Our need and desire to embrace colours, textures, shapes, and materials inspired by nature has been heard and heeded by the interior design world. The reality of the global pandemic has changed the way we view our homes – both in how they look and how we live in them.
We cannot go backwards because we are not the same people with the same views of the world as we were way back in 2020. No doubt you’ll have been seeing, hearing, and reading about the need for us preparing for, and ultimately accepting, a ‘new normal’ way of life to that we were used to pre-2020. But what if we looked not at a ‘new normal’ but as an opportunity for us to change and start afresh?
We have a big opportunity right now and this is exactly where the design trends for 2022 are taking us. As we step out of 2020-2021, we are changed beings with a new expectation and need for our home’s interiors.
The three trends that we are seeing for 2022 are Solace, Togetherness, and Reset. Each works well on its own but there are also many characteristics within each one that carries and fits well with the others.
Shall we take a look?
SOLACE
The stay-at-home message of 2020 and 2021 has given us the chance to look at a different way of life: pace, work-life balance, and of course perspective.
Our homes have new value placed on them as places of calm and a separation from the outside world. We crave safety and sanctuary … solace.
In Australia, our cities have seen people move to rural or regional areas (or at least to the outer suburbs) away from the noise and bustle of the city to live a balanced life and to establish a feeling of wholeness and contentedness.
2022 is a time to create more space in our homes and our lives, deciding to live more modestly and therefore more fully. Less is definitely more. Interior schemes are created with tenderness. Being adaptable becomes crucial both in us and in our homes. We need to accommodate products and layout for limitless activities with less space.
Working from home is no longer for the few as more and more enter the ‘gig economy’, and with this comes the necessity to connect to technology and to integrate technological aspects to our home spaces but with a mindfulness for honoring our ‘home time’.
Solace is as much about the selection of a way of life and state of mind as it is about décor. This trend projects an atmosphere of calmness and tranquility. Materials and products that are green and nourished and clean. Hands-free interactions and modular designs allow us to change to suit circumstance. We are supported by our possessions as tech-integrated products offer us a supporting hand to our daily lives.
We are eager for a sense of cleansing, revitalising and restorative through the beautiful translucency and shine of many products combined with the solidness of stone – a subtle blend of futurism and naturalism.
Colours of Solace
The colours of solace convey tranquility and a calm radiance – imagine the glow of a soft Mediterranean morning with sunlight dancing across hazy pastels. Soft neutrals and minerals allow deep relaxation and optimism to envelope us.
The colours of the Solace trend encourage us to push beyond neutrals and experiment with colour connections and pairings, creating a new soothing palette for our homes. Any of these colours can be translated into a huge variety of materials and textures.
TOGETHERNESS
The Togetherness trend is carefree, free-spirited, sunny, unrestrained … encouraging people to have a positive outlook. Welcoming and invites us to ‘take things easy’. A chilled-out vibe that moves the 70s trend into the 2022-2023 era.
The stay-at-home messages of 2020 and into 2021 took us into unchartered territory so to speak: our homes became more important than ever. With new social, economic and political upheaval globally there was a new push toward equality and fairness and a collective wellbeing. Global solidarity and caring about others. One of the positive side effects of the global pandemic is the formation of a what we view as a better reality.
To achieve the progress, we need to learn to disagree better and accept difference. Social unrest is on the rise and is uniting people globally. Public approval has never been so important, as are empathy, respect, support, empowerment, and optimism. Looking through the darkness the Togetherness trend provides the positivity generosity and openness with which we can thrive. We dare to be unconventional and do things different, to celebrate and be joyous.
Colours of Togetherness
Looking at the Togetherness colour palette it is easy to imagine being out in the fresh air, surrounded by a field of blooming wildflowers on a warm sunny day.
The colours of the Togetherness trend are the colours we would associate with a positive energy, open communication, and an ‘easy-breezy’ state of mind – colours that assuage feelings of negativity, self-doubt and anxiety.
These colours work well in small groups as well as in small pairings. We will find these colours in natural materials such as cork, woven fibres, terrazzo, rattan, and beautiful timbers.
