2025 Interior Design Trends: Mary Cook’s Top Choices

Want to make your community stand out? Here are some tips from a design professional with more than three decades of experience.

The beginning of a new year brings fresh perspectives and bold opportunities to reimagine living spaces, setting the stage for the latest interior design trends.

In the fourth installment of our quarterly interview series with Mary Cook, the president & founder of Mary Cook Associates, she talks about how multifamily owners can make their communities stand out through interior design.

What are some of the principles guiding your selection of materials and design finishes in your projects?

Cook: Materials and finishes can make or break a successful design. Durability, suitability and aesthetics all play a vital role. Understanding what the target market values and how a space will be used drives the best decision-making.

Hard surfaces like porcelain or ceramic tile, natural stone and wood are all beautiful and durable. If the budget is tight, each of these materials can be substituted with a vinyl version of itself for a fraction of the price—but with similar aesthetics. If durability is a concern, natural stone and wood are available in a porcelain tile version for high-traffic or high-touch areas.

Lounge area at The Ivy, a luxury community in Chatham, N.J.
 Lounge area at The Ivy, a six-story luxury community near Chatham, N.J.’s bustling downtown and train station. Developed by BNE Real Estate Group, the community is designed to attract professional singles, couples and empty nesters. Image courtesy of Mary Cook Associates

There are also tactile considerations that impact functionality. For example, rough, textured surfaces can provide better grip and reduce slipping hazards. The material and finish of flooring factor in walking comfort as well as contribute to the overall look of a space.

When it comes to acoustic concerns, carpet helps minimize sound trespassing and transmission from floor to floor. Heavily used areas like restrooms, gyms and amenity kitchens all need commercial-grade materials and finishes for durability.

Have you noticed any ongoing trends when it comes to furniture layouts? Are there any functional specifics that are contemporary?

Cook: Furniture types and layouts play an increasingly important role in designing the most successful and highly functional multifamily communities post-COVID-19. In our work-from-anywhere world, lobbies, lounges, game rooms, gyms and even outdoor patio spaces have all been doing double duty to meet the needs of multitasking residents.

As design professionals, we have had to design common areas throughout multifamily communities that accommodate remote work and onsite and virtual meetings during business hours, and then transform into a gathering space or social lounge at other times of the day.

Once again, it’s not a one-size-fits-all situation when it comes to providing a variety of seating types and work surfaces throughout a community. We like to incorporate a wide mix with something for everyone—which might include tech tables, booth and banquet seating, bars, lounge and deep seating.

Lounge area at The Ivy, a six story community in Chatham, N.J.
MCA provided furniture, fixtures and equipment selection, procurement and installation for The Ivy. Image courtesy of Mary Cook Associates

For example, tasks like reading and responding to emails require a different setup than meeting remotely, where technology and privacy are critical. Booths that are open yet private are typically used the most because of their flexibility. Lounge seating with tech-enabled side tables is popular for shorter check-ins and tasks. Fully soundproof phone booths are another feature that sees a lot of use in multifamily settings.

What’s trending when it comes to amenity spaces?

Cook: This is always an interesting question asked by every developer as they hold their breath for what the new bullet point on their website will be. The answer is that it’s not likely a new bullet point, but rather a modification to an existing program that resonates specifically with a community and its specific demographic. The amenity arms race discussion has been beaten to death, as we all know.

Amenities that everyone else has may actually not be of value to another project’s target demographic. Rather, something special that meets a need or desire is the amenity residents respond to. Specificity, intentionality, detail and an authentic sense of place create value for residents.

Trends we are implementing aren’t really trends at all, but rather are about making generic spaces thoughtful. The best amenity spaces begin with understanding the target market, finding a need and fulfilling it with intention, detail and thoughtfulness.

What roles do outdoor spaces play in the context of contemporary multifamily properties and what are the most popular variations of exterior common spaces at the moment?

Cook: Exterior amenity spaces are often the most used amenity spaces in the community and at the top of residents’ priority lists—yet all too often, they are an afterthought for owners and developers. Depending on the project’s target demographic and geographic location, careful planning and collaboration with landscape design can result in highly functional, valued outdoor amenities.

