With another year upon us, a new wave of interior design trends is ushered in. Predictions are aplenty, spanning from the latest trends in floor plans to the popular choices in fabrics. To take a narrower view of what’s to come in 2022 design, we predicted the top trends in furniture patterns – the patterns and prints we think will be making waves from your favorite design magazines to Pinterest and Instagram.
Here are our five predictions in interior pattern trends, with a little something for every design style.
|| Learn more: How to mix patterns like a pro
PATTERN TRENDS 2022
The Most Popular Interior Design Patterns for the next year
MORE IS MORE / PATTERN TRENDS 2022
In contrast to the stark minimalism that has commanded the stage for the past decade, we’re entering a new age of maximalism as the pendulum swings in the other direction. Maximalism celebrates a more-is-more approach to decorating, with an embrace of layers, color and risk-taking. Maximalist patterns can really range from a cabana stripe to an animal print – the key is in the layering. We also expect to see a number of conversational prints in the mix, none more iconic than the Scalamandré zebra.
If you’re just looking to dip your toe into the maximalist trend, feel free to start small, with a few pattern-on-pattern custom throw pillows on your bed or sofa. Once you live with the patterns for a little while, you can start to build a room around them based on your favorites.
GRANNY CHIC CHINTZ / PATTERN TRENDS 2022
The saying “what’s old is new again” is truer nowhere more than in the resurgence of the printed floral pattern known as chintz. This iconic pattern, perhaps one you’ve seen on your grandparent’s upholstered sofa, has pretty major cultural significance. Chintz dates back to Victorian England, but its more recent resurgences saturated iconic touchstones such as Jackie Kennedy’s White House in the 1960s, and was later adorned by Princess Di during the Laura Ashley craze of the 80s.
With the movement away from all-beige-everything and a craving for nostalgic-but-reimagined design, chintz is back with a bang. Your favorite chintz fabric – from the pillows to the headboard – is sure to add warmth while giving you major British garden vibes.
ALL NATURAL / PATTERN TRENDS 2022
In the spirit of bringing the outside in, patterns that give you the feeling of being surrounded by nature will dominate in 2021. The beautiful thing is that this can be interpreted to fit just about any design style. If you’re going for a feeling of luxe, old-Hollywood glam, there’s no better pattern than the iconic banana palm. If you’re designing a more traditional, whimsical space, opt for a printed chinoiserie or traditional floral, like the chintz highlighted above. For a bold botanical like banana palm with a little more variation, our favorite pattern is the White Cinque Terra by Old World Weavers and The Inside.
One tip on pattern: if you’re just looking for a pop of eye-catching pattern, and want to adorn the rest of your nature-inspired sanctuary with solid neutrals, a crisp beige linen offers the organic feeling of the outdoors that serves as a perfect complementary backdrop to any of the patterns named above.
|| Be inspired: Check Patternbank for many inspirations on pattern design
POPS OF PASTEL / PATTERN TRENDS 2022
This next trend is less about the specific pattern and more about the colors contained within. Whether you’re leaning toward abstract upholstery or a more subtle ticking stripe, we expect to see pastels gaining prominence. A trend that started with millennial pink has now moved to other hues – including soft greens, blues and yellows. The key to decorating with pastels is to avoid the Easter-egg effect, by choosing colors that are less saturated and in turn have almost a dusty look to them.
Soothing and cozy, pastels have a major impact when they’re incorporated into a bedroom design scheme, either in a tonal capacity (choosing one color family and layering different hues of that color), or used on one major statement piece like the bed. No matter your pattern, pastels offer the best of both worlds: maximum calmness without sacrificing color.
IT’S PERSONAL / PATTERN TRENDS 2022
This is the year of personalization, and your interior design is no exception. More than ever, interior designers and passionate decorators are turning away from the old-school design “rules” and embracing design that brings joy, and that looks very different from person to person. Now more than ever before, the home is where we spend most of our time, so the priority is increasingly being placed on how to decorate a space with pattern that makes you truly happy, rather than following an aesthetic that fits into a neat, pre-defined style bucket.
Whether you’re an adventurous pattern lover who wants to layer bold animal prints, or you think a more subtly pop of pattern is plenty, designing a space that you love living in has never been more on-trend. And breaking the rules is a trend we can get on board with.
Author bio
Lindsey Schmidt works for The Inside, a home furnishings company that believes in the joy of decorating. The Inside is committed to making furniture fun, with access to more design for more value.
