These were Homes & Gardens' most liked Instagram posts of 2023 – and here's what they say about timeless trends to bring into this year

This time of year we do a lot of looking forward at the interior design trends that are looking likely for the year ahead. However, looking back at the styles and trends we all loved in the year just gone can tell us a lot about what to expect for 2024 too, plus give an insight into those timeless aesthetics that aren't going anywhere. 

Instagram is the perfect place to find such insights, so with that in mind we have gathered together the top liked Homes & Gardens posts from 2023 to see what they say about the most-loved spaces of last year and what that means for 2024. 

No surprises, there are a lot of similarities between the posts – rich colors, characterful spaces and a lot of books. They all represent an interior design trend that was huge last year and will remain so for 2024, that focused on creating rooms that have a personality behind them, being less led by 'trends' and more just embracing personal style. 

1. An uplifting reading nook

Reading nooks are such gorgeous spaces to create in your home. And they needn't be a whole dedicated room or even a large area, you can carve them out of the corner of a living room, bedroom, or home office and have this wonderful sanctuary to escape too. 

As well as the love for cozy spaces, the post also showcases a rising color trend from last year – fresh and uplifting sky blue. This hue dominated so many Colors of the Year for 2024, so it's hardly surprising it appears a fair few times here. It's a gorgeous color to decorate with, being neither so bold it overwhelms the room, nor so safe it goes unnoticed. It's a lovely color for cabinetry and bookshelves as other brighter colors really pop against it. 

2. A colorful built in bookcase

Speaking of bookshelves, they are pretty dominant in this round up too. It's indicating a love for characterful, personal spaces. Books are such an easy way to add texture and depth to any room – if you've got a collection of books you've got decor. 

Decorating with books is a look that's never going to date, but what this post shows is how they can lift a seemingly very bright backdrop. The bold red used here (more on the rise in red to come) risks overwhelming this small area, however, the books break up that wall of color and create some contrast. Plus, this approach is a great way to give an underused space in the home a function, plus a wall of books always makes a small room look bigger. 

3. Our February cover

This stunning space designed by Elizabeth Hay was the cover of our February issue. It feels so fresh and spring-like, exactly the kind of space that we want to be seeing at this time of year. Again, bookshelves feature here but again note how characterful the room is, filled with color, pattern and textures – a look that's not so much a trend, but a classic that's sure to continue into 2024.

4. A cozy terracotta bedroom

Terracotta decor was big in 2023. There was a clear shift away from the cooler colors that have dominated, like whites and grays, to deeper earthy tones like soft reds, oranges and yellows. Terracotta is a perfect shade because while it's bold it's also very soft and you can almost use it like a neutral. It's a lovely color for small spaces as it's cocooning without being overwhelming.

We saw a lot of bedroom nooks last year too, and nooks and niches look to be even more of a trend for 2024. They are a great use of space, elevating a small bed as you can see here, and can make any bedroom feel cozier. 

5. A fresh green entryway

More color! Despite so many trends of last year being all about decorating with neutrals, we were clearly craving color. This is such a usable green shade, it's vivid and yet there's a muted tone and softness to it and paired with plenty of crisp white, and grounding golds and browns it creates the perfect livable color scheme. For similar paint color try Farrow & Ball, Raw Tomatillo.

Entryways are the perfect places to get a bit more experimental with color since they are transitional rooms you don't actually spend a lot of time in so you are less likely to tire of the colors as you might in a bedroom or living room. 

6. A dramatic festive foliage display

Getting creative with foliage was a Christmas decor trend we all loved last year – simple to execute yet really impactful, the more greenery the better. Styling a mantel is always on trend, these are the perfect spaces to bring in some decor and switch it around with the seasons to change the feel of a room. 

For transitioning into spring and the warmer months, replicate this look with more seasonal foliage, bring in colorful taper candles in fresher colors, and make use of this space to really update a room without having to spend very much at all. 

7. A homage to the bow trend

Ah, bows. If anything stands out as a trend of 2023 it's decorating with bows. A look that may have originated on Tik Tok quickly took over as we adorned trees, candles, glasses, and more with this simple decor hack. Achieving the perfect bow was the mission of December 2023.

But how will this trend translate in 2024? If social media is anything to go by, they are continuing to be a quick way to add whimsical charm – the colorways have switched to more spiring-like hues but this is a trend that's still going strong.

8. A home bar under the stairs with an enviable color scheme

Home bars, while once a novel addition are becoming a must-have, and using the often underused space under the stairs to house one is ideal. It's the colors used here that really grab your attention – yellow and blue is not a color combination you see all that often, but in these more muted versions of the shades it works beautifully. 

Dopamine decor was also a rising trend of last year that's going nowhere for 2024, and spaces like home bars are obvious areas to embrace this feel-good style. 

9. An impressive gallery wall

We did question whether gallery walls are still in style, but this space proves that when done right they are timeless. The way to do this look is to cover large expanses, a compact gallery wall floating in a sea of empty wall can look dated, so take your prints across the whole space. And mix in some really big frames too (these from CB2 are huge if you want to mix in some simple, barely-there frames) to ground the look and stop it from looking overly busy. 

And don't just stick to one wall, take it around the room, or around a corner at least to create more of a gallery room – this works perfectly in smaller rooms or transitional spaces like entryways and landings. 

10. A bold bedroom color pairing

Another rich, bold color pairing. Decorating with primary colors is something often shied away from but 2023 was a year for being braver with color and that looks to continue into the new year. The key is to get the shades right – pair a vivid red with a cobalt blue and yes you will get a very bold space, however, take those shades down a few notches and choose more of a raspberry red and a muted sky blue and the scheme becomes very useable and not so overwhelming. 

Try colors like Farrow & Ball's Eating Room Red and De Nimes, and Benjamin Moore's Aniline Red 1350, Raspberry Truffle, Baltic Sea and Aegean Teal, all of which are bold and yet soft. 

Books, nooks, and a surprising amount of color, looking back at our most-liked Instagram posts of 2023 sheds a lot of light on not just what we all loved last year, but the timeless looks that are always the most popular. Nothing here is overly trend-led and none of these spaces are going to date anytime soon, prove that the best spaces are those that are both current and classic.