Both passive and active areas should be planned for. Grills should be far away enough from other lounge areas so grilling grease, smoke and odors don’t trespass. Shade structures, lighting and electric outlets should be strategically designed into the layouts as they can work to extend the use of outdoor spaces. Hardscapes and live plants work well as buffers to create privacy and separate active uses from more quiet or meditative areas.

Now that we set the tone for what’s in, what interior design elements are becoming less popular?

Cook: What’s out is thoughtless mediocrity. It was just two years ago that the industry was saying, ‘Survive ‘til 25.’ We did a lot more than survive. We sharpened the saw on technologies, procurement, installation and project management. We’re more ready than ever to meet the challenges of the day with passion, innovation and raw talent.

As capital markets continue their thaw and more projects move forward, the cost of materials, labor and land remains a challenge. It will be those design professionals and developers that understand the clear difference between cost cutting and true value engineering that will lead the way. Those that can effectively master the art of value engineering without compromise to design, functionality and aesthetics will truly stand apart and above the others.

  • Reverie Belmont was developed by Kaplan Residential an designed to attract young professionals and empty nesters. All images courtesy Mary Cook Associates
  • Entry at Reverie Belmont in Charlotte, N.C.
  • Kitchen seating at Reverie Belmont, a 2023-completed community in Charlotte, N.C.
  • The Reverie Developed by Kaplan Residential, designed by Mary Cook Associates
  • Kitchen at Reverie Belmont
  • Kitchen at Reverie Belmont, a recently completed multifamily community in Charlotte
  • The clubroom at Reverie Belmont in Charlotte, N.C.
  • The clubroom at Reverie Belmont

Do you have any recent multifamily projects that stand out?

Cook: Reverie Belmont is a multifamily community located in Belmont, N.C., a highly sought-after suburb of Charlotte. Developed by Kaplan Residential, the community enjoys a rich textile heritage and continues to thrive as a major manufacturing area. Designed to attract young professionals and empty nesters, the apartments reflect a comfortable, yet elevated lifestyle that includes top-notch amenities.

The ‘comfortably modern’ interior design strategy pulls inspiration from some of the nation’s top boutique hotels. Clean, mid-century elements combine with richer components that are both casual and refined. A delicately crafted mix of warm walnut tones, simple detailing, mixed metals and deep seating deliver a fresh, updated aesthetic.

A modern clubhouse, resort-style pool and outdoor lounge, grilling pavilion, fire pit and bark park complement the productivity-focused coworking lounge and advanced fitness center to cohesively create an authentic sense of place with a distinct personality.

What are your predictions for this year when it comes to interior design trends in multifamily?

Cook: In our work, wellness and well-being continue to trend as people are increasingly making it a priority in their lives and their surrounding built environment. We can all agree that wellness encompasses more than a fitness center, which of course builds health, strength and endurance.

Restorative experiences like yoga and meditation rest the body and spirit. Art and music spaces that foster making something just for fun provide creative rest. Additionally, on/off bedroom spaces intentionally designed for reflection, journaling or meditation provide mental, emotional and spiritual rest. Disconnected rooms create spaces to intentionally unplug.

Design elements like a round dining table, ambient lighting and/or warm comfortable environments to host friends who want to linger longer facilitate social rest.

The main lobby at The Ivy, with a central fireplace and seating around it.
The main lobby at The Ivy. The project received an Excellence Award from the Northern New Jersey Chapter of the Urban Land Institute. Image courtesy of Mary Cook Associates

Wine cellars and entertainment areas for wine tastings, gourmet kitchens and dining rooms for hosting dinner parties, inviting media rooms for hosting watch parties, and onsite community coffee houses are additional design solutions that foster social rest and rejuvenation.

As always, choosing which of these elements to include in a project must be based on an analysis that considers what site-specific amenities are in the immediate area. A gym across the street, 20 miles of nature trails in an adjacent park or a concrete jungle with no walkable amenities create very different backdrops when designing for wellness.

It’s also important to factor in generational differences. Boomers and empty nesters love high-end connected cardio and touch-screen machines. Millennials are infatuated with longevity and are drawn to anything that emulates earth’s natural healing powers. Biohacking, cold soaking and grounding are this demographic’s top picks.