Home & Interiors Autumn Winter 2022/23 Trends: Season Preview

This Autumn Winter season, our Home & Interiors design trends see a post-pandemic reflection fuelling a sense of perspective; we can do difficult things, find joy in trying times and create change in the world. Customers are in an explorative mood, seeking out and indulging new facets of their own personality. No longer constrained to binary ideas about who they are and what their homes should look like, a more experimentative phase takes hold.

Published back in 2020, we share a preview of one of four Autumn Winter 2022/23 interior design trends from our seasonal forecast; Privacy Mode. Access the full season preview report when you subscribe to our free subscription service, My TrendBible.

Privacy Mode

This trend is driven by a desire to withdraw, creating a self-sufficient and private home, shared with only those closest to us. Householders trade a life of superfluous frills for a more utilitarian approach, where aesthetics meet function to create a home of purposeful and considered design.

Darker spaces gain appeal as the concept of sensory austerity – the practice of desensitising one sense to heighten another – gains momentum. Ambient and soothing settings have gained popularity in the hospitality industry as restaurants look to bring attention back to the flavours and experience of food, rather than Instagrammable decor.

Simplistic and practical product design comes to the fore as consumers seek out multi-purpose products that adapt to the ever-changing needs of the home. The already growing trend of Brutalist aesthetics continues as designers are inspired by the 2020 lockdowns to make things locally. Rudimentary manufacturing methods and local materials are adopted for practical yet beautiful objects.

Dark and Contemplative Spaces

The mood here is all about seclusion as householders learn to extract themselves from social media to indulge in deep focus, hunkering down for the winter season. Dark, contemplative and isolated spaces generate a sense of deep intimacy and introspection. Subterranean, cocoon-like spaces provide the perfect antidote to the cult of busy. The robust and functional architecture of bunkers and rudimentary shelters inspires product design.

Shapes are raw, sculptural and Brutalist. Design is functional, slick and refined. Nothing superfluous. Straps and knots update home accessories. All-weather fabrics provide practical indoor-outdoor applications for householders who embrace the outdoor lifestyle all year round.

This trend sets the scene for truly intimate moments shared by only a select few. Householders find solitude in remote wildernesses, taking time to stare up at the stars. After a cold day spent outdoors, great comfort is gained from the warmth of a bowl of soup, gently defrosting cold fingers.