There's no doubt about it: interior design has come in from the cold. After more than a decade of stripping bare and knocking through, of chucking out the chintz, not to say the curtains and carpets, interiors have finally taken on a warmer, kinder and altogether cosier feel. The 90's design revolution was dramatic. As house prices rose from the depths of the last recession, interior design was born again. In this brave new, high-tech world our homes had stark white walls, bare wooden boards, uninterrupted open space and clean-lined contemporary furniture.

Many of the core beliefs of this revolution have endured, but others are now being questioned. We still want a relatively streamlined look - not for us the oppressive swags and cloistered curtaining of the 80's - but, on the whole, we're now confident enough to soften up at the edges.

A new approach to layout and the arrangement of space was perhaps the most radical contribution of the 90's and, even in the most traditional homes, wall were knocked down with an abandon early feminists reserved for discarding their bras. We wanted no interruption between indoors and out, between bedroom and bathroom and, most crucially, between kitchen, living and dining space.

While the open-plan approach undoubtedly has it's advantages, reflecting the more casual way we live now, people have come to realise they may also want space to be alone or just walk away from the mess. "I think one of the big trends we're going to see in 2005 is the need for a bit of a retreat and the incorporation of more personal space," says Karen Howes of design partnership Taylor Howes, who, as well as working for numerous private clients, has designed show flats for such leading developers as St George. "We're already seeing open-plan space become more flexible and we're using a lot of screen walls to give increased privacy."

Design guru Nina Campbell has always been wary of the more extreme forms of open plan. "You have to do it with care. You do want to retain a sense of intimacy, and a huge room can be intimidating." Campbell, like Howes, is a fan of the screen for redefining space. "Either solid or transparent - they look lovely."

A 90's interior too often resembled an art gallery, on show and out-there, and there has definitely been a retreat from the impersonal and the exposed. "Homes are becoming more-relaxed, even slightly creased," says Kelly Hoppen, one of the leaders of the 90's revolution. "We're far more in tune with our feelings and our homes are reflective of that."

An expanded colour palette, a sympathy for ornament and pattern and a softer approach to texture are key components of the new mood. "My private clients don't want bland walls any more, and they don't want their bathrooms to be stark and hotel-like," says Carol Bennett of Designed Interiors, who also works exclusively with professional landlords. "They want to be able to hang up pictures and paint their walls. The look is sleek, but not cold."

Nina Campbell is experiencing a similar demand. "People are bored with beige and cream," she says. "But there are other ways to look crisp and classic. I'm using a robin's egg blue that is particularly effective." And long-enduring prints in the Campbell collection are being reborn in aqua, amethyst and straw.

Designers who work for developers are understandably more conservative in their approach to colour and pattern, but they, too, are shaking up the neutral spectrum with sludge, aubergine, soft green and splashes of really vibrant colour. Even in the rental world - where the wisdom 'neutral, neutral, neutral' is almost as stone-like as 'location, location, location' - forward-looking landlords at the top end of the rental market are responding to the new appetite for colour and pattern. "Clients paying over £1,000 a week will pay a premium for something distinctive and original.

The Russians in particular love colour and opulence, and the younger market, too, wants something original," says Pierre Brahm, Chief Executive of Belgravia sales and lettings agents Henry & James, who, over the past couple of years, has worked with leading designers Allegra Hicks, Neisha Crosland, and Tara Bernerd to give these customers what they want. A more soothing approach to texture is as important as a bolder use of colour in the new century. "Fabrics are subtle, light yet warm, cocoon-like," says Kelly Hoppen.

And Helen Green of Helen Green Design, who has just completed 10 units at Wycombe Square, St James Homes' top-of-the-range development in Kensington, has layered silks, linens and boucles for a sophisticated, urban chic. "It's a modern classic look, with splashes of colour and intricate texture blended with a more neutral palette."

Texture and warmth are also being applied underfoot - often quite literally, with the now virtually essential inclusion of under-floor heating. And, though it's generally agreed that wooden floorboards are here to stay, these too are being mixed, matched and coloured. Carol Bennett, for example, is now using wooden flooring as a border, insetting carpet into the centre of the room. Karen Howes is tinting her floorboards black, and everywhere carpet is creeping back. "Hard flooring is still predominant," says Nina Campbell, "But people do realise it's hard to maintain. No matter how often you clean it, the fluff comes back. Carpeting is easier, and of course much cosier, in the bedroom."

Cosy, cosseted, comfortable - these are the themes of the mid Noughties, so just sit back and enjoy it.

Lisa Freedman is a freelance journalist and a regular contributor to the Financial Times, Mail on Sunday, Times and Homes & Gardens.