Being compelled to stay at home for spells over the past few years has contributed to a love for nature that has recently risen to prominence, seen through colour schemes and furniture shapes. Peaceful and relaxing décor, with your health and prosperity, is at the forefront of this year’s interior designs.
Open kitchens with all-white interiors are one trend that’s recently departed, making way for nostalgic colours, bold designs and charming textures in sustainable and multifunctional home spaces. This year many of us will continue to spend plenty of time in our homes so keeping up with the latest trends and styles can prevent your home from looking outdated. Have a look at some of the most captivating and prominent trends we’ve picked out for this year.
Cottagecore
An online movement that was started in 2017, cottagecore a trend that has continued to snowball well into 2022. Cottagecore is all about embracing the charm of the English countryside; living a traditional rural lifestyle inciting skills such as gardening, baking bread and sewing. Cottagecore is seen throughout social media with TikTok, Instagram and influencers on other platforms, taking this nostalgic trend into the new era.
Inspiring sustainable living and a keen focus on confronting climate change make up a key component of the cottagecore lifestyle, seeking out how we can better look after the Earth. Individual wellbeing is also at the crux of cottagecore living with a detachment from technology, escaping modern life for simpler times and finding pleasure in everyday monotonous tasks.
Expect to see plenty of floral patterns, long flowy dresses and naturally occurring colours such as olive green, beige, light yellow and ivory in 2022. With over 3 million Instagram posts using the cottagecore hashtag, we don’t expect this trend to be going anywhere anytime soon.
Statement Lighting
Whether it’s neon signs, overhead pendants or sculptural lighting, there is an abundance of choice to light up your home; but what specifically is catching people’s eye in 2022? Contemporary and uniquely designed ceiling lights are a growing trend this year, working brilliantly in living rooms, kitchens, and bedrooms. Large geometrically shaped pendants or chandeliers create a focal point that will add a great deal of character to your home, as well as illuminating your room.
Try and imagine your lighting as a piece of art or sculpture and you’ll have yourself a striking, quirky light fixture that’s distinctive to you and your home. This year make a bold statement and let your artistic mind run wild, dazzling your guests and surprising yourself along the way.
Interior designers use symmetry to create sophisticated and harmonious environments that works incredibly well with lighting too. A wonderful design idea for a living room is to place two identical lamps either side of a mirror or art piece. Just double check they’re both at the same height.
When deciding what lighting you should opt for, it is important that you judge it on a room-by-room basis, instead of thinking about the entire house. This allows each light to be specifically designed for its surroundings making the integration seamless. Natural textures and brass finishes are also on the rise and here to stay, creating warm and calming spaces.
Curved Furniture
Choosing furniture for the home is a hugely important task but not many people consider the impact the actual shape has on us and our homes. Simple psychology tells us our brains are automatically attracted to spherical forms or curved lines, associating them with calmness and safety. In addition, there’s a link between having curved furniture and creating a calm environment which traces back the ancient Chinese tradition of Feng Shui, where curved edges were said to form a natural and inviting space. This is exactly what people desire to come home to after a long day of work. Sharp and jagged forms, on the other hand, signify danger that can trigger fear and stress in a home space.
Your sleep and welfare are vital components in maintaining a healthy and joyful lifestyle, so what if there was a way of improving these just by updating the bedrooms style. Your bedroom should be a haven that you can come home to feeling cosy and relaxed. So, if you’re struggling with sleep or wellbeing it could be worth picking up an arched headboard or a circular rug and seeing what the results are.
This trend isn’t restricted to the bedroom, with curved sofas a tremendous living room option if you want to create a relaxing space. A rounded sofa cannot always be used in the same way as a traditional piece due to the shape not allowing it to fit snug to a wall. Instead, place it in the centre of the room, showing it off from every angle.
The texture of your furniture contributes profoundly to, not only the feel of the item, but also the visual aesthetic it brings. With curved configurations regularly appearing in nature, combining smooth, knobbly, and rugged textured in the form of wood, stone and natural fibres help transport you to the natural environment. Alternatively, experimenting with different materials such as soft velvets, faux fur and leathers on curved furniture adds a modern element to what is typically an old-fashioned piece.
Multifunctional and Mindful Spaces
Maximising the space in your home isn’t anything new, but with The Tiny House Movement, small homes are more in demand than ever, which means finding items with multiple functions could be a necessity. The recent pandemic has played a big part in this trend due to a large amount of people forced into working, exercising and everyday living from their home. You can prevent your home from looking cluttered by discovering new and smart ways to utilise the space you do have, even if you are creating a home office or gym.
Having your home office inside a wardrobe might sound a bit unnatural but it can genuinely be brilliant. Able to store all your work items in one small space is extremely helpful with organisation and there’s also the possibility to shut the wardrobe doors blocking out your work at the end of the day.
Creating a calm and tranquil home environment isn’t always easy when you regularly have mundane tasks to complete. Having a home space that inspires mindfulness can work as a reminder to take a step back and be conscious of the present. Prioritising open spaces, filling them with specific items that you love and provides mental peace, with soft, dim lighting is ideal.
Using natural materials like plants and stone that possess earthy tones and soft colours helps to form a space of relaxation. Despite technology making our lives simpler for the most part, the hyperconnectivity can distance us from finding true peace. With constant decisions and information to process, a lot of people don’t take enough time to chill out. This trend proves that just a few very simple changes can sub-consciously bolster your calmness and general wellbeing.
1970's Décor Inspiration
From bellbottoms, the rise of disco and technological innovation, the 70’s is iconic. With retro styles often seen inside of current houses, there are many new styles inspired by what was celebrated 50 years ago and we’re only expecting it to rise in popularity.
Extremely prevalent in the 70’s, rattan furniture, constructed of cane and willow, is on the rise again. The rattan style gives a relaxed and easy-going feel that was part of the Bohemian style or Boho décor as it’s more commonly known. A range of items such as Baskets, chairs and placemats can be made from rattan, spread them around your home and you’ll get a regular calming vibe.
Fringe and shag rugs used to be very popular, coming in a variety of shapes and colours during the 70’s. Rising to popularity yet again, these comfortable styles of rugs add a great deal of texture to a room, which is both pleasing to touch but also visually appealing. There are a range of different materials like wool and synthetic materials as well as various colours to choose from when it comes to shag and fringe rugs, so it shouldn’t be difficult to find one that fits your home.
The colour scheme of the 70’s is archetypal with plenty of white used to offset the bright green, turquoise, sunshine yellow and browns. Similar colours are heading back to our homes with terracotta, sage and mustard rising in popularity. These fit well with a variety of textures and create a warming, vintage aesthetic.
To Conclude
In most fields, trends often come and go quickly, especially in the current social media world. However, often large price tags are involved when it comes to home décor, so creating interiors that are made to last is essential. By monitoring the newest trends, better informed creative decisions can be made to create timeless interiors. Customers are prioritising meaningful items that express themselves and their creativity now more than ever.
Trends are a great way of perceiving what’s going to be admired and sought after within a certain industry which creates a herd mentality and the fear of missing out amongst many. But does this mean you should be following them? As every home is unique with different possibilities and priorities, the answer is down to you. There is a lot to be taken from this year’s home trends but, for example, if a curved mustard sofa would clash in your living room and look uncomfortable then steer clear. It’s all about spotting the latest trends, relating to your own home, and letting your creative mind run wild.