We all know fashion is fickle. What fewer people seem to realise is that it’s cyclical too. Even extreme trends, items and styles come back around eventually, to the point that cutting-edge homes can sometimes feel stuck in a time warp.

While we here at Doors & More don’t feel the need to go that far, we definitely appreciate a decor that honours past trends – just like with our DX30 internal doors. So we thought we’d get ahead of the curve, and explore what vintage comebacks are currently influencing interior design and which were a short lived mistake.

But we’re not so interested in lofty designers with impractical ideas. We want to know what real people are living with in real homes, so we’ve dug deep on social media and looked at search trends to see what vintage interior design and furnishings are being searched for in 2023.

We’ve compared search trends across Google, Instagram, Pinterest and TikTok to see which interior design features are hot on people’s minds and those whose comeback has been short lived as they’re left languishing in the lost days of the past. 

At a glance:

#	Item	Search Trend	Instagram Posts	Pinterest Trend	TikTok Views	Hot or Not?
1	Taxidermy	⇅ STEADY	1,694,561	↑ UP	1,000,000,000	HOT
2	Wall Panelling	↑ UP	192,662	↑ UP	406,000,000	HOT
3	Conversation Pits	↑ UP	8,000	↑ UP	60,000,000	HOT
4	Doilies	↑ UP	329,763	⇅ STEADY	11,000,000	HOT
5	Ceiling Roses	↑ UP	25,344	↑ UP	2,000,000	HOT
6	Picture Rails	↑ UP	15,618	⇅ STEADY	892,000	MID
7	Welsh Dressers	↑ UP	26,778	⇅ STEADY	41,000	MID
8	Anaglypta	⇅ STEADY	1,000	↑ UP	31,000	NOT
9	Tea Cosies	↓ DOWN	58,628	↓ DOWN	93000	NOT
10	Antimacassars	↑ UP	1,131	⇅ STEADY	0	NOT

Taxidermy

Off to an interesting start because, if we’re honest, this one’s a surprise for us. The idea of stuffing and mounting the remains of a once-living creature seems utterly at odds with a world that says it’s striving for higher animal welfare standards every day.

Yet fashions rarely follow logical sense. Taxidermy seems to be seeing high views across social media channels – it has a steady source of interest across search engines too. 

We like to think this stems from a macabre fascination in seeing what’s out there already, rather than people seeking out their own preserved corpses to hang. But, for whatever reason, we can’t deny that this vintage interior trend is still somehow HOT (yet also somehow… not).

---

Wall Panelling

A traditional design trend that continues to stand the test of time is wall panelling. Maybe it’s the classic sophistication, maybe it’s how easy it is to do yourself.  Or maybe it’s how forgiving it is to uneven plastering and difficult wall textures without resorting to the horrors of woodchip wallpaper. 

Whatever the reason, wall panelling remains a HOT trend and looks destined to stay that way for a while. According to our research, wall panelling has seen a 49% increase in searches over the last 5 years and is continuing to see a steady growth.

---

Credit: Highsmith, Carol M., 1946-, photographer

Conversation Pits

The enduring popularity of these simple-yet-special living areas might be down to their presence in pop culture classics like Mad Men and James Bond. Even last year’s hot topic Netflix film, Glass Onion, plays out its climax in a conversation pit, stretching out high tension between sunken seating.

Of course, it could be the appeal of having a place to relax, recline and lose yourself in the company of others. In an age where life can seem to revolve around screens big and small, a separate space built around connecting with actual people is almost a necessity. Not just a HOT trend – it should be an essential one.

Interestingly, the increased popularity started taking hold around the beginning of the pandemic, with our research suggesting there’s been a 309% increase in searches since 2019, and given they don’t feature particularly heavily on Instagram, maybe this is an interior design feature thats all about purpose rather than aesthetics?

---

Doilies

Surprising as it is for those of us who have only ever seen one draped despondently over the towering TV set in our Nana’s living room, delicate doilies are inexplicably pretty popular right now. 

Their prevalence across socials like Instagram and TikTok suggests they’ve reached a new audience, an audience that’s fully embracing the chintz. This could be linked to the rise of cottagecore and the need for fuss and flounce on every single surface, though it could just as easily be a new generation researching how to style inherited heirlooms. Either way, we’re here for it.

We can safely say there is a strong interest, with a surge in interest over the last 20 years. According to our research, the glory years for doilies were between 2014 and 2018, which saw a 45% increase in searches overall. Though this has started to wain slightly, doilies are still undeniably HOT, with searches since still up 24% (not a sentence we thought we’d ever find ourselves writing).

