The living room is the centerpiece of the home. It’s where we entertain and relax. Depending on your lifestyle you might also use your living room to eat, exercise, work, or sleep. According to research from comparethemarket.com, while most homeowners spend more money on their kitchens, they spend more than twice as much time in the living room. As probably the most multi-purpose room in your home, the living room deserves attention.
Perhaps you’re ready to freshen up the style of your living room. There’s plenty you can do without a full renovation; sometimes a light touch can go a long way. You also won’t need a degree in interior design, because plenty of designers have been hard at work dreaming up the top living room design trends of 2022. Here are some of the top trends that you can leverage for high aesthetic impact without emptying your wallet.
Fluid Furniture is Rounding the Curve
Box-shaped couches with square corners are out. Designers are recommending furniture with a rich use of smooth contours. Circles and crescents are increasingly taking the place of rigid furniture with 90-degree corner angles.
Choosing a sofa with soft and rounded edges at the ends can get you started at adopting this living room trend. With living room chairs, look for those with a backing that provides a circular or oval silhouette. End tables are an easy item to switch from the traditional square to a more contoured shape.
Sectional Spaces Accentuate Function
Open space has been the hallmark of design trends in recent years. That airy, open feeling is still in vogue, but designers are increasingly using the space to create sectional zones within it.
Think of it like creating invisible lines in your room that demarcate where the room may be used in a different way. An easy example is in a typical eat-in kitchen. Whereas in the past the trend was to decorate the dining and cooking portions of the room in one uniform style, the current trend is to differentiate each with a distinct design approach.
In the living room, you may have a portion of the room that frequently gets used for working or exercising. Or you may have the comfortable couch and chairs that are perfectly set up for viewing entertainment, as well as additional seating nearby that is used for entertaining guests. Consider giving each nook a unique look that establishes character.
Bring the Outdoors In
Natural materials continue to be a popular living room trend for 2022. Consumers are increasingly considering the sustainability of the materials they purchase for their home, and as a result plastics, fibreglass and other manufactured materials are less popular. In recent years we’ve seen this trend take the form of live-edge wooden tables, solid hardwood furniture, and the use of rattan and bamboo.
Homeowners often accentuate this trend by putting plants everywhere, creating a lush, oxygen-rich environment that gives an outdoorsy feeling.
Farmhouse Style Evolves to Rustic Elegance
At some point in the last few years designers decided that every home, from the countryside, to the suburbs, and even metropolitan condos, should adopt traditional farmhouse features. Sliding barn doors, oversized butchers blocks, and rustic or faux-stressed wooden furniture are common highlights of this style.
In 2022, this aesthetic persists, but is evolving into a more elegant approach. Think of a ranch house rather than a farmhouse. Natural stone and wooden beams are a key part of the structure, with a fireplace as the focal point. In the room itself, high-quality, typically oversized furniture dominates. Natural or manufactured hides are a key component as well, and a high-sheen leather chair is often centrally placed.
Styles Evolve, Some Truths Don’t Change
No matter which 2022 living room design trend you choose to adopt, there are some truths that apply year after year.
- Buy quality: You won’t love your remodeled living room when that discount sofa starts to fray at the corners. Quality manufacturing will always be in style.
- Consider American-made: Buying locally reduces the impact on the environment and supports local companies and employees.
- Choose from experienced retailers: Sellers that have decades of experience have seen many trends come and go. They can help direct you to products that suit the trends of the day but also last the test of time.
Syracuse-based Adirondack furniture features a variety of Amish-made furniture, including Mission and Shaker, as well as rustic and more modern styles. Browse their online furniture catalogue for design inspiration.
