The 'One Decorative Gesture' Trend Finally Explains What Your Room Is Missing — "The Best Interiors Have a Little Contradiction in Them"

Trends in interior design have, of late, been embracing something of the traditional — a storied frill and sense of ornamentation that introduces a little conflict for those who enjoy more contemporary rooms. However, if the idea of a 'modern home' resonates with you over classicism, there's a trick to benefit from the depth and layered sophistication of this style, without compromising your design aesthetic: the 'decorative gesture'.

It might be, for example, a strategically placed tassel on a light fitting, a standalone fringe or frill on a sofa, a frame that's unexpectedly gilded for a home that generally trades in minimalism. Maybe it’s the unexpected, yet harmonious, pairing of an ornate brass handle against the cool, monolithic surface of veined marble. Whatever it is, it's an interior design trend that makes you look twice.

Los Angeles-based interior designer Ryan Saghian puts it best: "I've always believed that the most interesting rooms have tension. I don't want everything to match, and I certainly don't want everything to look like it came from the same decade. That's boring to me."

"I'm constantly looking for that one element that challenges everything around it. Sometimes it's an antique, sometimes it's an ornate detail, and sometimes it's something completely unexpected," the designer adds. "I think the best interiors have a little contradiction in them. There's something incredibly beautiful about an object that, on paper, has absolutely no business being in a room, yet somehow becomes the very thing that makes the room work."

For Marisa Gutmacher, senior vice president of design at Samuel & Sons, these key decorative accents can also be the final flourishes that elevate an interior from well-designed to truly distinctive. "Sometimes a piece has all the right elements but still feels unresolved," she says. "But the finishing detail can give it the presence it needs, bringing weight to its silhouette or creating the transition between upholstery and the space around it. For me, that final gesture is integral to a beautifully resolved design."

To uncover the quiet design theatrics in 2026 that make you pause and think, 'why didn't I think of that?', these are some of the considered details and unexpected accents that elevate an interior beyond the ordinary.

Ryan Saghian

Ryan Saghian is a Los Angeles–based interior designer whose work explores the tension between glamour and restraint, old and new, raw and refined. Drawing on his Persian heritage and the visual language of Los Angeles, Saghian creates layered, expressive interiors that bring together collectible design, vintage furnishings, fine art, and richly tactile materials. Since founding Ryan Saghian Interior Design, he has developed a body of residential work for an international clientele spanning art, entertainment, fashion, music, and sports. One of the youngest designers named to Andrew Martin Interior Design Review's roster of the world's leading interior designers, Saghian has also been recognized  the Los Angeles Times' Top 25 designers in Los Angeles and Variety's go-to interior designers in Hollywood, among many other accolades.

In case you missed the memo: we’re moving away from the idea that passementerie — the art of crafting decorative trimmings and edgings like tassels — is reserved solely for traditional interiors. Instead, these upholstery trimmings are proving right at home in more contemporary settings.

"I'm biased, but I believe a beautifully made piece of passementerie has to be one of the most stylish gestures you can bring into a home," passementerie artist Elizabeth Ashdown observes. "Passementerie is an art form in its own right, with centuries of skill and knowledge behind every tassel, cord and braid."

Today, the once 'old-fashioned' tassel is appearing in unexpected corners of contemporary interiors. For example, we're seeing tassels strategically re-emerge as a singular, graphic drop-line on the likes of lighting and mirrors.

And it’s for good reason: "Passementerie adds personality in a way few other objects can, because it can be designed for one particular room," notes Elizabeth. "That level of personalization is what turns a well-designed room into one that feels truly yours," the expert adds.

Elizabeth Ashdown

Elizabeth is one of only a handful of independent passementerie makers and designers working in the UK today. She combines traditional craft with contemporary design to create innovative trims, tassels and fringes, and her practice is dedicated to keeping this rare and endangered craft alive. Her recent awards include Trim of the Year at the 2025 Homes & Gardens Design Awards and Best Decorative Touch at the Livingetc Style Awards 2025. She designed the multiple award-winning Kaleidoscope collection for Samuel & Sons.

And it doesn't end at just tassels. The coolest rooms have some 'edge' to them. And by that we mean soft furnishings and upholstery that have been elevated with a final flourish of trim — be it braids, gimps, or fringing.

The good news is that there is no shortage of ways to add these design details to your interior. For example, maybe it's the leading edge of a sheer Roman blind, the back of a chair, the hem of a lampshade, or the border of an upholstered headboard.

In Elizabeth's view, adding an edge is the interior equivalent of a beautifully finished seam in tailoring. She says: "Most people couldn't tell you why the room feels expensive, but that crisp, contrasting edge is often the reason."

It doesn't have to be a traditional element to qualify, says Ryan Saghian, just something that tells a different, more decorative story. "An antique mirror, an elaborate chandelier, a traditional textile, or a piece of furniture with beautiful ornamentation can completely change the energy of a room."

The art to keeping things feeling contemporary? "The secret is knowing when to stop," the designer adds. "If everything is making a statement, nothing is making a statement. I like giving those decorative moments room to breathe rather than surrounding them with things that are competing for attention."

"For me, great design isn't about making everything belong. It's about having the confidence to put things together that other people might never think to combine."

It's not just the big-ticket items that make a home stand out. The most covetable spaces show that even the functional elements of a home can be an opportunity to inject some creativity, character, and a little fun.

"Little details like decorative door hinges that are found through personal discovery make a home feel intentional and cared for," says Ginger Curtis, founder and CEO of Urbanology Designs. She says the same goes for unexpected colors inside cabinetry, decorative metal grilles, embroidered upholstery, or drawers lined in leather or patterned fabric.

"The smallest of surprises, like a hand-painted detail tucked inside a cabinet, can be memorable," Ginger adds. "You don't always notice them immediately, but once you do, you realize just how thoughtfully the space has been considered."

The most compelling interiors aren't those that follow a single trend or aesthetic too rigidly. Instead, the real magic lies in rooms that embrace individuality, the unexpected, and, perhaps most importantly, the 'one gesture' philosophy.

Elizabeth suggests that one gesture, done properly, gives a home individuality and soul without the expense or visual noise of a full redesign. "It's also a more sustainable way of thinking," she adds. "You buy one beautiful thing and keep it for a lifetime, rather than restyling every season."

For example: "A single tassel in a saturated color against pale oak, or a fine braid tracing the line of an upholstered headboard, becomes the exclamation mark," the expert adds. "Because everything around it is quiet, it doesn't have to shout to be heard."

But remember, the balance needn’t be uniform. "A beautifully chosen border can give plain curtains a distinct identity without adding another object to the space," Marisa adds. "Curtains with a more expressive treatment can sit comfortably alongside simply upholstered furniture. I find that variation far more interesting than carrying the same degree of decoration throughout."

Though contemporary restraint can be appealing, Elizabeth says all that understated uniformity can tip into anonymity. "People are becoming tired of disposable things and of rooms that look like everyone else's," she says. "There's a real appetite for objects with provenance — something made by hand, by a named maker, with a story behind it."

And Ginger concurs. "The coolest homes right now don’t look purchased. Instead, they look gathered and curated over time."

The expert says it's these design details that give a home its 'soul'. "After years of everything being available with one click, people are craving things that carry a story," Ginger says. "In fact, I love pieces that introduce a sense of curiosity, history, or even humor. Not everything needs to make perfect sense. Sometimes, that’s exactly what makes it interesting."

You can read the rest of our Style Pulse trend report online, now.

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