It will be important to us to seek out pieces that showcase the skills of artisans and a return of the lost traditional arts, paying attention to the ethical side of where our products and materials are sourced. We want to know that local artisans and craftsmen have produced the furniture or decorative elements for our homes because we want to know that we are supporting our communities.
RESET
Early on in the pandemic we watched as globally the earth showed us what happens when we slow down and the immense damage that humans have caused to the planet through our everyday lives. We have become aware of the intense vulnerability of the eco-system and the importance of living as one with nature.
A sense of urgency has been created around climate change and how quickly we must reduce our impacts on the earth’s delicate biology. We know we need to create a greener, cleaner, healthier, and much more sustainable future.
2022 is viewed as a Year of Hope – a year of balancing post-economic recovery population stress lowering carbon emissions and protecting natural habitats. Repairing all that we have disrupted.
In this new Reset era designers and manufacturers will be urged to commit to ‘do no harm to the environment’ at the design and development stage and in production by reusing materials, reevaluating waste and the byproducts. Transforming rather than taking – repair, refurbish, and restore.
We understand that we don’t need to forget elegance to be environmentally friendly. Reset gives us a rawness and grittiness that stirs our interest and draws us close. It is the discerning style of someone who is sure of themselves, yet modest and humble. It is a natural capturing of nature. Life is not perfect so why should we surround ourselves with perfection?
Climate experts tell us that the time has come for us to slow down the speed of consumerism and exploitation to allow us to prolong the future of our species. It is time to remove unnecessary objects and actions from our lives.
Colours of Reset
The colours of Reset represent the precariousness of the environment and the gentleness with which we need to treat the earth. The Reset colour palette conveys a mood that is both poignant and tentatively hopeful as we look toward a regeneration and reset of our planet.
Foggy greens and neutrals, streaks of pastels, and the colours of water come together beautifully with earth brown tones to give us pause to reflect on nature’s great beauty.
Natural and cosy materials such as linen and cotton, clay and brick, velvet, and ceramics will be sought out to bring a calming and organic environment in our homes. This calming and organic environment is a natural sequence of our overall search for a slower pace in our life; slower food, slower dynamics and less stress in our everyday rhythms, as well as a more sustainable life for the things we use daily.
Whichever of these three trends appeal to you the most, we can see a commonality between them:
- An innate need for cleanliness and hygiene (far above our previous desires for these essentials). Easy to clean surfaces and touch-free appliances are becoming more and more important in our daily lives. Sensors, thermodynamic tools, and even logistics and online shopping. All of which affect the configuration of and ways we use our homes.
- Our search for food independence will affect both small towns and large cities – from vertical gardening to hydroponic farms all will find their place in future home designs.
- The pandemic has clearly shown us the important of integrating naturalness and biophilic design into our homes (and workplaces) – from small balconies with flowers and herbs where we can enjoy the fresh air and sun, to elaborate backyards or living rooms with a seamless connection to verandahs and gardens.
- Design quality, safety, and durability is important to us – a good product remains useful for a long time and it is possible to repair it if needed.
- The shapes we are looking to surround ourselves with are voluminous curves and rounded corners which add to the cosy, safe, and soft appearance of the sanctuaries that are our homes. We will see this in furniture, lamps, and architecture.
We have come to the realisation that there are much more important things in life than material possessions. The art of creating a home is still an integral part of our human dynamic, so we now find ourselves searching for creativity, sustainability, safety, and stability in full consciousness and seeking out new technologies, ideas, and circumstances to fulfil our reawakened need.
Which is your favourite new trend? I’m sure you’re eager to bring these amazing new trends into your home. I would love to work with you on doing that, please let me know when you’d like to get the ball rolling!
I can work with you on-site or remotely; distance is no barrier! If you’re still unsure about what you need from an interior designer … jump in and book a DISCOVERY CALL and we can work out which is the best way to get your tropical-inspired interior design project started.
And of course don’t forget to do our FUN QUIZ to work out your personal tropical interior design style!
