Photo courtesy of Behr
Now that 2021 is in the review mirror and we have a fresh slate of 12 months on the horizon, it’s a good time for an at-home lifestyle check. Does your home-base aesthetic inspire and drive you? Do its functional aspects help create synergistic convenience and a sense of organic flow? If not, and you’re considering an interior re-boot, here is the latest expert advice when it comes to fresh colors, furnishings, aspects that inspire, such as pattern and texture, use of the space that you have, and the special touches that make a house a home.
Photo courtesy of elledecor.com
Shape
In particular, when we are discussing shape as it relates to home furnishings—here we go, round and round! This smoother, curvier look in furnishings actually started taking “shape” several seasons ago and has now reached macro-trend status. There is a softness and femininity seen in this trend, as well, that counterbalances strict lines in layout and design by using furnishings sans corners.
Rounding of the corners is specifically seen in large-scale pieces like sofas, but has also extended to tables, chairs, coffee tables, and smaller décor elements such as vases and candlesticks.
Color
In the fall of every year, color experts associated with paint manufacturers using data derived from Pantone Color Institute research and other influences including the fashion industry, determine which colors they feel will have the most influence in the home for the year to come.
Each manufacturer will announce a color of the year and a palette of additional colors developed to coordinate with it. This year, for instance, Sherwin-Williams touts Evergreen Fog as the color of the year. Described as a versatile and calming hue, Evergreen Fog is said to combine green with gray and just a hint of blue to create a chameleon-like shade that works so well across the décor spectrum.
Behr’s interior color of the year is also a pleasing calming green called Breezeway. It, however, has substantially more white in its base creating a much creamier tone.
All manufacturers are still pulling inspiration from earthy, natural aspects of our world that play into a soothing narrative, one of comfort and tranquility.
Shades of gray that have been very popular as a solid base color over the last few seasons, will begin to take a less prominent role in the palettes going forward, according to industry experts. Perhaps, a somewhat subliminal nod that our “gray days” are now behind us?
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Photo courtesy of ourgoodbrands.com
Inspirational Aspects
What remains of our days living through a pandemic, is the recognition and attention given to our immediate surroundings. Themes related to sustainability have us looking at our belongings critically to determine how purposeful they are and if they can remain so. The aspect of “re-sourcing” and investing in elements and objects that not only endure but that serve multiple purposes addresses environmental concerns, provides inspiration, and has consumers appreciating the ability to consume less without compromising quality of life. The concept of “mindful shopping” which avoids waste and limits impulse purchases, has consumers looking for more sustainable materials for their interior goods, as well. Materials such as cork, bamboo, and reclaimed wood will serve the dual purpose of looking stylish and retaining aesthetic value over time.
On the design side of things, much attention is turning to pattern again and the practice of mixing and matching several patterns toward achieving a desired effect. Pattern in wall coverings and fabrics within the living space has traditionally been a conservative discussion in the past, but experts agree conversations with clients have shifted from the discriminating use of small floral prints as an enhancement to bolder approaches with much larger floral constructs and other patterns that mimic elements occurring in nature.
The bolder use of geometrics and splashes of intense color will also be a part of those discussions this year, as will exactly where patterns within a room should be placed. In other words, you may not have ever thought of a ceiling as a canvas for a pattern, but designers are proving it’s not all about the wall anymore.
Photo courtesy of decorilla.com
Use of Space
It’s still a thing. Our practice of working-from-home is one aspect of pandemic living that will endure and one that has taught us much about the four walls within which we reside. Both architects and interiors experts continue to be challenged by clients who want their living and even their less-communal spaces to do more than they have ever done before.
From carving out creative independent spaces within larger spaces, to creating spaces that flow from a utilitarian business day approach to evening entertainment area, pencils and imaginations have been sharpened and the results in living rooms, bedrooms, and ancillary spaces have been as visually interesting as they are practical.
In-home workspaces can be expected to be taken to the next level this year, as last year was more about addressing immediate needs by carving out extra space. This year that extra space gets elevated in terms of materials, textures, and enhanced functionality.
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Photo by Tom Dixon
Homeowners who have recognized the staying power of this trend are ditching their room dividers and integrating better woods within their improvised spaces, more durable furnishings, and are ramping up aesthetics like windows and their associated views to provide more daily sources of inspiration within work areas.
This year, bedrooms will also reflect the need for multi-functionality while balancing the restorative aspects of the room. From rooms that serve as pseudo studio apartments to others that are capitalizing on the trending aspect of exploiting our spaces vertically, new approaches to our less than communal rooms will continue to take shape throughout 2022.
Decorative Elements
Smooth, shiny, and statement-making best describes the finishing and special touches that will adorn the walls, ceilings, and bookcases of our abodes in the year 2022. Those same curvy, rounded features that we’ll see in the larger furnishings will spill over into the home’s decorative elements.
Taking the shape of spheres, orbs, and globes, light fixtures will make bright statements. Large cylindrical vases will frame doorways and entry points, and even smaller elements like serving trays with more subtle, rounded corners will be appearing on everything from every-day coffee tables to tabletops in more formal scenarios, perhaps even providing the conveyance for those bubbly flutes of champagne that helped ring in the New Year! Cheers!
