Every September, Etsy’s official trendspotter Dayna Isom Johnson digs deep into her company’s vast library of handmade and vintage goods, pinpoints the pieces shoppers are searching for, and uses this data to uncover the season’s biggest holiday trends. This year’s big reveal includes trends like “Grandpa Chic” and “Gingerbread Girl”—terms that sound a little made up. But when you look closely at the materials and objects that encompass each trendline, they begin to mirror the styles that design pros are gravitating toward.
In speaking with Vogue stylist-turned-interior designer Jenna Chused (who recently opened the shop, Antik, in Brooklyn Heights) and Fawn Galli, who designs showrooms for retailers and interiors for a roster of NYC clients, the decor they’re loving for the holidays echo some of the styles that pop up in Etsy’s findings.
Read on for the biggest trends these three design experts are seeing this season, to help you style everything from your Thanksgiving table to your holiday mantle.
Pottery & Ceramics
Handmade pottery is the most popular design trend that Fawn Galli is seeing right now.
“A lot of designers are making beautiful, different ceramics as sculpture or for flowers. It can be kind of high or low, but I’m seeing a lot of that,” said Fawn.
“Organic-shaped, handmade ceramics are very big,” echoed Jenna. She’s seeing people use these sculptures for more than just typical centerpieces, too. “It’s not like a floral display anymore. It’s more about branches and just a little bit of something that is long and tall in these vessels. And that’s a beautiful way to do Thanksgiving— minimal florals in beautiful vessels.”
Lots of Texture
For interiors that trend toward natural and organic materials, Fawn likes to lean into texture. To do that on a holiday table, she reaches for woven tablecloths and placemats, flatware and tableware made from different materials, and pebbled glassware, as you can see in the Thanksgiving tablescape pieces she curated from our Shop.
Dark Woods & Rich Jewel Tones
I asked Jenna if she identified with the idea that color is the new neutral. “That is very much my design philosophy. My favorite neutral is burgundy with taupe.” Dinnerware in different colors and colored glassware also appeal to her. (See all of her Thanksgiving table decor selections from our Shop.)
Dark colors and jewel tones speak to Etsy’s “Grandpa Chic” trend in particular. Following the popular “Grandmillenial” style that emphasized family heirlooms, and TikTok-famous grandmas like @brunchwithbabs, “right now, it’s time for grandpa to shine,” says Dayna. “We are seeing a more masculine touch to things, and I think that’s because more traditional decor aesthetics are coming back. So we’re saying goodbye to the Scandinavian, very light woods and saying hello to cherries, and all these very rich [woods]” in cutting boards and serving bowls.
Colored Glassware
Colored glassware is not necessarily new—“that has been around for a while,” says Fawn. “But I love it. I see it. I use it a lot.”
“I love smoked glass,” echoed Jenna. “If you can use a smoked glass for your everyday glasses and have enough that you can use for a party too, it adds a lot of depth to your table.”
Everyday, Elevated Entertaining
“If you think about where we’ve been in the last couple of years of entertaining, there was a lot of safety,” says Dayna. “There was a lot of precaution. There was a lot of disposable, single-use items.” Now, that’s largely in the rearview mirror, which means any night of the week is fair game for a beautiful tablescape.
“It doesn’t matter if it’s Tuesday, if it’s Hanukkah, if it’s Christmas, I want to showcase my beautiful servingware all the time. We’re seeing a rise in beautiful, vintage glassware and serving ware and anything handmade because it is special every day.”
Mantlescaping
Like creating a personal tablescape, “mantlescaping” is a not-so-new word that encompasses all the nostalgic and new holiday decor one might mix together on a mantle. But according to Etsy, you don’t really need a mantle to pull this off. Your windowsill, the TV table—any blank surface can be used to “bring all these beautiful things to life and show off your personal style,” said Dayna.
This could mean candlesticks, a decor object that Jenna is particularly fond of—as long as they’re sculptural. That way, “it looks just as good with the candle not in it.” She likes to use black and chocolate candles with brass candlesticks.
“I’m using candlesticks that look like trees,” Fawn said of her Thanksgiving decor plans. Their natural look will tie into the fall leaves she adds to her table.
Lean into Vintage & Tradition
My favorite “trend” that Etsy calls out this season is “Gingerbread Girl.” For inspiration, Dayna gives full credit to this year’s “Tomato Girl Summer” meme, which embraced making the most of downtime and luxuriating in the outdoors, unplugged. Etsy’s new, holiday-inspired spin on this theme celebrates the act of putting down your phone in favor of coming together in the kitchen, to bake and make beautiful dinners (accented with traditional pieces like checkered napkins, of course).
Jenna also adds some traditional pieces to her table in the form of vintage servingware. “Sometimes when I host a big party and I don’t have enough in my normal day-to-day silverware to host everyone, I’ll find old big cases of vintage silverware.”
Which leads us to the last takeaway…
Mix & Match Styles To Create Your Own
Jenna likes to play with different patterns on the table, within reason. “I don’t want it to look like a flea market,” she said. Mixing different napkins with different placemats, and having a runner that ties it all together is one way to do this.
“I say things should go [together]—they shouldn’t match,” said Fawn. And when you lean into a more maximalist approach to table setting, “it becomes very unique and personal.”
Making your table or home a reflection of your tastes is ultimately the goal. “I think people are really doing what appeals to them,” said Jenna. Given how quickly trends change and then circle back, she added, “I think it’s more acceptable to do what you like because everything’s moving so fast.”
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How do you like to style your home and table for the holidays? Let us know below!
