I've always loved a pop of blue, red, or yellow in an otherwise neutral space. And while I admire anyone who can masterfully combine all three, blue has always been my clear favorite. Now, IKEA has officially crowned 'Electric Blue' as their 2025 Color of the Year. Inspired by the seas and skies, Electric Blue is a hue that IKEA describes as “contemplative and calm, yet versatile enough for modern and traditional spaces.”
Whether you’re looking to refresh a bedroom, energize a living room, or add a cool pop to your kitchen, this happy, bold shade delivers in the form of wall art, plush throws, or statement-making furniture. The best part? It plays well with others. Pair it with sunny yellows, vibrant oranges, soft lavenders, or even a daring hot pink. Will you be embracing this blue wave in 2025? From rugs and pillows to accessories and more, here are our top picks to embrace the new year with a splash of blue.
Wayfair
This playful elephant trunk design calls for a color that doesn't take itself too seriously, creating a look that's minimalist and modern yet anything but boring.
IKEA
This yarn-dyed throw feels just like mohair and it's made from recycled materials. It's a great way to commit to this bright color while on a budget.
West Elm
This 100% wool rug is actually washable and adds a bit of play and pop of blue to any space.
IKEA
These stacking stools are so versatile and can be added to the corner of any room for extra seating or tables.
Urban Outfitters
This cylindrical side table is perfect for holding your best reads, phone, other bedside essentials.
IKEA
This affordable bed frame will brighten up your bedroom and day.
Amazon
For just $10, you can channel your own Blue Period with this striking and eclectic gallery wall.
Etsy
Designer Lex Pott combined both base and candle so you don't need a candle holder. Brilliant idea and color!
IKEA
Pull up a chair in Electric Blue with this upholstered piece that works in dining rooms, kitchens, and offices.
All Modern
This 100% hand-tufted New Zealand wool rug makes a bold statement with simple geometric shapes.
IKEA
This wavy mirror in Electric Blue pairs perfectly with the IKEA BLÅSVERK Table Lamp in the same color.
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Brit + Co may at times use affiliate links to promote products sold by others, but always offers genuine editorial recommendations.
We’re total sneaker heads over here, so we’re uber excited for what spring has to offer in the shoe department. It appears spring 2025 is brimming with fresh sneakertrends that embrace all things colorful and retro – a power combo! If you’re looking to step up your ‘fits with something a lil’ bit different on your feet, this season’s kicks are anything but basic.
Urban Outfitters
Pink sneakers are popping off this spring, ranging from pastels to bold, hot pink shades. They’re the perfect sneakers to snag if you’re seeking a seasonal pop of color!
Anthropologie
For a playful feel, wear hot pink kicks with an all-black outfit to make them stand out. For a more femme look, wear some pastel pink sneakers with light-wash jeans and a flowy white top.
Onitsuka Tiger
Inspired by vintage running shoes from the ‘70s and ‘80s, retro track sneakers are definitely on the come-up. Brands are continuing to bring a mix of nostalgia and sporty aesthetics to the forefront, and we couldn’t love it more!
Saucony
These sneaks are not only stylish, but practical, too! Seek out a comfy pair with some chic suede detailing or bold color blocking. Whether you pair ‘em with wide-leg trousers for a vintage-inspired outfit or biker shorts for a lax weekend look, a good set of bold retro sneakers will undeniably turn heads your way.
Keen
We’re starting to spot hiking-inspired sneakers on the street more and more. Technical shoe brands like Keen and Salomon have styles that are both functional and fashionable!
Salomon
With rugged soles, durable materials, and utilitarian designs, these shoes provide unmatched comfort, too. To give your ‘fits a sportier vibe, try hiking sneakers with cargo pants and a fitted tank top. For added contrast, certain styles also look ahh-mazing with mini dresses and denim jackets!
Free People
Customizing your look is key in 2025 – so sneaker charms let you infuse your kicks with personality! From pearls and pendants to lace and beads, you can truly find sneaker charms of all kinds… or make your own!
Dolce Vita
Shoe charms also work well beyond sneakers. You can easily tack them onto boots or loafers!
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Brit + Co may at times use affiliate links to promote products sold by others, but always offers genuine editorial recommendations.
Sweater season is nearly here and we're (almost) ready for it, especially the decorating and hosting part (festive fall cocktails by the fire, anyone?). IKEA just dropped its new fall and Halloween collections filled with entertaining essentials and fun ghost-and-goblin decor, which means now's the time to get your fall decor haul with a Scandi twist. IKEA's also releasing its MITTZON office collection, which we previewed last spring. Check out more home decor news coming from IKEA this month before you make the trek this season.
