18th January 2022 / Prue Fletcher: The Colours Making a Splash in 2022

It may not be one of your New Year's resolutions (and how are they going, by the way?) but if you're considering selling this year you'll likely lift a paintbrush before 2022 is finished.

There's always one room in your home that needs a little more attention than the others, or you want to recreate its purpose. Perhaps you want to turn the spare room from a dust trap into a home office or tone down the feature wall you got carried away with in the early 2000s.

Whatever your objective, the right splash of colour can totally transform a space.

If you're feeling creative, it's a great idea to investigate the fashionable colours of the day and see whether these might be suitable for your project.

In the world of interior design, each year begins with the experts offering their choice for Colour of the Year. Here's what they say for 2022 (Heads up – green features a lot):

Very Peri

Photo credit: Pantone

This is the choice of colour kingmaker Pantone. The company describes it as a periwinkle blue with red undertones. You'd be forgiven for thinking it's purple.

Back to Nature

Photo credit: The Nordroom

Many colour pundits have selected a hue of green, encouraging you to embrace nature and give the interior of your home a natural flow into the outdoors. Paint company Benjamin Moore is on this bus. Its October Mist is a soothing, silvery green. It says it used the colour of sage for inspiration.

Evergreen

Photo credit: Sherwin-Williams

The huge paint manufacturer Sherwin-Williams has taken a similar path, nominating a green it calls Evergreen Fog. Pictures on its website illustrate its perfect match with wood and the browns of natural leather. Sherwin-Williams operates the Wattyl brand in Australia and New Zealand.

Mexican Mix

Photo credit: Glidden

Let's stick with green but call it Guacamole. This hue is a little more in your face and comes from America's second-largest paint manufacturer, Glidden. The firm is owned by PPG Industries, which offers the Bristol and Taubmans brands in Australia and New Zealand.

Down to Earth

Photo credit: Dunn-Edwards

The American paint store chain Dunn-Edwards favours earthy brown tones for 2022, calling its candidate Arts & Craft. It's darker than the favoured greens but doesn't stray from the back-to-nature theme.

Bet Each Way

Photo credit: Farrow & Ball

The British paint and wallpaper specialist Farrow & Ball has selected a bright yellow it calls Babouche.

Photo credit: Farrow & Ball

It's a bold choice, but the Brits have tempered their commitment by also nominating Breakfast Room Green. This is "our most cheerful of all our greens", they say.