9 Exciting Spring Decor Trends Spotted in West Elm’s New Catalog

With a new year comes a renewed interest in upcoming design shifts. And while we frequently turn to decor experts and pros to tell us what they’re seeing, sometimes, what’s in the pipeline can be easily seen right at the retail level. Cruising through West Elm’s recent spring release revealed nine trends we’re pretty pumped about. Check them out and let us know what you think!

Amber Lewis of Amber Interiors recently shared with us on an Insta story that her favorite splurge item at home was a vintage Bruno Mathsson leather chair, which makes sense because the designer regularly uses worn-in leather armchairs in her projects. We think warm camel-colored leather arm chairs are going to be the new “it” item, as they counterbalance all the luxe velvets and metallics that are so in right now.

Velvet is not a new trend. In fact, it’s been burning hot for the past few years in sofas, but it keeps going, and we’ll keep taking it. You do you, velvet.

West Elm’s spring catalog is ripe with silk scarf pillows, which we love for their color, pattern and soft feel. After all, what better to replace the fluffy and faddish Mongolian lambskin pillows that dominated sofas and beds last year than an equally luxurious textile like silk?

Seating is going to have it’s share of the limelight in the next year (we can feel it brewing), especially chairs and sofas with unique silhouettes. Take the new Thea Chair, for instance. Its avant garde design is architectural and both retro and contemporary at the same time. Keep an eye out for sculptural pieces at thrift stores, as well, which can be re-upholstered with modern prints for a fresh update.

It’s not just the West Elm catalog that’s ripe with geometrics and jewel-like frames. In fact, simple geometrics are a huge trend for 2018, and you’re likely to see them everywhere, from furnishings to fabrics to accents.

Like velvet, metallics aren’t exactly a newfangled design movement, but at this point, they’re essentially taking over. You’ll be hard pressed to find something that isn’t full-blown gilded or at the very least adorned with some sort of rose gold or chrome (and we’re not mad about it). The key with metallics is to be sure you counterbalance them with more earthy materials like leather, wood and concrete to avoid an overly glam look (unless that’s your thing, and in that case, carry on).

If you ask us, Moroccan rugs started the texture craze of the 2010s, but, with our international obsession with all things cozy, prepare yourself for even more nubbiness. Textural poufs, fabrics, throw pillows and beyond will be all over your store shelves, and weathered wood is likely to make a comeback.

You can give credit to our current obsession with metallics for this one, but where matte black steel mixed with brass was everything last year, we’re happy to see some more delicate materials come forward. We’re betting on seeing much more Art Deco and Hollywood Regency-style lamps and chandeliers lighting up our homes in 2018.

Though we’re pretty adamant about the llama (and their smaller cousin the alpaca) being the new unicorn of the decorating world (and thank goodness), it’s not just woolly mammals that will be gracing home accents this year. West Elm’s catalog is full of quirky little objets d’art, like oversized bobby pins, snail planters and more.