Brighter weather and longer days are a great excuse to start thinking about refreshing your home. And what better way to gather inspiration than to take a look at some of the latest home design trends. From working-from-home to pet-friendly finishes, here are 7 of the home design trends worth checking out.
Wellbeing at home
Many of us have begun to pay more attention to our health and well-being in the last 24 months. Whether it’s creating a space to exercise or work from home that is easy to use or connecting with nature more to reduce stress, creating ways to encourage these good habits will be a focus for home design this year.
Projects like building space in the garden to work out or work from home, adding a window seat to a living space, or simply introducing a few house plants are all great ways to embrace this trend.
Kitchens – cooking and dining
Functionality and choice of quality appliances will dominate kitchen design in 2022. Clean lines and smart storage will also be popular, with larder and pantry cupboards becoming a must-have feature. When it comes to finishes, durability and ease of maintenance will be critical, with homeowners being much more hygiene conscious due to the pandemic. Copper finishes and fixtures will also be popular in the new year because of their antimicrobial properties.
Relaxed comfort
More comfortable, relaxed styles are replacing formal decor. From oversized sofas in plush fabrics to tactile floor finishes like cork, our choices for furniture and finishes will be driven by comfort. Formal rooms will continue to be sacrificed to make space in homes, and sumptuous accessories like deep pile rugs and textured cushions will be big this year.
Energy efficiency
Making our homes more comfortable also means ensuring they are warm and free from draughts. Projects like replacing windows and upgrading insulation and heating systems were popular in 2021. Government incentives for retrofitting homes make doing this kind of work more attractive. Improving our home’s energy efficiency is another trend that will continue in 2022.
Sustainability
There is also a desire to make more sustainable choices for furnishing and decorating our homes. Last year, there was a renewed interest in second hand or ‘pre-loved’ and antique furniture. This trend is one tipped for growth this year.
Flexibility
A need for more flexibility in our homes is a trend that will continue this year. From reclaiming unused space to choosing furniture that can multitask, flexibility is the key to both future-proofing your home and making it work more efficiently.
The marketplace is responding to this trend. More and more products are available that enable this flexibility throughout the home. From cordless portable lamps to furniture suitable for inside and outside, expect to see lots more options for multitasking pieces in the shops this year.
What is the interior design color for 2022?
Earthy tones will be the foundation of colour palettes for 2022, from rich terracottas to mellow murky greens. This year’s colour trends are both warm and inviting. Creamy off-whites, soft mineral blues and delicate biscuit shades will be big in interior wall colours.
American colour company Pantone has chosen ‘Very Peri’ as its colour of the year. A vibrant blue with violet undertones encourages courageous creativity in a time of change and flux. According to Pantone, ‘Very Peri’ is a symbol of the global zeitgeist of the moment and the transition we are going through. As we emerge from an intense period of isolation, our notions and standards are changing, and our physical and digital lives have merged in new ways. Digital design helps us to stretch the limits of reality, opening the door to a dynamic virtual world where we can explore and create new colour possibilities.
Grey will continue to be popular, especially for windows. But we will see a move away from colder greys to warmer sandy greys. For example, light grey windows will be a fresh alternative to the dark anthracite greys that have been popular in recent years.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Managing Director Optimise Design, B.Arch. RIAI RIBA
& Senator’s Expert Design Consultant
This blog post is sponsored, but the views expressed by the author are her own.
