Interior Design Super Bold: Making A Statement with Patterns

Now is not the time for complacency. Not in life, not in design. Let’s break out of our rut. Let’s be exciting and striking and bold. We envision daring colors and dramatic patterns being major style trends for home design in 2022.

“After two years of unease and uncertainty, we feel like people are ready to make big changes this year,” says Jennifer Meska, LL Flooring’s style expert. “Bold patterns are a way to show off one’s personality, make a space feel intentional and inject it with a new sense of optimism.”

Pantone released their color of 2022, Very Peri, a rich purple-blue with violet and red undertones, that speaks to this trend towards vibrancy. There’s been a growing appreciation for maximalism in design since the pandemic began. The conventional wisdom is that people began to spend time in their minimal, white, bare spaces and realized the aesthetic felt lacking in comfort and joy. 

Now, we need our living spaces to pop, to be full of life, to have feeling and excitement. Prints featuring animals are a great choice, since these figures are themselves bursting with energy. We love the cool teal of this bathroom studded with water birds, or the downplayed charcoal vibes of this elephant print. Who wouldn’t smile at the mandrills feasting in the forest while washing their hands?

If you’re not ready to commit to a striking print in your main living spaces, a bathroom is a great place to try out this kind of design in a smaller area. A wild print also looks good when it borders a second texture, which a bathroom usually has. White subway tile looks good against most bold patterns, or you can choose a tile specifically to complement (or contrast!) your print.

Floral patterns have always been a classic wallpaper choice. It always looks great in the bathroom, where an intricate floral design gets anchored by stark white fixtures. Stick to cool colors if you want to keep that pristine porcelain feel—something in the blue and grey family delivers a real French farmhouse vibe. Consider light and bright warmer colored print to give some energy to a smaller bathroom.

Of course, wallpaper isn’t the only way to introduce patterns to a space. Knits and textiles can act as throws or wall hangings. Heavy cable-knit rugs and other floor coverings can be the inspiration for an entire room’s worth of furnishings if they’re striking enough. And you can work patterns into your flooring as well, like the riveting herringbone of Aliso Beach AquaSeal laminate flooring.

Bold patterns in our spaces help us feel reinvigorated, moved, brightened and energized. These maximalist designs say yes to all kinds of energy and revel in the chaos that results. Life is messy and fun and challenging, and a little bit weird, and these room reflect the joy of that discovery.

Tell us how you’re going bold with your designs this year. Tag us—on Facebook or Instagram at @LLFlooringOfficial—and use #LLStyle.