2022 Interior Trends with Tracy Cole

Shunned by some, trends undoubtedly influence our choices — whether conscious or not. And while fluid, if planned and curated carefully, they can stand the test of time. Tracy Cole, founder of Hello Flora, is someone who knows how to create a space that does just that, the focal point of her styling being luscious plant life — something that will never go out of fashion.

The New Pink, featuring our KEPLER T-Bar Handle with DERRY Backplate and HUMBOLDT Knob, all in Antique Brass

Botanical styling, as she likes to call it, fills her Instagram account on a backdrop of rich colour, punctuated by luxury finishes. A quick glance at said Instagram account says a lot about the trends she’s gravitating towards for the year ahead, and here’s what she has to say about them...

Snapshot: A rose-tinted 2022, punctuated with luxury finishes

The New Pink

“I think we’re going to start seeing pink being used in non-traditional ways in 2022. For example, in kitchens we’ll be seeing it applied on hard cabinets to soften them, or as the feature colour rather than the accent colour. While in bathrooms, a flood of pink brings a sense of calm when teamed with materials like wood, marble and antique brass — for a scheme that’s warm and tactile.”

Organic Luxe

“There’s no doubt that by looking to nature for colour palettes and materials you can evoke a sense of calm in a room. By layering luxurious materials like brass and velvet in rich, radiant colours, you can really take that space to the next level. I love the feel of my bedroom moodboard — for me it has everything I love in a space — colour, texture and a little bit of luxe.”

Organic Luxe, featuring our BECKER Grooved D-Bar Handle and LENNON Grooved Knob

Manifesting your moodboard

Why do it?

“Creating a moodboard is essential when you’re planning a new home project. Pulling ideas together and honing the look and feel of a new room is empowering. Moodboards allow you to be creative (and even make mistakes!) before you commit to the final design.” 

“I think people often find the design process daunting and for good reason — there’s just so much choice out there now and this is where moodboards can really help the decision making process. They let you view the room as a whole, so you can make sure your look is coherent. Anyone can and should use moodboards — all it takes is a little commitment to getting samples for every idea you have.

Where to start?

“Create a folder of images you love or are inspired by. I use Pinterest for this — it's such a great platform for collating ideas. Then I’ll move onto gathering samples of materials that can be used to create the design.”

The process of a pro

“The first question I always ask myself is “What’s going to stay in this room?”. Whether it’s a piece of art, furniture or even the wooden floor. I’ll use this element to anchor my design and build from there. Key features like colour, lighting, joinery and hardware will then follow.”

"Whether fabric, paint, tiles, flooring — you name it — be sure to gather swatches for them all to create a coherent picture of what you’re trying to achieve. They’re not called moodboards for nothing — they help to evoke a mood and a feeling to tell the story of a space. So spend time pulling it together, swapping fabrics in and out, changing colour options, looking at different handles etc. until your board reflects your vision for the room.” 

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A post shared by Tracy Cole (@helloflorauk)

Tracy plays around with colours , fabrics and handles to visually tell a story.

 The Devil is in the detail

“The little details are everything in a design. Yes, getting the foundations like the colours, patterns and layout is important, but even more so are the finishing touches. Details like handles, light switches and soft furnishings all come together to help create a coherent look.” 

TOP TIP: “Spend time looking at finishes and materials to make sure your choices work and flow together.”

In a nutshell

• Be bolder with pink in 2022

• Punctuate natural textures with luxury finishes for elevated calm

• Gather images into a folder and pinpoint an anchor for the scheme before moodboarding

• Finishing touches are small but mighty — they can literally pull a room together

Thanks to Tracy for joining us for a TEA BREAK and sharing her creative wisdom. Follow her inspiring design projects over at @helloflorauk ✨

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