Feeling grounded

COVER Editor Lucy Upward takes a look at which rugs will help us to give our homes a sense of grounding this year

For the first quarter of the year, I am focusing a lot on interior colour choices, what is popular, what is relevant and what those colour choices might be reflecting in our strange times. When buying clothes or interior products many people stick to the colours they like, but as colour therapist would agree, playing around with the hues that surround you can be illuminating and transforming.

Brown became fashion’s neutral colour of choice leading up to winter 21/22. From deep chocolate to light sand, brown was seen as a colour that is both dark and warm and provides shades that can easily blend together. Inevitably this trend has fed into interior design, where the use of brown shades has enhanced current interior design predilections for natural materials and tactility.

This is not a revival of the browns of the 70s, usually going hand-in-hand with a strong orange, for 2022, the pale neutral has been usurped by a sophisticated palette of umbers, caramels and camels. 

In a recent interview designer Justina Blakeney comments: ‘I think we’re going to see a return of earthy browns in 2022—from cognac to burnt umber.’ The word earthy reminds us that brown gives us a feeling of safety, security and being grounded, the perfect antidote to our 21st century pandemic driven world. So which rugs will help us to give our homes this sense of grounding?