As the wind, rain, and colder temperatures drive us back into our homes for the next few months, it is even more important than ever to surround ourselves with a space which feels comforting, and which inspires and delights us.
The darker days of Winter are a great time to experiment with some new lighting to help brighten your home, or to add a splash of colour with some new soft furnishings and artwork.
Here are five of the most popular decor trends for Winter 2022 to help make your seasonal home a more inviting and cheering place to be:
1. Colour Blocking
According to Real Homes Magazine this popular trend is all about “expressing your home’s personality through active colour therapy”.
We can use colour in our homes to influence how we feel, so redecorating with a bright new palette can actually have a transformative effect on ourselves as well as our environment. As colour consultant Kathryn Lloyd of Crown Paints says “Colour engages with people’s emotions. Moving into 2022 and then into 2023 we’ll begin to see stronger, more saturated shades emerge”.
Try painting walls bright and cheery shades like jewel greens or citrus hues to help counter the melancholic moods which can sometimes prevail at this time of year, or encourage feelings of optimism and peace with soft lilacs and pastel blues.
If you prefer a more neutral shade on your walls, try adding blocks of colour through artwork. That way you can add, remove, or replace images and colours to suit how you are feeling, or the time of year.
You can even add blocks of colour with a new ‘statement’ piece of furniture. Like a deep teal lacquered solid wood side table, or flame orange cabinet - classic pieces in a rich jewel colours.
2. Glass Lighting
Sitting comfortably alongside this year’s growing trend for sculptural vases and showcasing such accessories as personalties in their own right, glass styling is reinvigorating the lighting sector by experimenting with form and function to create statement pieces, and embrace organic shapes and curves.
Creative director of Cameron Design House, Ian Cameron, says of the 2022 design trend: “Enabling a deep warming hue, with variations in colour and texture, the use of glass in lighting becomes more experimental”.
This season we are seeing glass pendants and table lamps taking pride of place in the form of spherical centrepieces, and sculptural focal points. The diaphanous nature of glass also means that it will suit most colour schemes, and simple clear stand can be easily updated by changing its lampshade. This makes a glass lamp stand a great choice for an up-to-date yet versatile decor item.
Check out the range of glass table lamps in our Interiors collection, including the Vivienne Large Clear Glass Lamp, reminiscent of a treasured antique store find, which we have combined with the Herb silk lampshade and a Prosecco PVC lining. Or the elegant Swan Table lamp in a beautiful olive and kiwi colour-way, perfect for embracing the current love of nature-inspired elements in our homes.
3. Well-bedding
If seasonal sniffles usually send you to your bed at this time of year, why not make this space a soothing retreat in which to relax and recuperate? Sleep health continues to be a popular well-being trend this year, so it stands to reason that decor trends are mirroring this idea, and encouraging us to create mindful and restful spaces in order to generate the ultimate sleep experience.
Sonal Keay of sustainable and ethical Cotswold fabric company ‘This is Linen’ says of the trend “Lockdown focussed our attention on the home and filling it with the best quality fabrics, which provide physical and sensory benefits - I like to call it ‘well-bedding’”. The bedroom is a great place to really go overboard with lots of comfy fabric and tactile textures. Try layering styles using colourful cotton bedding. Or add interest to neutral sheets with brightly hued velvet cushions and sumptuously soft faux fur throws.
As Homes & Gardens posits, our bedrooms are private spaces, which means we are more free to express our personalities here than in the communal spaces of our homes like kitchens or living rooms. This opportunity affords us the ability to create an aesthetic that speaks solely to ourselves, and to create a sanctuary based on our own wants and needs.
Finish a room off with your favourite piece of art: Jack & Jill by Bev Davies and London Lights by Alena Carvalho work wonderfully in calming neutral decors, whilst Anthony Dobson’s His Master’s Voice looks lovely against a warmly painted wall, and Utopia by Gary Walton creates perfectly dreamy connotations. For a bolder look Chris Ross Williamson’s print The Mondrain would look great against a rich red wall, and The Rainbow by Joe Ramm complements a warm and eclectic colour-scheme superbly. Cooler colour-ways can be put together with pieces like Josie Appleby’s blue-dominated Sand Swallows, collection of Nicky Litchfield’s animal-themed art, and green and leafy September Afternoon, South Bank by Jo Quigley.
You can even create an enhanced sense of light and space in a small bedroom by adding well placed mirrors, to bounce the light back into the room, or reflect an attractive piece of furniture or artwork.
4. Earthy Elements and Natural Textures
Following on from the year’s earlier biophilic design trend, this is all about bringing nature indoors and embracing ‘slow living’, and is great for creating a cosy and inviting style for your winter interior.
Expect to see lots of rich woods, rustic elements, earthy tones, leafy green houseplants, and even raw leather elements this season; which combine to invite the sensory tranquility of nature into our homes.
According to Homes and Gardens magazine “Materials in their purest state are so much more authentic and charming – try natural woods without varnish, linens, natural stones…”.
You can create relaxing pastoral-style spaces in your home with this mindful trend, by using nature-inspired colours, raw materials, and even by introducing organic shapes your scheme. A beautiful chestnut coloured leather log basket placed next to the fireplace would make a stylish and functional addition to a living or doing room. And a handsome leather umbrella holder by Life of Riley added to your hallway would provide an elegant way to store the season’s essential outdoor accessories whilst protecting your floors. Adding wooden furniture with a rustic paint effect to enhance its natural texture is another great way to introduce natural elements into your space - like the simply stunning Arctic Grey Lacquered Cabinet: a beautiful statement piece with bags of space for the ultimate in form and function.
Another great way of introducing elements of nature into your interiors is using wall art. From landscapes and coastal scenes, to wild animals of the British countryside or more exotic climes, our online gallery has something fitting for this trend to suit every taste. Abstract artist Ilse Michelsen actually incorporates natural elements like sand, gold leaf, and even snake skins into her original paintings to create highly textured and compelling pieces.
5. Sanctuary Shades
Head of creative at Earthborn Paints, Cathryn Sanders , says “Colour is a powerful way to create a mood in any home, a mood that aligns with how you wish to feel whilst spending time in that particular room”. Pale colours are a wonderful way of conjuring feelings of comfort and calm, so using them in our homes can enable us to create a peaceful sanctuary away from the hustle and bustle of the outside world.
Open fires, candles and festive warm white string lights reflect beautifully off of a pale palette in a room, creating a cosy and inviting space which will beckon you in. Contura’s lifestyle expert Catharina Björkman extolls the virtues of using soft neutral tones to forge a homely and soothing interior scheme: “You can create an uncluttered, inviting space by using neutral tones to add to the sense of peace, while adding textured soft furnishings such as rugs and blankets can bring dimension […] scented candles, cushions, and warm slippers all make for a more zen-like environment”.
Try enhancing your room design with wall art in soft neutral shades, as well as pale soft furnishings like rugs, cushions and throws, then complement the look with candles for a welcoming and warming glow.
Check out our online gallery and Interiors collections for more inspiration.
