2022 has arrived! Let’s take a look at the home trends and styles that we’ll see throughout the year.

NEUTRAL CHANGES

We are grayed out! After a decade of grays and pale blues complemented by lots and lots of white, we are warming up. 2021 already started to see a SLOW shift from gray to softer neutrals, but we’ll see a lot more of it in 2022, especially as builders continue to transition into creams and off whites.

Pale colors will still be in. Why? Light neutral colors make rooms appear bigger, and with so many people spending more time at home due to COVID, we want our rooms to feel as large as possible. However, expect to see less gray and more creams and off whites. While pure white is typically too harsh for residential rooms, warmer hues such as Alabaster, Greek Vanilla, and Dover White are gaining in popularity.

GO BOLD & GOLD

While most walls will remain a light color (although I am seeing a trend of navy or black accent walls in extremely large rooms) the furniture and accessories are going dark. Deep bold colors that I refer to as “jewel tones” such as navy/sapphire and emerald are the new furniture tones. We’re also seeing these colors, especially the deep blue, on kitchen islands (usually the island is a deep color and the upper cabinets remain white) and bathroom vanities. Samsung’s Bespoke line of refrigerators is trying to take it one step further with deep colored appliances, however, I am not sure if this will catch on.

When it comes to fixtures and hardware, golden brass is quickly replacing silver. We are even seeing faucets and shower hardware in the new metal. While I have yet to see full brass appliances, I have seen brass knobs on stainless steel or black ovens as well as white fridges and hoods with brass accents.

MOLDING MATTERS

This started a few years back and really exploded in 2020 when everybody was stuck indoors doing home improvement projects. Most people were painting their homes and adding custom trims and molding. In fact, there are entire Pinterest and TikTok genres dedicated to showing viewers how to save on baseboard and trim costs using composite board and other inexpensive materials. Another budget-friendly option is foam crown molding.

As a result, we are seeing thicker trims along baseboards and around windows and doors and an increase of crown molding and wainscoting.

GET LIT

Prior to being a Realtor, I worked in luxury home automation in the Hamptons and Manhattan where I learned that lighting is everything! Over the past few years, we have seen a massive migration from single fixture illumination sources to high hats spaced throughout a room for increased visibility. The ban on incandescent bulbs and the growth of LED a few years back ushered in a slew of harsh white, almost blueish lights, now we are seeing more and more bulbs and fixtures with the warmer illumination. We are also seeing an increase in accent lighting. When this technology first became available everybody wanted to show off the range of colors available. In 2022 we’ll continue to see the shift toward softer whites highlighting and accenting everything from counters to electronics and of course the classic cove lighting.

PLANTS, PLANTS, PLANTS

The studies are in and science has proven over and over again that plants make us happier and more productive. You might be thinking this has something to do with the oxygen they release, but the research shows that fake plants have the same positive effects on our mental health as real ones. With the world needing a serotonin boost, expect to see more house plants in 2022.