2022 interior paint trends to consider before choosing your colour

If you're moving into a new home, renovating a room or simply looking to refresh a space, you're probably thinking about paint colours — and comparing a not small collection of paint chips! Finding just the right hue for your walls can be fun, especially if you know what you want or enjoy browsing social media for inspiration. But it can also be challenging to pick from a bewildering array of choices.  

It may help to look at the colours many are gravitating to right now. We asked two pros — Tommy Smythe, co-founder of the interior design studio TOM, and Sharon Grech, Benjamin Moore's Canadian colour and design expert — to share the most popular paint picks and what to consider when you're deciding on a colour.

According to Grech, colours that feel tranquil have been trending for over a year, and there's been a shift toward happy shades as well. "We want colours that make us feel comfortable in our space," she said. She's been seeing lots of "nature-inspired" blues and greens this year and warmer options like terracotta and other earth tones.

Before you settle on your paint, here are some trends and tips to consider.

Warm neutrals

Both Grech and Smythe said there's been a shift away from greys. "We're seeing a reaction against grey walls," said Smythe. "A lot of clients and, in particular, most designers are sick to death of grey walls and interiors. So the whole grey thing is going to shift toward warmer neutrals. And by warmer neutrals, I actually mean beige." The beiges his team has been using though are more interesting: flax, linen and limestone, paired with a bright white for contrast. 

Go for green

Both experts agreed that green is a key paint colour for 2022 and one that can be used in any room. "There's a huge … movement toward green in the kitchen space and even creeping into bathrooms," said Smythe. "I like to call [it] the fourth neutral.… There's not a colour that looks bad with green, so it gives you a great deal of freedom for the other elements that you use in a space." And the possibilities are vast. "It's everywhere from, like, sagey, pistachio tones all the way up to what I call green-black, which is like a version of black that has green undertones to it," he said. "And we're really seeing it almost everywhere." 

Grech flagged October Mist as an example from Benjamin Moore's line, but noted that all the major paint brands highlighted a soft and subdued green this year. She suggested looking for a muted mid-tone green, like a pale sage. 

Present-day peach 

"[Peach] is a huge, huge colour right now that we're seeing in all kinds of things," said Smythe. "This current version of peach is very much a soft, very toned-down pinkish-peach. The '80s peach was a little more orangey." It's a flattering colour that's ideal for a bedroom or any living space where you'd be hanging out, he said, "if you're brave enough to dive back into the peach tone."

"The clay and earth tones really seem to have become quite popular, dare I say, with the younger group," Grech said. "People [are] interested in the desert sunset esthetic." Dusty, pinkish clay tones offer a fresh update on millennial pink, which has been part of the zeitgeist since the mid-2010s. "It's just a little bit more muted, a little more livable for everybody, for every room," Grech said. "But it still has that pink tinge to it, which is nice." 

She is also enthusiastic about bright, energetic colours like reds, pinks and oranges. She mentioned Benjamin Moore's Wild Flower, which she described as "a dusty red with a bit of orange-pink in it" that pairs well with cool blues. She suggested using the bold colour as an accent or on a feature wall. "It's a nice transitional colour, but it's a great pop," she said.  

Nominating navy

Navy blue kitchens have been everywhere for the past few years, said Grech. But if you want to take it further, she suggested using the colour to create a "more moody and dramatic" effect in a dining room or bedroom or on an accent wall. 

Smythe also recommended navy blue as a chic neutral, a less harsh alternative to black. "Navy blue is a softer colour that almost does the same job that black does, in contrasting with white or cream or lighter colours," he said. 

Deciding factors

"I like to think that any colour can work in any room," said Grech, adding that you just have to find the right intensity for the space. For example, you might use a lighter pink with yellow in it to work with the undertones in your wood flooring. 

Grech said when you're getting started, it's good to consider the mood you want for the room. "How do you want to feel when you're in that space?" she said. The function of the room, how and when you plan to use it, and the existing features (floors and counters, for example) are all important considerations too.

If you want to see how people are applying popular colours in their homes, turn to social media. "You can enter the hashtag, maybe #bluekitchen, and hundreds and hundreds of images of other people's kitchens that have navy blue cabinets come up," said Smythe. "And that may give you a kind of permission that didn't exist before."

In addition to social media, both experts noted that colour visualization tools can be a helpful starting point  — but they definitely advise you to apply a paint sample on your wall to see how the colour will really look in your space. "There is no such thing as registering true colour on a screen of any kind," said Smythe. When you look at a photo of a room, the lighting, the atmosphere, even the time of day and year can all impact how that colour reads, he said — and it won't translate the same way in your space.

Finally, Grech said you'll want to consider the paint finish because colours can look different depending on whether they're matte or shiny. While she was seeing a lot of high-gloss a few years back, that's not the case now. "Eggshell and matte," she said, "are probably the most popular wall sheen."

Truc Nguyen is a Toronto-based writer, editor and stylist. Follow her at @trucnguyen.