Home Design Trends In 2022

If you’ve spent time in the last eighteen months dreaming of refurbishing your home, you’re not alone.

Renovation approvals across the country reached $11.82 billion in the year to October 2021, and this boom looks set to continue as 2022 progresses.

So what trends can we expect to see in renovation and redecoration here on the Gold Coast?

The big picture

Today, the idea of “home as sanctuary” is more important than ever. So it pays to spend a little time before renovating considering both what the space will be used for and how you want to feel when you’re in it.

In terms of styling, the beach look is a perennial favourite here on the Gold Cast. In a recent interview with us, Sonya Harward, of local interior design and styling company Design Eleven Co, backed this up, saying that in her work “the beach look is definitely the backbone”. But things are changing. As Sonya also noted, luxe is moving into the spotlight, too, and the Mediterranean look is fast gaining favour.

Mixing American styles

Local architecture firm, Lea Design Studio, say 2022 will see the Hamptons style waning. In its place they’re seeing another American inspired trend: Palm Springs. This aesthetic is a “hybrid mix of the easy living mid-century modern architecture” suited to the hot desert environment of Palm Springs in the US, with the “arches, stonework and whitewashed walls of Spanish influenced Californian Architecture”.

Colour and contrast

According to Harper’s Bazaar, when it comes to this year’s paint and wallpaper trends, bold is the new black. “I’m loving rolls with textural woven elements,” YSG Studio told the magazine, “and I even incorporated some William Morris-esque decorative floral elements in a residential project I just completed.”

Colour, too, is making bold moves. Feature walls, feature ceilings, rich jewel tones and even 1970s earthy colours are set to hit the sweet spot this year.

If all this has you thinking about matching hues and complementary colours, think again. Vogue magazine says it’s all about the clash, stating that “unconventional colour selections and unexpected textural pairings will be given predominant focus in 2022”.

In the zone

While open-plan, flow-through living spaces have dominated for some time, the pandemic has brought changes to the way we use our home spaces.

Zoned living is having a moment right now. With its focus on dividing and organising your space according to use, this approach can help maximise your home’s functionality.

Working from home looks sets to stay for many of us, and if you don’t have a designated study, then spaces need to be multipurpose. A current trend that leans into this is screening. “Screens (the timber gate-fold kind) enable a sense of privacy without blocking natural light and also conceal work zones when entertaining,” said designer Yasmine Ghoniem in an interview with Vogue.

Go with the (natural) flow

But it’s not all about separation. Bi-fold doors continue to be popular, helping to create the all-important flow from indoors to outdoors that we cherish on the coast. Terracotta tiles – expected to make a splash this year – will further accentuate a casual indoor-outdoor feel.

That connection with the outdoors is also key in the materials we’re currently favouring and the overall approach to building and design. Welcome to biophilic design, where the emphasis is on connecting with the natural world and creating a healthier, more inspiring living environment.

This is expressed in many ways: through the use of natural building materials like timber, bamboo or stone; the placement of large windows to take advantage of a natural outlook; and using sustainable décor and natural fibres, which are expected to be big this year.

Through the arched window

Straight lines – dominant for years now – are making way for something softer.

From windows and doorways to kitchen islands, mirrors, and even sofas and shower screens, arches and curves are definitely on trend this year.

For more on the latest in home trends, or to make the Gold Coast your home, call our team today.