Change is Inevitable: Revealing Dunn-Edwards 2022 Color + Design Trends

Environmental, societal, and unseen forces are shifting the way we look at everything. As new desires, fears, and dreams are formed, the evolving landscape of our color and design choices mirrors our inner currents. We are literally building the new world we want to see out of objects and pigments.

Each year, Dunn-Edwards explores five emerging palettes and design styles that reflect the outcome of our changing reality. Pulling inspiration from fashion, technology, art, and popular movements, we identify the key themes that are driving aesthetics forward. This is our time capsule for 2022.

Meraki

An unexpected journey of self-discovery and acceptance is facilitated by soothing colors and shapes, an emphasis on simplicity and open spaces. We let go of the need to complicate and overly accessorize, driven by a new emphasis on experience and process. Difficult times have taught us to be more resilient, and we are embarking on a renewed quest for balance and wellness. Clean and comfortable, uncluttered and minimalist, Meraki reflects the desire for a fresh start.

Timeless and sustainable materials combine with simple, ingenious objects to give us pared-down creations with a touch of soul.

Design reflects our shifting values that now emphasize quality over quantity. With precise lines and sensual curves, furniture and fabrics establish a balance between stillness and motion. Lasting, versatile pieces contribute to a new timelessness, while promoting a sense of comfort — like a welcome hug.

Photo Credit: Samantha Williams Interior Design

The Meraki color palette is like a cleansing tide, fresh blues remind us to start over. Delicate tints inspired by shades of recycled paper combine with airy versions of earth, plant, and water tones to soothe the senses. Breathe in this healing palette and define a new way forward.

Retrouvailles

The rediscovery of creating our own food and crafts has sparked a celebration of folkloric revival. We turn to physical and digital tribes for support and inspiration, carving out new spaces for community, creativity, and joy.

Artisanal and traditional techniques emphasize local authenticity from around the world as our new circle expands beyond the confines of a physical neighborhood. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the colorful tapestry of 21st-century life.

Upbeat environments adorned with tangy palettes are punctuated with Bohemian touches, figurative scenes, and stylized motifs inspired by Matisse and Miro. Unfussy and casual, spaces embrace a “cottage in the South” feel, becoming colorful havens that celebrate both tradition and improvisation.

Handmade ceramics and basketwork reflect a desire to connect with the creators behind our daily objects. In a new form of folk, we curate atmospheres capable of welcoming visitors from the real and online worlds.

The Retrouvailles color palette infuses toasted browns that connect us to a sense of shared experiences, like the Earth beneath our feet. Around them, clear colors that appear to snap in the sun create a cheerful and carefree mood — reminiscent of summer vacations and outdoor dining.

Mysa

Emerging from virtual reality into real life, we are drawn to sensory experiences. The identities and comforts we've forged in the digital world emanate into our physical world — leading to lush, reality-optional escapes where ancient rituals and mythical elements mingle with exotic botanicals and rich fabrics. The splendors of the past beckon us to explore their mystic symbolism and mystery, while we take comfort in the plentiful tangible luxuries of the present.

Elegant cocoons reimagine depictions of far off lands and other ancient or imaginary adventures through the prism of modernity. Furnishings, fabrics, and decor are selected to delight all six senses.

Real and ornamental florals hint at herbaceous and blossoming scents. Opulent fabrics engage our sense of touch. Accent objects and prints of ancient symbols, forbidden fruits. and exotic fauna hint at visual, palatable, and auditory storylines that activate our sense of the extraordinary.

The Mysa chromatic musing conjures sophistication with a touch of flamboyance. In an adventurous twist,
the palette contains both vivid and muted colors to create a chiaroscuro effect. Juicy, botanical colors ripen to darker tones, emoting a storied shadow effect that lets us contemplate the passage of time from luxurious spaces.

Elysian

Driven by the optimism of an emerging Scientific Renaissance, we are propelled forward to build upon
shared knowledge, unlocking solutions through state-of-the-art technology and interdisciplinary cooperation. The act of diving deep into microbial and subatomic worlds mirrors our expanding exploration of space and the great beyond, setting up a dichotomic tension between micro and macro. Where these seemingly opposite pursuits merge in the universal consciousness, new opportunities for surreality are created.

Future-forward pieces reinvent utility with ultra-comfort and multi-purpose functionality, all mixed with a dose of light-hearted imagination. Soft and strange elements come together to create calm and innovative atmospheres poised between reality and fiction. New techniques in architecture, 3D printing, and manufacturing lead to fabrics and accessories with transparency effects, iridescence, and dream-like qualities. Spaces capture the feeling of being inside an optimistic, dreamlike bubble in which anything is possible.

The Elysian color palette combines playfully saturated tones and their overexposed harmonies, representing the merge of creativity with science to give us a palette that is bursting with freshness. Grown-up and reassuring pastel hues provide a sense of honesty and transparency, while bolder colors remind us of the joy in discovery.

Naturrensing

Ready to shed the weight of materialism, we look to nature, natural cycles, spirituality, and indigenous wisdom as sources of freedom and rebirth. Cutting back on clutter and pointless shopping, we refocus on essential, sustainable elements that emphasize nature and healing. Getting in touch with our Earth-loving roots, we explore themes of gardening, eco-tourism, plant-based eating, handicraft, and creative recycling.

A new form of primitive luxury emerges in which eco-friendly materials and techniques dominate. Wood is preserved with stains or light washes that emphasize natural grain and growth rings. Fabrics feature homespun, flaxen, and organic materials and tones. Accessories and furniture exhibit raw, rugged edges
or a distinctively upcycled feel. The origins of each piece become as important as its aesthetics. Arts and Crafts, Boho, Rustic, and even Modern elements come together to celebrate a common love of nature.

Nature-infused colors embody both simplicity and sophistication, with tones reminiscent of raw
cotton, plant-based dyes, wood, clay, and earth. Rich greens push us toward healthy growth, deep browns focus on Earth's stability, and dark blues and blue-greens recall the splendor of a nighttime sky.

We are taking a big leap forward, rebounding in the spirit of hope, self-confidence, and new opportunities. Fresh, cleansing, tech-inspired brights live harmoniously with earth-baked colors as we write a new history that merges the wisdom of the past with advances of the future.

Welcome to 2022!