IKEA
The HÖSTAGILLE collection, available August 1, features home textiles in warm autumnal colors, affordable seasonal home decor like scented candles, and elevated kitchen essentials perfect for your next fall gathering. This pie plate is just $13. Score two of the orange dish towels for $4!
IKEA
This pumpkin bowl in brown glass is perfect for holding small things like your favorite Halloween candy.
IKEA
A $5 cushion cover and a cotton throw turns your summer home into a warm and cozy fall retreat instantly.
IKEA
Celebrate the spookiest time of the year with a Scandi vibe. Find festive lighting and decor, affordable trick-or-treat bags, and modern serving pieces in the new KUSTFRYR collection.
IKEA
MITTZON, an 85-piece office collection, is perfect for the small business or WFHer. It's designed to keep the office quiet with products that absorb and block sound, keep distractions at bay, and offer much-needed privacy. Find foldable desks, adjustable standing desks, acoustic screens, and more.
IKEA
Find colorful pieces too for the home this fall, like this decorative side table in playful pink. It's compact, lightweight and you can move around the house for different uses.
IKEA
Also, check out the IKEA PS 1995 clock, which can hang on the wall or sit on a shelf. Open the front and store small trinket. Kids will love it!
IKEA
The IKEA PS 2014 pendant lamp won the international design competition's Red Dot Award. You can change its shape and intensity of light by simply pulling its strings.
Finally, the BADRING smart sensors collection is available now so you can have a smart home on a budget. This include the Badring Water Leak Sensor, which will let you know if you have, well, a water leak before it's too late.
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Lead image via IKEA
As far as I'm concerned, 2024 was Daisy Edgar-Jones' year. The Normal People actress captured our hearts with her role as Kate in Twisters (as well as her viral Hot Ones interview with Glen Powell and "Apple" TikTok dance). But while Kate led a pretty adventurous life, her risk threshold is nothing compared to Daisy's newest character, Muriel, in On Swift Horses.
Living in post-Korean War California, Muriel's life with her husband Lee is disrupted when Lee's brother Julius arrives in all his addictive, charming glory. The film, based on Shannon Pufahl's 2019 book of the same name, made its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 7. Here's everything you need to know.
Luc Montpelllier
Muriel begins a new life with her husband Lee when he returns to California from the Korean War. But the life they're building together — and their future — changes forever when Lee's brother Julius, a headstrong gambler, arrives. Julius is attractive, charismatic, and hiding plenty of secrets.
According to the official synopsis, "when Julius takes off in search of the young card cheat he’s fallen for, Muriel’s longing for something more propels her into a secret life of her own, gambling on racehorses and exploring a love she never dreamed possible."
Luc Montpelllier
The story explores LGBTQ+ identity and desire in the 1950s, but does so with a hopeful tone rather than a devastating one. “The first scenes that we filmed were the scenes we had together, so we got all of that done with—when we were apart, we had put the groundwork in,” Daisy tells Vanity Fair of working with Jacob, who adds, "I believe Taylor Swift calls it an invisible string.”
"I loved the connection between gambling and risk-taking, and pushing the boundaries of her desire and what she’s looking for,” Daisy adds. “Muriel’s rebellion throughout the film is quite quiet, in the small ways in which she takes back her power by concealing things. A lot of what’s happening is behind closed doors.”
Luc Montpelllier
On Swift Horses stars Daisy Edgar-Jones, Jacob Elordi, Will Poulter, Sasha Calle, and Diego Calva.
"It's not hard to make chemistry with Jacob because he's just so charismatic," Daisy said during a Q&A, via People, adding that the script "felt almost like reading poetry and so much of what happens is in the subtext."
"This movie is just about love,” Calle added. “It’s important to just feel that — whoever that might be, where that takes you. It’s important to feel that and to feel safe in it.”
Luc Montpelllier
On Swift Horses premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 7, and is currently looking for a distributor. Check back here for news on its release date!
As charming as Julius appears in the teaser trailer, his brother Lee tells Muriel they live differently than he does. "He's just not like us," he says before a scene cuts to Muriel exploring her own "passions." Based on this, On Swift Horses appears to blur the lines of love, lust, secrets, and recognizing one's identity.
Read up on Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh's We Live In Time, which also premiered at TIFF last year!
Lead image via Robin Marchant/Getty Images
This post has been updated.
