Interior Design in 2022

A very Happy New Year to you! The blog is taking a look at some interior design trends for 2022. Country House style (with sustainability always at its heart) looks again to the East for decorating inspiration. On the blog radar too is an interesting juxtaposition between Pantone’s Metaverse-inspired color of the year versus Mother Nature’s slow decorating palette. Let’s start though by opening the door to the new ‘Garden Room’

The New Garden Room

The ‘reset’ that in 2021 saw 90,000 people leave London for the countryside was as much about a desire for the outdoors as well as for a more flexible living space. And the importance we now place on a connection to nature for our health also extends to the way we decorate our homes.

The new Garden Room (as mentioned previously in Autumn/Winter 2021 Interior Design Directions) is taking precedence alongside home offices, utility rooms, and home gyms. Unsurprisingly they are also being designed for chic hotel and restaurant renovations.

Garden Rooms take many forms from the more traditional idea of a room at the bottom of the garden to a chic architect- or custom-designed space to a bathroom, bedroom, or living space that has botanical forms at the heart of its design. A century or so ago plant hunters returning from intrepid overseas travels inspired the building of plant cathedrals by way of orangeries and conservatories.

Today’s new Garden Room is a little more egalitarian in that it can be created with a simple packet of seeds in the tightest of spaces. It might consist of an indoor theatre of plants with a few shelves. A console table with symmetry of table lamps and mirrors is also hugely effective. When budgets are small, it is amazing what can be achieved with decoupage, the use of painted trellis, wallpaper, or striking mural.

Here are some ‘Garden Room’ ideas on the more glamorous end of the spectrum:

This dreamy Moghul-inspired mural is handpainted on Belgian linen on the walls of this Victorian room by Will Foster Studios.

This is a reminder of how glamorous and effectively painted trellis looks for a garden room interior. This is from a uber stylish antique, objects, and artworks company (also offering interior design) called Get The Gusto in West Palm Beach, Florida.

A log-painted console table, with antique mirror and symmetry of lamps, is perfectly styled with ferns in the Colefax & Fowler showroom at The Design Centre, Chelsea Harbour. Wallpaper: Leaf Green Woodfern, C4779-01 from the Christobel Collection, Colefax & Fowler. Photo: Charis White

Designed by Georgie Pearman is a garden dining room bringing the outside in at the Double Red Duke coaching inn.

Riverside garden restaurant is beautifully designed by @nicholahardingandco with an exquisite painted tended ceiling by Will Foster Studios for The Mitre Hampton Court Hotel, London.

The Metaverse and Pantone’s Color of the Year

In contrast to decorating with nature, Pantone has announced their color of the year for 2022 as Very Peri. They describe it as having a combination of violet-red with undertones of blue and that it represents the transformation of the physical and digital world. The idea for this color emerged following lockdowns and isolations when the digital world and the rise of the Metaverse took a new place in our lives.

The color is a little synthetic to my taste and whilst the idea of the Metaverse might hold all sorts of possibilities, I feel a little reserved about what significance it might ultimately have.

Russian Style

The Faberge in London: Romance to Revolution exhibition at The V&A Museum (from now until 8 May 2022) is driving a renewed interest in Russian decorating. From the more rustic decoration folk art of countryside Dachas to the opulence of Russian palaces.

If like me you are a bit of a Russophile, you might like to look out for specialists in the field such as the very stylish Alexandra Tolstoy/The Tolstoy Edit, Larissa Miladoravich of Milola Designs (as featured in my previous post on Russian Style), and Volga Linen.Manuel Canovas at Colefax & Fowler is launching ‘Anastasia’ a new Faberge egg-inspired fabric design in January 2022.

What I love about these designers is how richly they re-tell the stories of their Russian heritage for today’s design audience.

Another date for your diary: A new exhibition at the Ashmoleum Museum in Oxford from July 2022 to January 2023 is Russia: Icons and the Avantgarde.

‘Anastasia’ fabric sample as seen at The Design Centre London Design Week 2022 press launch by Manuel Canovas at Colefax & Fowler. Launches January 2022. Photo: Charis White

Delicious almost Faberge egg-inspired silk tassel tiebacks by Houles. As seen at The Design Centre’s London Design Week 2022 press launch. Photo: Charis White

Well spotted! No, not new but I think I will always love Ivan Prussian Blue on 100% linen, and all the other print designs from Volga Linen.

Alexandra Tolstoy’s beautiful Russian Style living room in London. Shop Alexandra’s style via The Tolstoy Edit where you can expect to find stunning antiques as well as upholstered furniture, linens, and lighting.

Chinoiserie style

Looking further East, another Country House style favorite is the use of Chinoiserie in an eclectic decorating scheme. 2022 sees more new highlights of this style from glinting glossy walls to lacquered furniture and accessories as well as new fabric and wallpaper designs.

Look out too for original pieces such as these gorgeous English Chinoiserie 1920s green splat back chairs, although now sold, they are from an ever-changing selection of pieces at The Oscar Collective. No country house rules are required as Chinoiserie looks just as fabulous in contemporary settings too.

Pair of 1920s English Chinoiserie splat back chairs from a selection at The Oscar Collective, now SOLD.

New Audubon Garden fabric sample by Travers at Zimmer and Rohde as seen at the 2022 London Design Week press show at The Design Centre, Chelsea Harbour. Photo: Charis White

Marg Arg Style

Finally, in the recent and rather excellent A Very British Scandal on BBC1, you can understand why Margaret, the Duchess of Argyll fell in love with the fairy tale ‘Inverar(y)’ castle. Certainly worth a visit, the castle sits in beautiful gardens with a magnificent view of Loch Fyne. There are some lovely rooms and as I remember it, the main hall has quite a display of war-like clan implements!

In the meantime, Pierre Frey is launching this Art Deco-inspired furniture set for London Design Week at The Design Centre, Chelsea Harbour (13 – 18 March 2022), perfect for recreating the Duchess’ glamorous Mayfair bedroom.

Chair and footstool, Pierre Frey at The Design Centre, Chelsea Harbour press show. Photo: Charis WhiteThis article was written by Charis from Charis White Interiors.

Meet The Author

Charis is a professional stylist who went freelance. A lot of her work has been for both editorial and advertisements.

She is a stylist who genuinely enjoys all aspects of interior design and does not feel bound by one style. Rather she tries to create something with originality for her clients.

Check out her Blog & Instagram!