The coastal retreat of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert features an early version of the 2025's "cutecore" style, with its vibrant, joyous eclecticism paving the way for this popular aesthetic.
In the heart of 2025, as Americans spend more time than ever at home, the desire for nesting has never been greater. This shift in lifestyle has led to a surge in interest in creating comforting, cozy, and inviting spaces within our homes. One design trend that has emerged as a response to this cultural shift is Cutecore interior design.
Cutecore, a 2025 trend, reflects a cultural shift towards creating safe, sweet, and comforting home environments, embracing a childlike sense of joy and nostalgia. This aesthetic is characterized by cozy, eclectic, and romantically opulent spaces filled with pastels, florals, ruffles, tassels, gilt frames, crown moldings, and richly textured and patterned decor.
The origin of Cutecore interior design can be traced back aesthetically to the Victorian era, particularly exemplified by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert's seaside home, Osborne House, built in 1845. The interiors of Osbourne House are eclectic, romantic, and opulent, with walls lined with gilt frames and crown molding. The maximalist bedroom is upholstered in ruffles, tassels, pastels, and florals, and the carpets are pink and yellow.
Cutecore draws inspiration specifically from Victorian interior design by reviving its maximalist, romantic, and eclectic ethos with an updated sensibility. This connection highlights how contemporary decorators reinterpret Victorian visual impulses—such as layered textures, floral motifs, and ornate woodwork—with a playful, pastel-infused palette suited for modern "nesting" needs.
Modern versions of Victorian interior design, such as the Cutecore trend, are still popular with decorators today. Ruffled throw pillows, featuring delicate, ditsy floral designs, are in-house creations at The Six Bells and crafted in India. Stylish block-print ottomans from Stoffer Home feature a contemporary silhouette with a ruffle, aligning with the current skirted furniture trend.
Dayna, a design expert, advises that Cutecore is all about embracing things that bring joy, such as incorporating cute bow cushions and adding ruffled bedding. The love for pastel interiors is prevalent, reflecting the Cutecore interior design trend. Cutecore is leaning towards pinks and purples, or pastel palettes, as trending colors for 2021.
Nostalgic pleated throw pillows, intertwined with berries and little daisy flowers, are a great Amazon find, aligning with the scalloped decor trend. Sales for ruffled items, including curtains, blankets, and throw pillows, have doubled on Etsy, indicative of the Cutecore trend. Coquette bows have seen a 500% increase in sales on Etsy, reflecting the Cutecore trend.
By looking to the past, one can source out-of-the-box inspiration that transforms a home uniquely, similar to the motifs from the Victorian period. Osbourne House was designed to be a quiet and retired place for Victoria and Albert, and its interiors continue to inspire designers today.
In summary, Cutecore interior design is a modern revival and reimagining of Victorian-style maximalism and romanticism focused on emotional well-being, nostalgia, and joyful self-expression within the home. It blends historical ornamentation and cozy luxury into an accessible, heartwarming aesthetic that resonates with today’s cultural desire for sanctuary and sweetness.
- Embracing the emotional well-being and nostalgic charm of the past, contemporary interior-design trends, such as Cutecore, draw inspiration from Victorian-era maximalist and romantic designs, creating cozy, inviting spaces that align with the modern American lifestyle and the desire for nesting.
- The Cutecore interior-design trend, characterized by ruffled bedding, pastel interiors, and scalloped decor, reflects a modern home-and-garden aesthetic that combines historical ornamentation with a childlike sense of joy and nostalgia, providing a sanctuary of sweetness for homeowners in 2025.