---

Ceiling Roses

When planning a room redecoration, how often do you think about the look of your ceiling? In a place not known for its creative potential, a ceiling rose can add a touch of design decadence. It’s no surprise that they’re still fascinating people almost two centuries after their most popular period during the early 1800s.

They are less common now, probably due to the lower ceilings of modern homes, yet they’re heavily searched on Google. According to our research, 2020 saw the biggest surge in interest over the last 20 years, rising by 15% – which is no real surprise given how much DIY we did during the pandemic.

They’re scattered thickly across TikTok too and that’s a sure sign they’ll continue being HOT for a long while yet as we continue to embrace the grandeur and maximalism of the Georgian period.

---

Picture rails

The Georgians loved picture rails for the practical purpose they are named for – hanging pictures. These days, we’re usually happy to hammer in a nail to get our frames on the wall, but apparently, that doesn’t stop us from scouring the internet for picture rail inspiration.

Picture rails do have their own visual appeal too. They can section out tall walls, adding detail to an otherwise expansive empty space, which explains why they’re still trending on Google, if not quite so popular on social media.

For now, still definitely HOT.

---

Welsh Dressers

You’d be forgiven for thinking that the rise of fitted kitchens with space-saving solutions had seen off the humble Welsh dresser. The demise of decorative dinnerware won’t have helped either.

But in truth, Welsh dressers seem to be seeing a renaissance. Plenty of people are scouring Google with the term, perhaps as a vintage or cottage-y approach to the open shelving trend. 

Unlike many on this list, Welsh dressers are not so sought after on social media, which is surprising as they’re an upcycling dream – maybe they’ll only stay HOT for a while?

---

Anaglypta Wallpaper

Technically a brand name that is often stretched to cover all types of textured wallpaper, Anaglypta has a surprisingly long history. Originating in the Victorian era, they loved it as another way to add ornate design to their homes and cover up uneven walls.

There was a huge burst of popularity for Anaglypta in the early 2000’s but this soon settled and the fluctuation in popularity has remained pretty steady ever since. Modern tastes tend more towards simplicity, so it makes sense that Anaglypta has fallen out of favour and its return was short-lived. That was until 2020 when much like ceiling roses, interest spiked, rising by 21% on the previous year thanks to the pandemic DIY-fest.

There is still some search interest, but we suspect it’s more likely driven by the desire to remove it now, than scarring innocent new walls with it.

This one is NOT hot. But don’t give up on it yet. It’s still very much a design feature on peoples minds, especially those wanting a more retro-maximalist vibe if Pinterest is anything to go by.

The brand has also recently relaunched some of its most favoured designs, spanning from the Victorian era right through to the 1970’s and they look surprisingly good painted in bold colours, bringing them right into the 21st century.

---

Tea Cosies

Tea cosies appear to be another vintage decor item whose time in the limelight has passed. Probably a bit bold to claim this is a result of people drinking less tea – we Brits will never abandon our national drink after all.

However, there is definitely a split in hot drinks, with more people drinking coffee and the advent of things like instant hot water taps, it means that we no longer need to brew a whole pot of tea at once. And no teapots means no cosies. That was until December of 2018 according to our research, which saw interest peak over the last 20 years, did we have a particularly cold winter? Sadly, interest has steadily declined since then and we’ve seen a 34% drop in searches to date, according to our research.

Of course, they still carry their own kitsch appeal and they definitely have some die-hard fans, so they haven’t disappeared from view completely. It’s just more of a niche interest these days, mostly for those who enjoy a bit of arts and crafts – unlike the all-important tea of course.

---

Antimacassars

Don’t worry if you don’t even know what an antimacassar is. These small squares of cloth were once seen draped over the backs and arms of chairs – that’s quite a complex name for such a simple item. Nowadays we just buy fitted covers or use blankets to protect our furniture.

The name is drawn from their function, as they date from a time when the only option for styling men’s hair was oil – or, to be specific ‘Macassar’. Oil is messy, greasy and leaves a stain almost impossible to remove, so antimacassars were used to protect furniture from it.

These days, we expect our hair oil to be lightweight and easily absorbed – we’d be unimpressed if our furniture needed protecting from it. With no real purpose these days other than to really ramp up the cottagecore vibes, it makes sense that antimacassars are NOT a trend anymore.

---

We hope you’ve enjoyed our run though of interior design comebacks, any that surprised you or that you thought might be hot but it turns out they’re not? You’re more than welcome to share our content/research, all we ask is that you credit Doors & More with a link back to this blog post as the source.