Bedrooms trends are here for 2022, and give us an opportunity to create sanctuary-style spaces at home. It seems that, for next year, bedrooms are a cocoon to envelope yourself in for sleep at the end of a working day, or simply just a room to unwind and rest in with a good book, or a relaxing radio programme that’s safely tucked away from the rest of the household.
Bedrooms shouldn’t necessarily just be seen as ‘function’ spaces – somewhere to simply shove a bed and shut-eye for a few hours every night. Instead, they are an opportunity to create another world away from the rest of the house and the – potentially busy – household.
““We’re seeing natural materials, and, in particular, light and neutral spaces, inspiring bedroom design for 2022,” says Jenna Choate and Marianna Ugarte, founders of design agency Interior Fox. “You might have existing items items at home which could be updated or upcycled fairly easily in order to fit with these themes. A chest of drawers can be painted – a bedroom chair can be updated in a neutral or tactile fabric.”
Interestingly, one of the bedroom trends for 2022 the pair are seeing is the removal of velvet entirely. “We would also suggest for 2022 to remove the velvet furniture”, say the designers. “A cushion or two is ok, but the fully ‘velvet-ised’ headboard, bench, armchair look is out!”, says Jen and Mar. “Instead, bring in more linen (and cotton/linen weaves) which are definitely on trend and have a ‘forever fresh’ appeal, while still being effortlessly chic.”
Bedrooms can be deeply personal spaces, character reflective if you like, ones that call for maximum design style, and a space where you can really exercise your design ideas. With that in mind, we’ve scoured the 2022 interior design trends to bring you some of the latest and chicest bedroom ideas which are proving mighty popular in the interiors industry.
What are the bedroom trends for 2022?
- Bold stripes
- Seating areas create multi-purpose spaces
- Statement headboards
- Box rooms are turning back into bedrooms
- Neutral color schemes
(Image credit: Farrow and Ball)
Bedroom trend 1: Bold stripes
You love ‘em, or you hate ‘em. Stripes. Friend to many an interior designer – and popping up in flooring trends for 2022 too – stripes are big news in bedrooms next year. From traditional smaller-scale ticking stripes for the more reserved and traditional interior decorators, versus more striking stripes for the contemporary interiors fellows working in the industry, we’re seeing stripes being incorporated into bedroom designs in an altogether bolder and almost, dare we say, theatrical fashion for 2022. The more creative you can be with them, the better! Hint: this stripe trend is not for the shy, 2022 is an open call for those that want to create a stripe-tastic bedroom that’s bolder and more clever than ever before.
“It’s bold patterns on the whole, but especially stripes, that we have noticed are proving popular for 2022,” says Caz Myers, founder of Caz Myers Design. But how are you to style them out when considering your bedroom ideas? “You can bring stripes into a bedroom decor scheme in so many ways, but for 2022 we’re seeing a particularly bold and bashful use of stripe – and in extremely creative ways – being used in bedroom design. Farrow and Ball, the go-to paint and decor brand, have demonstrated a painted stripe ceiling for the bedroom, and the impact that it can have. Red and white bold stripes create something of a ‘painted canopy’ in somewhat of a Trompe O’eil-fashion! The bed throws pick up with smaller patchwork-style stripe detail too, softening the potential starkness of just a painted stripe with comfortable textiles.” It’s a seriously chic decor trick. Forget a four-poster bed, 2022 is all about painting your canopy directly onto the ceiling and being as clever as you can with a stripe.
Diamond tiles, in Marigold, Bert and May
(Image credit: Bert and May)
And, you don’t need to think quite so linear either. Vertical and horizontal stripes are fab, but Caz notes, “it’s about being brave and working them in at various degrees of angles too.” Ever thought of bringing encaustic tiles into your bedroom decor, of truly embracing maximalism in interior design? Encaustic tile specialists Bert & May are suggesting that you can apply stripes to an encaustic tile bed headboard, and, we love it! By opting for a diamond-shaped tile, and aligning them in such a fashion where they ‘meet’ one another to create stripes, you can make an angular stripe headboard. It’s outside the lines of design (quite literally) and we like it!
Caz highlights, “We are finding that clients are going much bolder and more extroverted when using stripes in decor. It’s also a great way to design for a kids’ bedroom or playroom, as stripes always bring in a fun element. What’s more, if you’re painting stripes into the bedroom, then they can always be painted over later – it’s really quite simple to update when you get bored of them”.
(Image credit: Jonathan Adler)
Bedroom trend 2: Seating areas create multi-purpose spaces
This trending design idea can possibly trace its roots – we think – back to those halcyon bedrooms of the late 19th and early 20th Centuries. If you’ve ever visited an Arts and Crafts or Edwardian period home then you might have noticed that architects and designers of the time really loved a seating area in the bedroom. The key, of course, was space. Bedrooms were, on the whole, larger. And people were anticipated to need or make use of a seating zone within the bedroom itself. But regardless of whether you only have room for the tiniest of bedroom chairs in a corner, or if you’re lucky enough to be able to dedicate an entire floor space or area to a more developed and ‘designed’ seating area in your bedroom layout, we’re noticing that designers are flocking to the idea of having – and here’s the keyword, relaxing – seating in a bedroom design.
