It’s been a week since TikToker Jools Lebron shared a tongue-in-cheek video about her makeup routine that has – to put it mildly – gone super-viral.
She described her beauty regime as “demure”, “modest” and “mindful”, and culture simply exploded, with everyone from popstar Dua Lipa to the official account of the White House using the word “demure” in social media posts since.
Its appeal lies somewhere between Jools’ deadpan delivery and the fact it’s a grown-up antidote to Brat Summer, the other current viral sensation that encourages hedonistic mayhem.
But no zeitgeist trend exists as an island, and the word “demure” could easily be used to describe what’s been happening in interiors all year with brands and designers embracing this mood – even if it hadn’t been defined so succinctly until now.
Demure decor is the natural evolution of last year’s “quiet luxury” trend. It’s an aesthetic that takes in the soft edges and softer colours that characterised that look and adds in a homeliness, timeworn and curated edge. It’s more accessible and – crucially – more affordable.
Whereas the goal of quiet luxury is to look expensive, even if not shouting about it, demure design eschews big-ticket names such as the Eames lounger and Saarinen Tulip chairs for a lovingly pieced-together collection of flea-market finds, treasured heirlooms, high-street stalwarts and under-the-radar brands that won’t be so instantly recognisable. Yet demure doesn’t mean dull: a room decorated in this way may be modest at heart, but it doesn’t shy away totally from bold colours and big patterns, instead grounding them alongside warm neutrals. It’s a room that is at once smart, comfortable and at ease. Here are seven ways to get it right.
1. Contrast bold colours with neutral backdrops
Farrow & Ball’s Light Gray covers the walls of this room, while the brand’s Salon Drab shade highlights the fireplace – warm tones against which its Ultra Marine Blue sings out from the cabinetry. This masterful approach by designer Tom Morris of Morrisstudio shows that in the right setting, with earthy tints to ground a room, even a dash of cornflower blue can be demure.
2. Group your flea market finds
There is very little more mindful than spending some time grouping your most treasured objects into an instant art installation on your hallway shelf, reminding you that you’re home and back where you belong the moment you walk demurely through the door. Take inspiration from Californian designer LALA Reimagined, who knows the space around a vase can be as interesting as the vase itself.
3. Layer your home with high-street finds
While it is key to reduce clutter and allow visual space in order to create a calming vibe, taking a modest approach to spending on accessories is also an appealing part of demure decor. Brands such as Habitat have perfected the art; its Spring Haze dining collection is equal parts artisanally irregular and affordable – prices start at £8.
4. Ensure your lighting flatters
A favourable lighting set-up is always going to put you more at ease, and a soft, ambient glow bathes a room in a light that – yes – has a demure tint to it. The conical shape of Lights and Lamps’ rattan Bardi lampshade does just this: a statement piece that whispers rather than shouts, and an unassuming showstopper that won’t break the flow of a soothing scheme.
5. If using pattern, make sure it has a white base
The less well-known sibling brand of Colefax and Fowler, Jane Churchill’s pattern books are just as full of elegant, enticing and slightly more under-the-radar patterns. But to use them in a demure way, pick one with a white base so that the colours in the design seem to float on clouds, allowing them to billow into the room in a super–mindful way.
6. Pick up some inexpensive ceramics
Designer Olga Ashby, who created this room, says many of her favourite accessories come from Zara Home, H&M, or from emerging artists keen to sell their wares on Instagram. This demure approach to spending allows more budget left over for throws, cushions and rugs – those cosseting textures that can help wrap you up.
7. Use soothing colours on period details
The ceiling of this dining room designed by Irene Gunter, painted in Rouge II by Paint and Paper Library, can’t help but soften the mood of what are quite grand proportions. By picking out the cornicing in this change of colour from the walls, she has tempered the opulence of the room and made it seem more moderate, while not shying away from the fact that it exists. The ultimate demure approach.
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