find amazing design is all around us (if you'll excuse the vague Love Actually reference). From installing iconic interiors in your homes, to putting on events with our friends from across the world of creativity.

We didn't just want to bring design to people but people to design. Taking clients to the banks of Lake Como to sample Italian furniture heritage with Molteni & C, was among the highlights, along with putting together showroom design workshops in collaboration with our household names like Moroso, Vitra, Walter Knoll and Carl Hansen to name but a few.

To attempt to accurately predict the future of anything in this ever-advancing era feels almost impossible. As recently as last week, Pantone released their controversial Colour of the Year: “Cloud Dancer.” So here’s our take (not that the world is short on people loudly sharing theirs). Rather than seeing Cloud Dancer as a colour to live by, we think of it as a colour to live around — a canvas that lets you paint the story of your home in a way that doesn’t just suit your personality but extends from it. It invites you to fill your space with worldly possessions and furniture favourites without being overwhelmed by a single dominant shade.

As design lovers, this is something we’ve always championed: using your home to express your own unique history as a human being. And in many ways, that’s what we hope for in 2026: an explosion of creativity and carefree self-expression in a society that sometimes seems to be edging a little too close to prioritising uniformity over imagination. We’re looking forward to helping bring those personal touches and design dreams to life.