2022 Design Trends: What’s In and What’s Out
Looking back to a year ago, we recommended 5 interior decor trends to incorporate in 2021. It looks like those design trends are definitely on all of the lists for 2022 as well. If you’ve already adopted some of the ideas we had for you back then, you are starting the year off hot on your home design heels.
What’s in for 2022? From colour palettes that incorporate warm tones to a definite commitment to sustainability, 2022 design trends are going to further emphasize warm, cozy and comfort in the home. I think what will surprise you the most is what’s out in 2022.
Here are the design and decorating trends we expect to see this year.
Earth Toned Colour Palettes
Last year, we told you that green will be one of the hottest colours in interiors. We can tell you, it sure was. Looking back at our projects, we see that we used green as an accent colour in many spaces.
It really is no surprise then that this continues to be a hot colour into 2022 given that green creates a calm, relaxing atmosphere. When you’re in the middle of a pandemic (sigh, we thought it was almost over too!), what more could you ask for from your home.
In addition to green, we expect to see a rise in other warmer tones like warm beiges and brown in colour palettes. Dare we say the gray is gone from design trends? Don’t worry greige will continue to be the base of most neutral colour palettes, but in a warmer tone than before.
What is on trend for design is tones of earthy browns. Colours like terracotta, cinnamon, mushroom, chocolate, umber and sienna will be popular choices in 2022.
How you can incorporate this trend:
- Bring in an earthy colour as an accent to your room. This could be in the way of a throw pillow, artwork or doing a feature wall in one or more of these colours.
- Not ready for that big of a commitment? How about adding some more plants into the room. This is a great way to bring in a hint of green to your room.
Curvilinear Furniture
This was also another design trend we told you to adopt in 202. We expect this interior decorating trend of curvy furnishings to continue for a while.
Curvy shapes give a space softness and smoothness and make it feel calming. This year, we’ll see it even more in everything from accessories to lighting to main pieces of furniture.
In the last couple of years, these curvy pieces of furniture were often paired with white bouclé upholstery and we are on the fence whether the bouclé as a design trend will continue past 2022. Some might even say bouclé is already done.
This curvey design trend will likely extend into architectural elements of a home in 2022. Imagine a curved built-in bar in a family room, for example.
How you can incorporate this trend:
- If you’re in the market for new furniture, consider purchasing a curved sofa or accent chairs. This is the easiest way to incorporate this design trend.
- Add an arched wall sticker (yes, you can buy these from anywhere you buy wallpaper) and decorate the wall with some shelves and accessories.
Multi-purpose spaces
As we head into our third year under a global pandemic, our homes are functioning as our office, gym, restaurant and a million other things all at the same time. This means that we need each space to be used for multiple activities simultaneously.
We certainly heard requests to create multi-functioning spaces from our clients in the last year. If you asked us a couple of months ago, we were expecting to get requests to turn a home office back into a guest room in 2022. A few weeks in, it’s clear that many of us will work from home for a little while longer.
How you can incorporate this trend:
- Carve out a separate desk space. Even if it means putting up a shelf against an open wall space in a bedroom. We’ve been asked by clients to turn a closet space into a work space during this pandemic. Whatever might work in your home, create this separate space for your home office.
- Create a consistent time where you end your work day and put away your laptop. This is not really a design tip but design follows function. And we care about your wellbeing.
Outdoors In
This was another design trend we talked about last year and will continue into 2022. It’s called biophilic design, where the goal is to bring outside in using natural materials, colours and plants.
We already talked about earthy tones dominating in colour palettes earlier. We’ll also see fabrics and wallpaper that incorporate patterns of flora and fauna and natural materials.
We are continuing to get requests to include houseplants in our designs. We expect to see this decorating trend going on well past this year as well. Why do we say this? People are still looking for ways to make their space feel calm and plants and outdoors do exactly that.
How you can incorporate this trend:
- Add some house plants to your home. We talk about how to incorporate plants into your home in this post and this post.
- Create a feature wall with a tropical leaf motif wallpaper to add some fun to your space. Not ready to commit to a whole wall of green? Maybe some throw pillows in a tropical leaf pattern is more your style then.
Sustainability
It’s no surprise sustainability in interior design is a big topic these days. Some of it is also probably driven by all of the supply chain delays we’ve all been experiencing over the last year.
People are choosing to do away with fast furniture as they become aware of the environmental impact of those choices. We saw more of our clients asking for quality, long lasting furnishings in 2021 than ever before.
Many experts are predicting a move away from fast, cheap furniture will continue in 2022 and homeowners are willing to spend more on sustainable investment pieces. Many interior designers and homeowners also turned to vintage and previously used furnishings in the last year due to the lack of supply. We expect these decorating trends to continue well into the new year.
How you can incorporate this trend:
- Look for the FSC®-certified wood in the description to ensure your furniture came from responsibly managed forests.
- Make the next piece of furniture you buy vintage. Many vintage furniture stores went online during the pandemic. Do a quick Google search to find a local vintage store and browse to find an item that works for your space. Facebook marketplace can also be a great place to find some great pieces of furniture on a budget. If you’re in Toronto, check out A Changing Nest in Bloor West for some great items.
Grand Millennial Style
What is the grand millennial style? We talked a little about this in the 2021 design trends but we will see more of this trendy style this year and beyond. It’s a traditional inspired design style that is being adopted by some millennials rebelling against the mid-century modern, modern and minimalist styles that have been dominating in the past few years.
This style incorporates florals that might be reminiscent of your grandmother’s home in fabric and wallpaper and more traditional lines in furniture like a rolled arm on a sofa. Only with a more modern touch. This design trend is likely also responsible for some of the demand for vintage furniture.
How you can incorporate this trend:
- Dip your toes into this design style by introducing something small like wallpaper in a small Victorian-esque floral pattern for a feature wall or choosing a pleated drum lamp shade.
- If you are in the market for a sofa, choose a Bridgewater sofa in rose or sage velvet. You can learn more about different sofa styles here.
Black accents
In the last few years, gold has been in everything we’ve seen. From furniture to cabinet pulls, we are seeing black as the go to colour for finishes in 2022.
We’ve already been seeing black accents becoming more popular with the Farmhouse design styled spaces but this year we will see it extend beyond that into other styles.
For example, black window frames have been popular for a few years now. We’ll now start to see the same popularity for furniture legs and accents, cabinet hardware, lighting, door frames and many other accents.
How you can incorporate this trend:
- Easiest kitchen update for 2022 will be to change out all your cabinet hardware and faucet to something with a matte black finish.
- Add some black decor to your coffee table and living room decor. This is an easy trend to adopt as black goes with everything!
So then, what’s out in 2022? Everything from all white kitchens, all gray living rooms, open shelving, to fast furniture, there are a number of things we won’t see as much of in 2022.
The biggest design trend that’s out we see is the modern farmhouse style. In the last year, we’ve been seeing much more of a trend toward the boho design style. Some experts even believe that the mid-century modern style might have hit it’s peak already but we don’t see this style going away anytime soon. We do see it being combined with other styles like boho to stay on trend.
