As we round out the year and look to 2022, our designers see some unique trends coming up for interior design. For the past few years, simple and neutral design choices have been very popular in the industry. But it appears this style will be replaced by new trends in the coming year. Between bolder colors, flexible spaces and design choices influenced by the pandemic, here’s a look at the four key trends we see for interior design in 2022.
Curves
Because everyone spent much of their time indoors over the past 18 months, there is a push in the design industry to bring the outdoors inside. Designers are moving away from harsh lines that are typical in modern design and adapting softer lines to create a more natural and inviting space. Designers are utilizing curves to achieve this aesthetic. Curves will be found in many different design elements like furniture, tile, décor items such as mirrors or pillows, and even in the architecture including archways, curved windows or the entire building.
Colors
After Sherwin Williams and Benjamin Moore both named shades of green as their 2021 Color of the Year, it’s expected this will be a huge influence in the color trends of 2022. Again as a response to the pandemic, the idea of healing and meditative spaces will be huge. These soft shades of green produce a rejuvenated and calming feeling to an individual as they enter a room. Earth tones are coming back in full force. One can expect to see designers abandon the recently popular cool grays and neutrals and embrace warmer colors. As for accent colors, the trends favor golden yellows and bright greens – think chartreuse and emerald green.
Separate, But Together
One of the biggest trends expected for 2022 is the separation of space and areas that can be flexible for different uses. Companies are eager to provide different working environments to increase productivity, segmenting the space to keep employees safe but still with an emphasis to stay together. Because of this, spaces need to function in multiple ways and users need to be capable of transforming the space themselves. For example, in an office environment it’s now important to go from a collaborative space to just a single user’s private space. This opens the options of the office area while keeping safety in mind for employees. Some new trends our designers see for 2022 include furniture with handles so it’s easy to move around; lounge chairs with casters, many different forms of pods or tent-like structures to place inside of a big open space — creating a space within a space. These pods are often self-sustaining with built-in power, ventilation, lighting and can offer great acoustical value to the entire open office space.
Grandmillennial
Finally, a new design concept emerging is one which combines the old with the new. Grandmillennial, stemming from “grandmother” and “millennial,” pairs modern and contemporary styles with heavy and ornate patterns or fabrics from an older, more traditional time. For now, this style is most popular in residential design but it’s possible commercial design could draw inspiration from the concept as well. For example, BRR designers have already seen clients incorporating patterned wallpapers, fabrics and pieces of furniture with heavy textures mixed in with the typical clean, modern pieces one has grown to expect.
BRR’s design team continues to stay on top of key trends in the industry and we look forward to the other styles that will develop into 2022. This research allows our team to bring the very best to our client’s projects as it’s always our team goal to elevate the design on every single project.
About the authors:
Caitlin Hanna, NCIDQ, graduated from the University of Kansas with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Environmental Design degree. Caitlin has been part of the BRR team since 2016, and works as an interior designer in our Kansas City office developing design packages retail and commercial clients. Day-to-day, Caitlin works with clients to cohesively merge their brand with the build environment through clear standards and quality execution of her work. Email her.
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