Just like your home decor gives people clues about who you are—your style and taste—so do church interiors. People can quickly identify who you are as a church, what you value, and who you're trying to reach based on the furnishings, finishes, and equipment you have throughout your building.
While it's not practical to stay on-trend with every interior design fad, incorporating some current design details will help keep your building fresh and relevant. Here's a quick snapshot of five interior design trends we've been integrating into churches, which will stay fresh for some time to come:
1. Earthtones
We're seeing a shift toward more earth tone color palettes as well as warmer colors in general. This isn’t a declaration that cool colors are out of style, just that it’s where the trends are moving.
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2. Hardware
There is also a shift to a big emphasis on hardware, like cabinet pulls and door handles. Hardware can be a simple, fun, cost-effective way to refine your decor. It’s a trend that started in residential themes, and often when you see something in residential, it starts to flow into commercial areas slightly after.
3. Mid-Century Modern
Think 1950s type of leggy furniture and softer colors. It started with jewel tones, and then it shifted to pastels. We could be returning to jewel tones. Right now, Millennial pink is still a popular color. It’s been around for a while, but we're still seeing it in furniture showrooms.
4. Biophilic Design
Biophilic design is proven to reduce stress and promote wellbeing in interior spaces. It focuses on bringing the outdoors to the indoors by using natural elements, organic forms, and greenery. Especially in the season of COVID, the outdoor concept is appealing to people as it invokes the idea of open space and better air. You can add in the color of trees into your flooring or the walls by bringing in natural materials. There are also solutions for easy-care indoor greenery that are almost maintenance-free. Wood furniture and applications are another great way to bring the outdoors in rather than relying primarily on plants or greenery.
5. Organic Shapes
In the recent past, we've seen a trend toward circles, squares, or rectangles, but now, things are becoming more skewed and organic in the lines that we are seeing in commercial spaces. The trend is to lean more toward irregular shapes and lines.
DIY or Hire a Professional?
Many churches attempt to tackle the interior design of their building on their own. They know someone in the congregation who has a good eye for design, or maybe who does residential design for a living. Their input can be valuable in the process. However, they may not have the scope of experience and knowledge in commercial interiors to be able to successfully guide your church’s interior design process.
At Aspen, our interiors team has experience designing all types of spaces in many different settings—churches, healthcare, schools, residential, and more. Our interior designers are part of Aspen’s integrated project teams. We’re not an add-on at the end of a project. We’re a partner throughout the building process. We gain a deep understanding of each church’s unique mission, vision, and values throughout Aspen’s building process, so that we can recommend an interior design package that is suited to your specific needs and style.
Whether your church needs an interior refresh or a major overhaul as part of a larger church building project, Aspen can help you bring your church up-to-date with interior furnishings, finishes, and features to help you maximize your church ministry space.