2022 Design Trends to Watch

In 2022, we’ll continue to see many trends from the past two years that were driven by the pandemic stay with us. For many, the pandemic has brought with it a renewed sense of who we are, a reevaluation of our priorities, and a reconnection with what feels good to us inside our homes.

This reconnection to our homes has brought with it a disconnection from fads and trends, and many are rethinking functionality for this new home-based lifestyle that includes more working from home, learning from home and vacationing from home.

Personally, I’m absolutely love this direction home design has taken! This mentality of functionality over trendy has been exactly what I’ve always believed, taught and helped my clients achieve for the last 15 years. What we’re seeing across the industry is that homeowners are much less focused on creating a specific aesthetic for their homes, opting in favour of more unique, individualized spaces and styles which blur the lines between traditional “design styles.” This is all good news!

Still, there are several core trends clearly emerging with the new year. Collectively we’re looking for elements to support us and nurture us now and moving forward. We’re all becoming more aware of our environments around us and how they affect us, and this is showing in the trends.

Neutral & Natural Tones

While neutrals never really go “out of style,” we’ll be seeing more soothing greens, gray-beige tones, whites, brown with warm undertones, and earthy colours as homeowners crave that feeling of Zen and relaxation within their spaces. Research continues to show that natural colour schemes and organic forms reduce stress, lower blood pressure and decrease heart rate. They make us happier and can increase productivity and creativity. After the last couple years, I think we can all agree that we need this more.  We’ll balance this out though with some colour in deeper richer more jewel like tones, adding interest and personality into the space.

Biophilia

Biophilia, defined as the innate instinct and need to connect to nature and other living things, is here to stay. We’re seeing this move towards creating outdoor living spaces and bringing the outdoors in. Indoor gardens, trees, and plants will be the norm in every house. Studies show Biophilic Design can support cognitive function, physical health, and psychological well-being.

Sensory Experiences

We’re finally collectively starting to pay attention to our sensory experience within our own homes. It was always there and happening, we just weren’t paying attention to it. Mindful design is finally awake. The scents in our homes have become an important part of the design. Using sage in the home office to promote mental activity and the scent of orange blossom and lavender in the bedroom for calm are become commonplace. Our sensory system is dynamic and individual, unique and multi-layered. Bringing these personalized experiences into our homes design will help create a better living environment for us.

Comfort in Curves

Free flowing curves are having a moment. Femininity will continue have an impact on form in 2022. We need a little softness and nurturing in our lives and spaces to comfort the sharpness and roughness we’ve had in our lives. Look for more furniture with rounded edges, gentle curves and organic prints in décor pieces, helping to give homes a softer, more natural look.

Multifunctional Spaces

Overall, we’re spending more time in our homes, which is giving us a real opportunity to rethink the way we live in our home. The last two years forced us to use our spaces differently, add spaces, and/or get creative in making room for everyone to better utilize the space available to them. Initially, we were in survival mode and “just making do,” but this year we’ll see more effort put into these multi-use spaces — thinking about not only how they function, but also how they make us feel and how they look because they are being more important to us long term.

Sustainability

Conversations around sustainability will continue to grow, along with the importance of supporting local. The demand for greener practices and eco-friendly materials also will be part of the design process and influence the way we decide to design our interiors. Hopefully, these conversation will continue to move towards becoming the norm rather than just a trend. We are becoming more aware of our precious natural resources, our impact on them and how important it is to protect them and renew them. We will see more sustainable materials such as rattan, cane, bamboo, grasscloth, and recycled materials being used in new and interesting ways.

Upcycling

Continuing with this sustainable and responsible design, we’ll see more upcycling — that is, taking unwanted pieces and waste materials and recreating and reusing them, giving them new life and love. For example, IKEA starting using upcycled materials and created curtains from PET bottles and waste fabric into new rugs/pillows. We’ll also see more vintage and antique pieces mixed into spaces.  This all makes me happy, because I love the character and unique details that adding a couple of these pieces can bring to a space.