The oxblood resurgence may in fact be the result of a broader cultural shift. During the pandemic years and the ones that followed, off-white, cream, and brown interiors reigned supreme due to their calming influence. Now that era is over, the pendulum is starting a slow swing back toward maximalism.
“Over the past few years, interior design has been dominated by warm, desaturated tones paired with tactile, natural materials such as plaster, porous stones, and light woods. These palettes have evoked a sense of calm and grounding, resonating with a collective desire for understated elegance. Now, however, we are entering a transitional phase,” Guillermo Castello, the co-founder of Elmo Studios who recently painted a Park Avenue room in oxblood, tells Vogue. “The return of cooler, smoother materials—think high-gloss surfaces, darker woods, polished and brushed stainless steel—is signaling a shift toward bolder, richer aesthetics. Oxblood, with its deep, moody tonality, serves as the perfect bridge between these two design narratives,” Olivier Gautschox, founder of French design gallery Eteline, agrees. “Oxbloods revives richness and intensity after years of neutrals,” he says. Gautschox has sold a number of notable pieces in the color.
While oxblood is rich, it isn’t jarring. Red is a difficult color to use in interior design, as the intensity of the hue draws our eyes and makes our mind more alert. (There’s a reason emergency signs—think exit and stop signs—are colored red.) Oxblood, with its brownish undertones, allows a room to feel interesting rather than alarming—more falling autumn leaves or glass of Bordeaux than stop sign. “I think the attraction we have to this color has to do with the fact that it’s both earthy and lush—it’s extremely warm in tone but somehow not overwhelming,” says Rauchwerger.
