From Dopamine Dining to Grounded Simplicity.
British home and furniture retailer Habitat this week announced its predictions and inspiration for home interiors in the coming year in a panel discussion with entertainment platform TikTok and our good selves at YesColours.
Based on Habitat insights and data, as well as those of its sister brands, Sainsbury’s and Argos, the speakers discussed the reasons behind these emerging ideas, the importance of colour within these, and the ‘hot’ content trending on TikTok that has become a crucial inspiration tool for home lovers in the UK.
Dopamine dining.
A variety of food trends are emerging, breaking down the barriers of formal dining and encouraging a more relaxed approach to tablescaping. We’re embracing a more tactile, Mediterranean-style approach to eating that places sensory experiences and comfort at its core, enhanced by dopamine-inducing colours that stimulate joy and bring conversation to the table. Bowls are now the tableware of choice for meals, surpassing plates, to enable more informal and communal dining habits.
"There is an enduring joy in grown-up pastel colours, the bright and the bold to create a happy, social space."
Emma Bestley, Co-Founder of YesColours, elaborates on how our approach to colour will become more adventurous: “There is an enduring joy in grown-up pastel colours, the bright and the bold to create a happy, social space. More importantly following the pandemic, coming together was on everyone’s minds and this has sustained and reinvigorated the demand for fun, and energetic hues. Less of a formal approach to the table gives us more of a chance to be playful with our interiors colour schemes.”
For this space, we’ve used our Joyful Lilac, Friendly Blue, Fresh Yellow and a new future YesColours green as the uplifting pastel harmony they create together will stimulate not only our eyes but our appetite too.
Art of display.
This is the new take on the curiosity cabinet which sees us celebrate and showcase the more personal moments and landmarks of our lives, rather than tidying everything away. Display cabinets, sideboards and open shelving are all ways that we will personalise and curate our spaces throughout the home, refreshing seasonally for quick home updates.
"Our community is switching things up seasonally just by using a lick of paint."
Emma says “Our community is switching things up seasonally just by using a lick of paint to create an accent area. People are curating rather than loading up their shelves without care and consideration. With budgets tight right now, it is a great way of adding interest to your home without the pressure of renovating a whole room.”
For our ‘Art of Display’ space we’ve used our iconic Electric Blue for the small details, as well as Passionate Blue on the walls and accents of Electric Blue. This blue utopia and the way all those colours complement each other definitely make our hearts sing.
Nostalgia reinvented.
Looking to the past brings a sense of security and familiarity - we turn to this during uncertain times. This ‘anti-anxiety’ movement examines how the cottage-core demand for 2022 will grow and mature, taking a 1970s direction that represents a return to retro with a contemporary slant, championing the resurgence of craft.
"Operative word here is comfort - but also optimism and warmth."
Operative word here is comfort - but also optimism and warmth. Nostalgia can be interpreted many ways and can be very subjective but we always see a huge popularity on our socials when we share content on Wes Anderson, 60’s/70’s retro including Reels with colour combos of warm luxe colours alongside contrasting shades. This is such a joyful approach to expressing your cultural identity in your home; we're here to celebrate all things 70’s, the sparkle of Bowie, London glam rock and Studio 54 is bound to conjure up a positive nostalgic vibe.
In this space you’ll see one of our ultimate favourites - our deep, saturated Loving Pink paint colour, which we secretly call our sexiest colour (this is a secret but, honestly, can you blame us?). To break it up a little we’ve added a stripe pattern to the door; a wink back at those 70’s retro vibes we’ve seen in art, film and fashion. The stripes are made up of our Calming Blue paint and Passionate Warm White.
Grounded simplicity.
This movement challenges the popularity of zoning and multifunctional living which became a necessity for many during the pandemic. It espouses the theory of ‘clear home, clear mind’, prioritising only the most functional essentials for day-to-day living and allowing the home to breathe. This movement is underpinned by a link to nature and earth, with an emphasis on rich, warming colours and tactile materials that are more traditionally crafted.
"We believe that minimalism and the pared-back aesthetic doesn’t have to be cold and pale in its colour approach."
YesColours fully endorses the use of colour to help us feel more grounded. Emma says “We believe that minimalism and the pared-back aesthetic doesn’t have to be cold and pale in its colour approach. Using bold but warm natural shades will still encourage that feeling of being in touch with the earth around us, without stripping the space of any colour at all.”
Accompanied by our Passionate Olive Green on the ceiling and our Loving Orange, this warm burnt orange shade is the cosiest of them all, the ultimate colour to surround ourselves in the cold winter months with a cup of tea and our favourite book. And the best thing: it’s perfect for summer too, thanks to its wise, bronzy, deep clay hue that will reflect the sunlight and make our home truly feel like… well, home.
The only question left to ask now is...which one is your favourite?