THE FUTURE
The Future of Feeling: Forecasting the Next Era of Luxury Interior Design
“We will be living with fewer things but better stories.” — Lidewij Edelkoort, Trend Union
Luxury is changing. The future of interior design—across hospitality and residential contexts—is no longer built on opulence. It is being shaped by feeling, intention, and interconnectedness. The post-pandemic world, the climate emergency, and the rise of a new emotional economy are collapsing old categories: hotel becomes home, home becomes sanctuary, and hospitality becomes community.
In this essay, we explore what’s next for luxury interiors, drawing from the work of visionary thinkers and studios: WGSN, Edelkoort Inc., Space10, Monocle, Superflux, Faye Toogood, Matylda Krzykowski, and others. Together, they suggest a future that is slower, smarter, more spiritual, and—critically—more human.
The Hotel as Host, Gallery, and Greenhouse
Hotels are shedding their corporate skin. According to The Future Laboratory, luxury travellers are seeking “transformational stays”—experiences that change not just their location, but their perspective. The future hotel is no longer a neutral box of comfort; it is a curated, sensorial microcosm of culture, care, and consciousness.
Studios like LUMA Arles in France and The Slow in Bali are pioneering the “hotel-as-cultural-programme” model—spaces that function as hybrid galleries, research platforms, and community centres. Expect to see:
More porous boundaries between guest and host, inside and outside.
Rooms as residencies: temporary spaces that invite guest co-authorship, even creativity.
Sustainable storytelling embedded into materials, menus, and even mattresses.
As WGSN reports in their Future of Hospitality trend map, “hospitality is becoming a platform for climate ethics, emotional repair, and local activism.” The five-star minibar is out. In its place: biodynamic tea, soft linen notebooks, and seasonal playlists made by local youth collectives.
The Home as Sacred Space
Simultaneously, the home is becoming more like a retreat—not in design cliché, but in deeper function. Lidewij Edelkoort, in her 2024 “Blank Page” forecast, argued that homes are moving toward monastic minimalism: raw textures, humble materials, and layout systems designed to induce quietude.
This is not minimalism as performance. It’s introspective living.
Designers like Faye Toogood and Sabine Marcelis are moving away from aesthetic “moods” and toward emotional materials—stone that holds silence, glass that changes with the light, furniture that feels ceremonial.
Key trends shaping residential design:
Tactile ergonomics: spaces that invite slowness through surface and shape.
Multi-sensory zoning: rooms designed not by function but by feeling (a room to read in, a corner to cry in, a threshold to stretch in).
Wellbeing architecture: bioadaptive lighting, breathable walls, and filtered acoustic zones are becoming the new “smart”.
As Trend Union puts it, “The home will become an interface of ritual.” The rise of objects with soul—hand-thrown, sun-bleached, lived-in—signals a desire for homes that feel storied, not staged.
Convergence: Where Hospitality Meets Home
Perhaps the most interesting shift is the convergence of hospitality and residential design. Monocle’s editor Tyler Brûlé notes this in his annual soft power survey: “People want their homes to be as welcoming as hotels, and their hotels to feel like someone’s elegant home.”
This convergence is driven by:
The remote work revolution, blurring lines between stay, work, and rest.
A desire for micro-social spaces: think reading salons, communal kitchens, or vestibules for quiet exchange.
The emotional design economy, where spaces must do more than function—they must move us.
Studios like Superflux and Space10 (IKEA’s innovation lab) are investigating how interiors can respond to climate uncertainty, social fragmentation, and spiritual hunger. Their conclusion? The most luxurious space is one that helps us adapt.
Expect to see:
Residential buildings with guest-room infrastructure (like passive privacy zones or meal-sharing protocols).
Hospitality brands launching residential arms (as seen with Soho House’s interiors line and Aman’s branded homes).
Design for impermanence: spaces that fold, morph, and migrate.
Luxury as Care: Material, Cultural, Emotional
In this new era, luxury is measured by care, not cost. As Paola Antonelli of MoMA has noted, “design is the mediator between progress and humanity.” That mediation now involves a deep commitment to:
Sourcing with integrity (materials that age well, with traceable lifecycles).
Cultural attunement (design that responds to local heritage and future stewardship).
Emotional intelligence (how does a space feel to someone grieving, neurodivergent, or newly in love?).
Luxury design is no longer just a visual experience—it is visceral.
Future Forecast Summary: 2025–2035
Sensory Zoning
Designing homes and hotels by emotional need, not function.
Nomadic Hospitality
Modular, off-grid, and mobile hotel formats.
Sonic Comfort
Soundscaping becoming as important as lighting.
Domestic Activism
Homes designed to support climate-positive living.
Design as Therapy
Spaces used as emotional support systems (quiet rooms, grounding rituals, restorative textures).
The Rewilded Interior
Stone, bark, clay, water, and wind as active design elements.Narrative MaterialsInteriors that speak through history—salvaged, aged, storied.
Conclusion: From Aesthetic to Ethic
The future of luxury design will not be defined by style—it will be defined by ethic. A space will be luxurious not because it shines, but because it understands. It will be informed by empathy, ritual, and resilience.
As Matylda Krzykowski says, “Design is not an answer. It is a lens.” In the decade ahead, this lens will help us see—and shape—what it means to live well in a world that’s changing faster than ever.