HOTTEST SUMMER TRENDS 2022
A new season means new furniture and décor styles, and it’s always fun to browse the most current interior offerings. There’s a lot to love this year, both big and small, from cool textures and silhouettes to bright colours and prints. You’ll even find reimagined takes on some more enduring styles, rattan included. Consider this your ultimate Summer 2022 guidebook.
Colourful Glass
Murano glass has become increasingly popular this past year, so it comes as no surprise that interior designers are wanting to delve into the art form themselves. Whilst clear and smoky grey glass has been the favoured choice in recent years, colourful glass is finally having its moment. Create a mesmerising focal point with a dynamic light fixture or dip your toe in with a colourful vase as delightful as the flowers it holds.
Prints Crazy
Veering beyond sweet pastels (although there’s still plenty where that came from), moody, dramatic, and unexpected textiles make the case for maximalism in every room. And on every accent, too — anything from upholstered headboards to folk printed cabinets can get the vibrant design treatment with prints that exude opulence and optimism.
Architectural Furniture
The recent surge of DIY faux wall mouldings and panels has given rise to new dimensional details, which you’ll also find trickling into the Summer 2022 furniture options. It’s even easier (for renters especially) to tap into this architectural look, no wall updates necessary, as pieces with some form of standout relief or geometric overlay abound. Raw materials and strong geometric forms are sweeping through the design market. Consider this look a slightly more elegant take on Brutalism, evidenced by a mix of structural nightstands, dressers, and consoles that won’t ever fall flat.
The term "Brutalist" stems from Le Corbusier’s Cité Radieuse housing development in Marseille, France, designed in the late 1940s. It was awash in béton brut, which translates to "raw concrete." Today, the style's rougher textures, honest material finishes, and neutral tones may come as a soothing reaction to the loud maximalist pattern- and colour-mixing we’ve seen of late.
This unique mid-20th-century design movement with a “don’t-mess-with-me” attitude and heavyweight supporters – has divided opinions for decades, potentially drawing more criticism than any other style of recent centuries.
Concrete and metals, blocky monolithic, silhouettes, jagged edges and spikes, patinated and burned finishes are all factors for or a Brutalist-approved decorative element.
In addition to the revered artist Michele Oka Doner, these three pioneers of architectural style are flying the Brutalism flag in the 21st century.
KELLY WEARSTLER
Known for: bold, one-of-a-kind home accents and furniture encrusted with Brutalist carved stones, metal chunks and indiscreet fixings; spiky shapes, fractures and perforations; her interior projects often channel a Brutalist sensibility.
Notable work: Sputnik-inspired objects and lighting and “Head Trip” range – a collection of colossal marble heads punctuated with protruding semi-precious spikes and other stones.
CHAHAN MINASSIAN
Known for: combining the best of Brutalism in his interiors – think Paul Evans furniture with Harry Bertoia sculptures set against Louise-Nevelson-assemblages-inspired.
Notable work: his own Paris apartment is a classic example of how the style should be done; also, almost every one of his PAD London stands are quintessentially Brutalist.
AMOIA STUDIO
Known for: revolutionising the way we think about concrete and plaster with its debut crushed mineral drum tables.
Pops of Blue
Green may be taking the 2022 colour world by storm, but another natural, soothing hue has hit the home scene this spring: blue, specifically ocean- or sky-inspired shades. You don’t need to go all-out monochrome for the cool, coastal effect, though — small accents like blue throws or even décor-worthy candles can make the most noticeable impact. There’s plenty of room to experiment with pattern and texture here, too, whether it’s a gingham lumbar pillow or an upholstered pouf.
