2022 interior predictions: 80s meets cottagecore, curves and preppy pastels

With a community of over 65 million homeowners and design enthusiasts and more than 2.7 million home professionals, Houzz has unique insights into how people are designing their homes and predicts six of the hottest trends that’ll take off in 2022. 

Preppy pastels

Designers say the most fashion-forward homes will embrace ‘80s meets cottagecore’ this year. The 80s element introduces pastel brights with summery tones in the form of pinks, yellows, browns and blues in organic patterns and freeform shapes. While cottagecore references the nostalgic romance of agricultural life, it is an aesthetic that celebrates the devotion of manual skills and handmade crafts. This trend will be making its mark on decor in 2022 with vintage style furniture, personalised neon, wallpaper, and natural fabrics.

Navy blue in all the right places

Australians’ ongoing love for darker, sober colour classics, saw navy blue inspired searches on Houzz rise by 735% from the previous year. Pros on Houzz foresee kitchens and bathrooms will take on this hue as a deeper dive into Houzz search terms showed a significant interest for ‘navy blue island bench’ and ‘navy blue bathrooms’, jump up by 435% and 875% respectively. A colour rich, bold, and reminiscent of the ocean’s soothing qualities has earned a name for itself in 2022 interiors. 

Curved craftsmanship 

A source of inspiration we’ll continue to see evolve is curved craftsmanship. Curves first arrived in Australian homes with scalloped furniture and rounded kitchen island finishes. In 2022, we’ll see curves migrating into fitted home fixtures, so expect curves to take shape in glazing, walls and archways. Where possible, more organically shaped staircases will replace linear styles, with searches on Houzz for ‘curved staircases’ seeing an uptick of 735% from last year. 

Mindfulness and pause zones

Making waves in homes is the rise of dedicated zones that centre moments of mindfulness, pause and privacy. Recent Houzz emerging search trends ‘fireplaces’ (up by 298%), ‘bay windows’ (up by 296%) and ‘sunrooms’ (up by 138%) surged in popularity over the last year, which tells us homeowners in 2022 will be looking to create appealing spots to provide joy and relief throughout the day. 

Alternative and adaptable doors

In the coming years, say hello to alternative and adaptable doors moving away from their swinging predecessor. We’ll see more inventive ways to open up and close off rooms, such as sliding ‘modern barn doors’, which recorded a huge leap on Houzz this year, up by 529%. Searches for ‘front door’ inspiration experienced a 666% year-on-year upswing. For 2022, this trend is all about claiming street appeal envy. 

Entangled design

As it has become increasingly important for our homes to take on multiple roles, we’ll see a shift of spaces entangling over. Entangled design focuses on the quality of spaces that are adaptable to different activities, such as business and pleasure. In the Houzz community, working from home practices have already inspired the entanglement of office workspaces in bedrooms, kitchens and living areas, rooms that otherwise had a single function. On the cards for next coming years, pros forecast we’ll see more clever design solutions integrated into unused or void areas, given purpose to accommodate contemporary living comforts and amenities.

Houzz is the leading platform for home renovation and design, providing people with everything they need to improve their homes from start to finish. On Houzz, people can find design inspiration, research and hire home professionals and get advice for their projects.