It’s no surprise, seeing as sofa trends are such big news right now. Even if it’s just a nod to it in the form of a petite, neat, bedroom perch. Have we all maxed out on the idea or requirement to incorporate a working desk into our bedrooms at home? Possibly! Or is it simply the idea that relaxed seating brings a real sense of comfort and luxury to a bedroom space? Highly likely.
(Image credit: Susie Atkinson for Lime Wood Hotel)
“We are increasingly being asked by clients to bring in seating to bedrooms, wherever and whenever floor-space allows,” Caz Myers says. But it’s noted that it’s being done so cleverly, and even at the smallest of scales – this goes hand in hand with the rise we’re seeing in small bedroom desk ideas. “Bedroom seating creates a calm space and encourages relaxation in a room that is so often associated just as a place to sleep or study in!”. Seating in bedrooms is on the rise. Caz explains further, “Even in smaller bedrooms introducing comfortable chairs, beanbags, chill-out areas, spaces for kids to hang out, a chaise or sofa to sit and read makes a bedroom both multi-functional, but also, importantly, a welcoming room to relax and properly unwind in.”
It’s all about the reclining. If you only have space to squeeze in a small bedroom chair, then don’t worry, but go for something with a nicely angled back and a profile where the seat sits fairly close to the floor, at a low level. Both these design details make for a more relaxing style seat. And if you’re lucky enough to have space, then design a corner of seating, like Kitesgrove has done in one of their latest bedroom designs, to maximize that feeling of bedroom luxury!
(Image credit: Kitesgrove)
Saddle Panca stool by Bonaldo
(Image credit: Bonaldo)
Bedroom Trend 3: Statement headboards
Headboards, but like you’ve never seen them before. Rising through the ranks in ‘must have’ bedroom decor stakes for 2022 is the need – the requirement even, if you want to be termed ‘on trend’ – for an all-out headboard design. No, we’re not just talking nice upholstery or plushy finishes – that we have seen before – we’re talking all-out design effort requirement to create headboards so spectacular that it is the design element of the room. People should be left with no doubt that you’re making your new headboard the centre of your bedroom design focus. The key is to create something “truly exceptional”, says Caz Myers. How are headboards being styled differently, and what do we need to look out for or be aware of moving into 2022? Tune in!
Headboard in Arzu in Sorbet, Romo
(Image credit: Romo)
Scale. Go big, or go home, as they say. Well, now you’re kind of looking to do both! Headboards are looking all-out maximum impact, and for this very reason, it’s time to let the extrovert designer in you go wild. Take a look at one of the new designs to come from interior design firm Andrew Martin. Shapely Moroccan style turns a standard headboard idea into something of a shrine. Worship and embrace heavy pattern and print – the bolder, the more eccentric and decorative, the better!
Iznik Fabric on Lucifer Headboard, both Andrew Martin
(Image credit: Andrew Martin)
Caz Myers points to some of the design details to look for, “We are seeing headboards moving into 2022 not only upholstered in fabrics but also being designed in different mosaic or encaustic tile patterns too! Turning headboards from a 2D design element, very much into 3D territory! Varied shapes & sizes – generally speaking, it’s the bigger the better – but also consider making a more shapely headboard that juts out at the ends, or encompasses a curve into the design. GO. WILD!” This pairs with some of the lighting trends we’re seeing come through, which are all about drama.
So considering a less obvious finish (such as tile) for a headboard is very much part of the new headboard trend. But if you want to stick to fabric that’s fine too. Fabric aficionados Romo demonstrates how to create a low-slinky headboard that screams wow-factor in the bedroom. Set against a neutral backdrop wall, the geometric colourful fabric really catches the eye. Also, note how it’s been designed to angle out at the sides? That’s right… exactly what Caz alludes to. The new approach to headboards isn’t so 2D. You can really play with 3D shape and form, and leave the concept of a 2D headboard behind. A 2D headboard? We’ve moved on!
Bedroom trend 4: Box rooms are turning back into bedrooms
“Small bedrooms can often be the coziest and most enticing spaces of all!” says Caz Myers. An increasingly popular bedroom trend is not to try and make these necessarily feel larger (fighting physics) but instead to go darker or stronger with color and decorating choices.
“We increasingly make them intentionally darker in tone and bring in varied accent colors” explains Caz, “interesting wall coverings, colorful artwork pieces as well as a dynamic selection of accessories & interesting or unusual lighting – these elements are ways to create interest, and designer surprise, within a small bedroom space.”
