In 2025, our interiors will come alive around two powerful phenomena: libraries designed as sculptural works of art, and the "Cottage Flow vs City Glow" duel, which combines rustic charm with ultra-expressive urban style. Discover these decor trends, rich in personality.
Introduction: The challenge is clear: to inhabit one's space boldly or gently, by telling a story. On one hand, the library becomes a central element, with books measured "by the meter" to create a wall sculpture. On the other, two aesthetics contrast yet complement each other: cottage flow, tender and rustic, and city glow, urban and vibrant. Together, they embody a personalized and sensory way of living.
📚 Scenic libraries: books as art objects
The Guardian highlights the success of the “books by the metre” phenomenon, where the purchase of books—vintage or colorful—is justified less by their reading potential than by their visual appeal. This approach transforms a library into a veritable aesthetic installation, woven with deliberate nuances and patinas.
Services like Country House Library now offer meters of books to match the décor, or several hundred physical books, sized to fit the dimensions of the bookshelf. Ultimate Library, mentioned in the same survey, goes even further: its curators select books for you that you will actually read—creating a collection that is both visually appealing and meaningful.
This choice reveals a contemporary tension: between appearing cultured (even projecting an image of erudition) and genuinely cultivating a living library. The Guardian notes that this phenomenon falls within the aesthetics of “quiet luxury” or “bookshelf wealth”.
🌿 Cottage Flow vs City Glow: two decorating styles to mix and match without moderation
AP News reveals an unexpected cohabitation in decor: the "city glow," urban neon and street art, and the "cottage flow," soft and organic.
City glow plays with pop colors, graffiti, brutalism, steel, and neon—an aesthetic designed to "awaken" the space and express a vibrant urban identity. Conceived for young, digitally savvy generations, it cultivates visual spectacle through furniture and iconic accessories such as neon lamps and street art prints.
The cottage flow, meanwhile, focuses on serenity: soft throws, patinated wood, floral prints, moss green, antique linen… An aesthetic rooted in nature, slow living and growing (+26,000% Etsy searches on “French cottage decor”).
But AP News and Ainvest insist: there are no false choices to impose. The combination of the two is even highly praised: neon touches in a cozy living room, or bucolic elements illuminated by an industrial lamp, blend the creation of ambiance with maximum personalization.
✨ How to incorporate these trends at home
- When it comes to books: create a book wall by choosing color or patina combinations for a controlled “color-material” effect; or get help from a reading selection service like Ultimate Library.
- For cottage flow: think handcrafted textiles (rugs, throws), old wooden furniture, country-style objects (zinc bucket, woven baskets), and indoor greenery.
- For the city glow: opt for statement objects (neon lamp, graffiti painting, brutal console) and accents of bright colours (orange, candy pink).
- Combine subtly: a raw sideboard highlighted with fluorescent accessories, or a floral throw placed on a minimalist metal armchair; play on the contrasts between nature and city.
Conclusion: Interiors in 2025 embrace a hybrid aesthetic: they become works of art, blending culture and objects, combining softness and energy. Between the visual weight of floor-to-ceiling books and urban boldness or cottage warmth, everyone creates their own version of a confident lifestyle. In 2025, decorating is truly a form of self-expression.