The 2000s were a wild time for movies. It was an era of debatable fashion, even more questionable humor, and films that, looking back, we can't believe ever made it past a pitch meeting.
While certain movies from this nostalgic period remain classics, others haven't aged very well. Whether they're filled with problematic tropes or outdated stereotypes, here are the 10 cringey 2000s movies that wouldn't stand a chance in Hollywood today.
Summit Entertainment
When Twilight premiered in 2008, it became an instant sensation and sparked a cultural obsession with supernatural romance. However, while it left an undeniable mark on pop culture, this film has some major underlying issues.
Once viewed as swoon-worthy, Bella and Edward's relationship feels problematic in hindsight. He was controlling, exhibited stalker-like behavior, and gaslit her into believing that she imagined his supernatural abilities.
Add in the fact that Edward is technically over a century old when Bella is a high schooler, and it's clear why Twilight might not resonate with audiences the same way in 2025.
Universal Pictures
Directed by Judd Apatow, Knocked Up was initially well-received despite heavily leaning on outdated gender stereotypes. The movie follows responsible and career-driven Alison, who is forced to navigate an unplanned pregnancy with slacker Ben.
Even though Knocked Up delivers plenty of laughs, it also portrays women, especially Alison, as rigid and joyless. Katherine Heigl, the lead actress, criticized this, too, saying the film "Paints the women as shrews, as humorless and uptight, and it paints the men as lovable, goofy, fun-loving guys."
Dreamworks
This movie might've showcased Eddie Murphy's ability to transform into multiple characters, yet Norbit is still more cringeworthy than comedic. The portrayal of Rasputia, an over-the-top and domineering woman whose character is built around fat-shaming jokes, is particularly offensive.
Moreover, Murphy also plays Mr. Wong, a wildly stereotypical caricature of an elderly Chinese man.
20th Century Fox
Shallow Hal may have set out to deliver a message about inner beauty, but it really missed the mark. Again, this film relies on fatphobic humor, with Gwyneth Paltrow's character serving as the target of the jokes.
It arguably reinforces stereotypes about weight and attractiveness, and Gwyneth (who wore a fat suit) actually called the movie a "disaster" in 2020.
Columbia Pictures
Featuring over-the-top humor and absurd disguises, White Chicks was a hit in 2004. Nonetheless, it's a tired portrayal of women as materialistic, shallow, and obsessed with their looks.
The premise involves two FBI agents posing as socialites during a Hamptons weekend, and it was always meant to be ridiculous. Even so, there are certain scenes that are especially questionable, like when an athlete at the club attempts to spike a woman's drink.
Universal Pictures
Brüno was intended to be a bold satire, Sacha Baron Cohen's specialty, but it crosses the line of edgy humor. He plays an exaggerated, flamboyant Austrian fashion journalist, and the mockumentary was meant to expose homophobia.
Despite that, the movie incorporated a lot of outdated gay stereotypes and might've reinforced the notions as opposed to challenging them. In fact, Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) representative Rashad Robinson called the work "problematic in many places and outright offensive in others."
New Line Cinema
Wedding Crashers revolves around two men who lie their way into weddings to manipulate women into sleeping with them. At its core, the film's plot is unsettling and questionable.
Aside from that, it features gay stereotypes, a racist grandmother, and scenes that blur the lines of consent. All that being said, t's obvious why this movie wouldn't fly today.
New Line Cinema
The Notebook is still one of the most favored romance movies of all time, so this may be an unpopular opinion, but some of its most iconic moments are more disturbing than anything.
There's no denying that Noah and Allie's love story is passionate, but his relentless pursuit of her is borderline manipulative. Remember when he threatened to let go of the Ferris wheel if she didn't go on a date with him?
Plus, once they actually get together, their relationship is filled with constant fighting, including scenes when Allie hits Noah. Female-on-male violence has traditionally been glossed over in films, but today, Hollywood is moving away from these problematic depictions.
Paramount Pictures
This movie follows advice columnist Andie Anderson, played by Kate Hudson, who wants to write an attention-grabbing piece. She finds Ben Berry, an advertising executive who's arguably creepy and manipulative.
While How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days may be a classic rom-com, it relies on gender stereotypes that can feel more offensive than humorous now.
Paramount Pictures
Finally, we can't forget about Mean Girls, one of the most iconic teen comedies of the 2000s. Sure, it's filled with endlessly quotable lines and a sharp take on high school cliques, but it also has relentless body-shaming.
Many of the scenes would hit differently in today's more body-positive era, making Mean Girls a more cringey watch in 2025.
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