It’s a bedroom trend that is anticipated to go from strength to strength too. Smaller spaces are increasingly common. We don’t all have oodles of space to work with, and the industry is taking note of clever design requirements and small bedroom lighting ideas.
Arch in Bassoon 336 and Panelling in Nether Red 315 in Intelligent Eggshel, Table in Jack Black 119 in Intelligent Satinwood and Floor in Bassoon 336 in Intelligent Floor Paint, all by Little Greene
(Image credit: Little Greene)
“We are experiencing a real demand in bespoke beds too, which really enhance smaller bedrooms with clever storage and help a small bedroom space feel unique & welcoming,” says Caz. It’s true, there’s an increasing number of bespoke single beds appearing from brands and designers. People are veering towards the idea of the single bed being a special design element. “Small bespoke beds also enable us to really bring in a sumptuous mix of additional fabrics, tones, and textures, layering the bed with paint colors, textures, and exciting fabrics to a decor. It’s increasingly popular to be bold in a small bedroom, and a small single bespoke bed is actually now being seen as a really worthy design addition.”
We love the latest little bedroom design idea depicted by Little Greene Paint Company, demonstrating that a bespoke single bed can be uber cool and thoroughly contemporary (thanks to the curved arch design and use of the best colors for small bedrooms) too! Kitesgrove, the interior design firm, shows that with an element of modern metallic wall lighting you can really transform even the smallest of bedside table areas, and if you’re working with a lower ceiling level (or an attic room, perhaps) then ‘wrap’ the small bedroom space with color to create something truly special. Small bedrooms? if you can nail it, then you are SO 2022!
(Image credit: Kitesgrove)
Bedroom trend 5: Neutral color schemes
Wellness, as you might already be aware, is an increasingly hot topic in the interior design sector. Not only are people asking and expecting more considered design (organic, sustainably sourced materials, and lower or minimum impact shipping, local makers or production where possible, and, a requirement for an artisan or handmade production method too) but we’re also all looking for design that is going to increase our quality of life at home.
“Calm, peace, and tranquility, is important for our clients in the bedrooms we design”, says Caz Myer, as neutral bedroom ideas are on the rise. “Bedrooms are so increasingly now becoming a space to not only sleep but also to potentially meditate and spend relaxing time in. Mixing both natural color tones as well as varied textures gives a real sense of calm to a bedroom. There are some particular design details to be mindful of when designing a bedroom in 2022…”, hints Caz.
(Image credit: Porada)
First up, think neutral color palette. But neutral needn’t necessarily mean boring. In fact, if you read our 2022 Color Trends feature you’ll see that it’s all about a more developed, dynamic way of working neutral palette. And there’s actually plenty of variety of ‘color’ within a diverse and well-executed palette of neutral shades, meaning that even though technically it is a neutral palette you do end up getting a sense of ‘color’ diversity.
Secondly, look for the new products hitting the market with are designed to increase your wellbeing in the bedroom. Like The White Company’s new Electronic Diffuser. Chic, contemporary, and a clever addition if you want to cleanse the air in your bedroom and heighten the wellness factor.
Additionally, Caz highlights the increasing importance of bedding. And we’re not just talking standard sheets. We’re talking about the rising variety of bedding that is designed for ‘breathability’ and improved sleep quality, for 2022 this is incorporating a heavy influence of anti-allergy bedding products. Look out for these if you are redecorating your bedroom with wellness in mind.
Chrissie Rucker, founder of The White Company, is something of a sleep quality aficionado – who else better to impart wisdom on the benefits of attending to bedroom wellness design for 2022? Chrissie says, “Sleeping well is vital for our whole wellbeing. It restores the body, refreshes the mind and may even help to boost the immune system. Our bedroom should be a place of retreat , rest and relaxation , and our beds need to sustain us for years to come. The perfect bedroom should be a cocoon in the winter and a cool, airy sanctuary in summer. At the end of a busy day, there is
no better feeling in the world than slipping into a beautifully made and blissfully comfortable bed.”
Chrissie further explains, “We spend a third of our lives in bed, so it’s important to choose a high-quality bed and mattress that moulds and supports our bodies correctly, plus great quality bed-linen, a cloud-like mattress topper, pillows, and duvet also helps improve ‘wellness’ in the bedroom department.” And yes, admittedly, there are cheaper bedding options on the market for sure. But in order to opt-in for the wellness bedroom stake, you need to think about quality. “It can feel like a big investment but in the long term, it’s really worth it as great quality will feel better and last longer”, says Chrissie. Proof that you definitely need to invest in one of the best mattresses.
Lastly, there are of course the ‘styling’ details which can infer an increased comfort level. “We always use bed-throws to layer a bed for comfort, it’s a simple but always effective way of allowing people to vary the temperature when they sleep, and ultimately increasing the quality of sleep-time”, says Caz.
(Image credit: The White Company)