All products featured on Architectural Digest are independently selected by our editors. However, when you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Seasons and styles come and go, but as vintage marketplaces like Chairish and 1stDibs prove, the secondhand market is a constant companion for scouting decor trends. For those looking to update their surroundings with pieces from the past that feel like the future, Chairish has released its Spring 2022 Trend Forecast.
Don't miss the AD PRO-exclusive workshop—Photo Finish: How to Showcase Your Project
Perhaps fittingly for the uncertain times we find ourselves in, the experts see increased attention in tried-and-true styles that offer feelings of escape: Cabana stripes to turn your living room into a chic resort and animal prints to bring a wild whimsy into the bedroom. Buyers are turning away from minimalism and are now focusing on what Chairish VP of merchandising Noel Fahden thinks of as “layering and pairing patterns in a way that doesn’t feel overwhelming or over the top.” Think salon-style hangs with 3D soft sculpture bridging the space between walls and furniture, and tough materials like tin and rope eased by figurations of butterflies or motifs from Swedish folklore.
Up and coming colors, Fahden notes, include tones of “chartreuse, ochre, burnt oranges, and dusty pinks and blues.” It’s the palette of soft optimism—the rosy hope that a new day is on the way.
Below the experts help AD PRO sort through the half a million or so pieces the e-tailer might offer at a given time, and how to use them best. Read on to learn what Charish sees as the top decor trends this spring.
Butterflies
An Argentinian trio, who studied under Le Corbusier, looked to butterflies for their beloved Knoll chair. Famed Dane Poul Cadovius transformed their wingspan into a clever bookshelf. Warhol turned them into art, and Christian LaCroix made them into wallpaper confections. As flowers bloom and blossom this spring, this trend is all a-flutter. Just play Mariah Carey’s 1997 classic album in a butterfly-bedecked room for the finishing touch.
Sophisticated stripes
Nothing could be simpler than alternating fields of two or three colors. But with the right application, stripes can transform a space, lending a crisp freshness to all they touch or adding a bit of op-art eye appeal. For a private villa at Palm Beach’s The Colony Hotel, Mark D. Sikes managed to do it all at once. Not bad for a couple of white and blue lines.
Swedish painted furniture
Had it with hygge? Opt into a style that honors the handmade with a bit more flair this spring. “When on the hunt,” Fahden says, “look for pieces that are antique—from the 18th century up to the mid-19th century.” Then ground your find with a characteristic rug, ideally a flat-woven find.
Tole
Even though the word comes from the Latin tabula, there’s nothing rasa about this technique of highly-decorated sheet metal, often enameled tin. Its versatility is its strength: Whether alleviating Italianate clichés in an L.A. mansion or transforming a footstool into a bookworm’s cocktail table in leafy central New York, the time for tole is now. It can even make an ideal companion (or, worst case scenario, replacement) for all the houseplants you acquired over lockdown.
Statement ottomans and footstools
Speaking of footstools, they’re the new stars of the living room. They can be cocoon-cum-task chair, like Ayala Serfaty’s offering in Todd Hellmuth’s apartment for a NYC friend or a braided rattan Parisian gem that’s perfect for stacks of magazines. Coordinate with sofas and lounges, or, even better, let them contrast dramatically in pattern or fabric.
Bobbins
Chairish predicts design lovers will take this trend for a spin. The bobbin style weaves industrial and Romantic influences into cylindrical frames for chairs and beds. “A spool turned chair leg or bobbin bed post adds playful ornamentation to what may otherwise be an ordinary piece of furniture,” Fahden says. “We have also been noticing a revived interest in craft across categories, from art to tabletop to furniture, and bobbin is a nod to that.”
Minet
Hello, sailor! This spring, the Chairish team expects to be tied up in knots over rope-accent furnishings. A rope-wrung mirror is a classic, of course, but why not splurge on a piece by French midcentury duo Adrien Audoux and Frida Minet? “They create incredible rope pieces that bridge modernist design with nautical and sculptural elements,” Fahden says. “The pieces, while functional in themselves, are also a thing of beauty.”
Artist salon
Lining a room with thoughtful juxtapositions of photographs, paintings, and other artful oddities has long been a classic decor move. This season, Fahden encourages you to take bigger risks. “Hanging sculpture, bronze cast busts, and furry Lalanne-style sheep add dimension and varied texture to a wall,” she says. The result should be balanced but a little bonkers, united but unexpectedly off-the-wall.
Batik
Chairish anticipates vintage fans will be falling over the wax-resist technique with Indonesian roots. Its slightly hippie reputation belies the painstaking artistry it requires, and the satisfying repetition it brings to intricate floral patterns.
Safari
It’s a jungle out there—and vintage prowlers can bring home a myriad of safari-themed furnishings. “Animal print (a fan favorite) is returning in a new way: It’s all about the chic safari and wildlife motifs that are a nod to the African plains,” Fahden says. Why not let packs of beast-themed seating and accessories roam those rooms papered with Scalamandre wildlife? And save room for the king of the jungle, she says. “Big cats aren’t going anywhere anytime soon!”
