These Are the Top 5 Interior Design Trends of 2022 So Far

As the leaves brown and cozy season arrives, many are looking inward—that is, to their nest, making it an excellent time to assess the top design trends of 2022. Much of what we’ve seen this year has riffed on the themes of 2020 and 2021, but, thankfully, it’s not because we’re resigned to the fact that every day feels much like the one before. Instead, we’re being more true to ourselves and what feels good. 

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Much like recent evolutions in fashion, interiors are increasingly becoming less about what’s trendy and more about personal expression. “Rather than specific trends declining, we are seeing the lines between different styles blurring,” says Gemma Riberti, head of interiors at WGSN. “A key example of this is minimalism and maximalism. As the line blurs between these two approaches, this has empowered consumers to find their own take on either. This is leading to a highly personal and more nuanced approach to interiors.”

Regardless of our want for individuality, several decorating trends have emerged thus far this year. After having collectively endured more than two years of tumult, it seems we’re clinging to familiarity more than ever. Our homes have become refuges and their interiors are all about feeling calm, seeking comfort, and loving color.

Landscape palettes

Consumers’ love affair with soothing greens, grays, and earth tones continues, but it’s not necessarily a simple case of aesthetic preferences. Neuroaesthetics, an innovative area of scientific study, has found a proven correlation between mental health and beauty in both natural and designed spaces, and it’s infiltrated the design trends of 2022: Savvy designers are embracing the call to create rooms that feel connected to the outdoors in the color of walls, furniture, and accessories.

“Research shows that natural color schemes and organic forms like those found in nature reduce stress, lower blood pressure and heart rate, increase productivity and creativity, and make us happier,” says Michelle Lamb, editorial director at The Trend Curve. “Perhaps because humanity has never needed the healing powers of nature more than we do at this moment, there is a quest to take this approach even deeper.”

AD100 designer Jake Arnold notes that his clients have been drawn to “all shades of brown from ecru to rust to chocolate, dusty pinks, and moss greens” in their interiors. Known for his studio’s warm minimalist approach, Arnold has reached for Farrow & Ball’s Broccoli Brown and London Stone paint colors often this year. “In California, we even incorporated a deep coral shade in a beautiful powder room,” he shares.

Though initial 2022 forecasts called for major inspiration from the skies, designers report that clients instead are looking to stay grounded. “We are seeing more warm grays, moving away from strictly cool tones,” say Anna Baraness and Kristin Tarsi of New York–based Studio AK. Terra-cotta has maintained its intrigue, most recently seen enveloping the bedroom of stylist Colin King’s Tribeca loft. But beyond paint, the hue has found use throughout the home. “The appeal of terra-cotta tones translates to interiors products across the board, from hard materials like natural stone, oxidized metals, wood, and clay as well as soft materials like linen, leather, suede, and brushed pile fabrics,” says Lisa White, creative director and director of interiors at WGSN. “We are even seeing products being beautifully upcycled by being dipped in terra-cotta paint.”