Trending for 2022: Alternative Realities as Multisensory Design
This futuristic design trend is edgy and psychedelic with high contrast colors evoking a nightclub glow. It embraces design exhibitionism, euphoria and extravagance.
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Alternative Realities
The Alternative Realities design trend puts emphasis on escaping the world and designing the home to awaken the senses. Throughout this trend you will see high-contrast colors, gaming rooms and mood-altering lighting implemented as a way of embracing euphoria through home design.
Moody and Bold Color Palette
Nightclub-evocative purple and indigo will immerse you into a moody ambiance that will provide an escape from an often harsh reality. Glowing neon colors offer a bold punch, and wallpaper and fabrics that create trick-the-eye optical illusions will create a welcome distraction.
See More Ideas: 40 Living Room Color Palettes You've Never Tried
Neon Signs
Offering a bold and impactful design element, neon signs will emerge as a cheeky accessory in this trend.
See More Ideas: 15 Neon Signs for Every Room in Your House
Nightlife All Day Long
The party’s always happening with black light and neon elements hinting at altered states.
At-Home Bar
As staying in continues to be the choice of many, at-home bars will be on the rise. “This is huge because of how people seem to be hanging out at one another's homes rather than going out in groups," says HGTV designer Brian Patrick Flynn.
See More Photos: 40 Stylish Home Bars Squeezed Into Small Spaces
Mind-Bending Art
Hallucinogenic moiré, pixelated and perforated patterns convey a sense of movement. Mind-bending design that plays tricks with your eyes typifies the trippy, escapist qualities of these patterns.
3D Effects
To further the mind-bending effects seen in this trend, 3D design elements will be brought into the home, offering a unique and interactive home experience.
Checkerboard Art
This playful print is graphic and punchy, and will be seen throughout the alternative realities design trend.
Tubular Shapes
Movement, ebb and flow and forms that diverge from the straight and narrow define both tabletop objects and furniture.
Prismatic Forms
Creating an optical illusion and ever-changing art created by sunlight, this vivid design element is a show-stopper.
Gaming Rooms
As we move toward home being our escape from the outside world, tapping into the energy, the love of gaming, we will see more spaces devoted to this type of entertainment.
See More Ideas: 15 Game Rooms Designed for the Ultimate Hangout
Mood-Altering Lighting
“Lighting is everything and I will never stop emphasizing the importance of it,” Angelique Velez says. This trend embraces mood-altering lighting that can have you rising to an energizing yellow in the morning or relaxing under lavender hues at night.
Neon Yellow Accents
This vibrant, almost-neon color will pop up more and more often, especially in stunning combination with seafoam and eggplant. Bringing an added moment of intensity to this trend, this bright hue really jazzes things up.
Wavy Lines
Taking your eye on a journey, curved and wavy lines are preferred to the more rigid and structured, 90-degree angles.
Elements of Healing
As we spend more time at home and look to cleanse ourselves from the outside world, healing substances will be very important in this trend. An emergence of crystals and stones will be seen throughout the home.
See More Ideas: 13 Wellness Trends Popping Up in Home Design
Pattern Play
These panels harness the power of sunlight to create designs that move and change throughout the day, amplifying the mind-bending pattern play that encompasses this trend.
Dark Interiors
In Alternative Realities, we will see a move toward darker interiors that provide the home with a more edgy design, offering an escape from the everyday.
See More Ideas: Dark + Dramatic Colors for Any Room
Gemstones
Gemstones feature deep, rich colors that will enhance your space, making it feel like a luxe retreat.
High-Gloss Paint
This trend features a dark, moody color palette, and high-gloss paint will be on the rise to reflect light and make those colors not feel so dark.
Arches
Adding more architectural detail and fewer harsh angles, arches will begin to make headway in the Alternative Realities trend.
Curvy Furniture
Founded on a joyful, escapist approach to design, curved couches and chairs transform the home into a chill-ready space. The rounded edges of curvy furniture lend a more fluid and relaxed vibe.
High-Contrast Landscaping
Dark blooms provide eye-catching landscaping in this trend.
See More Ideas: 41 Black Flowers & Plants
Dark Foliage
Plants bred for ever-darker foliage will contrast with bright blooms and create a striking garden display.
Black Stones
Polished black stones will make their way into landscape designs throughout this trend, providing a handsome foil to the surrounding green foliage.
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