Green Interiors 2022/3: The Wellness Trend That Keeps On Trending

Forget going green with envy, the colour green has taken the interior design world by storm and given everyone the wellbeing boost they need. In recent years, the connection between interior architecture and domestic mood has strengthened, and green has embraced a new meaning. As the year draws to a close, what better time to reflect on the different ways designers have introduced this appropriately festive colour into our kitchens, and how the ever-changing interior landscape is presenting exciting new ways to interpret this stress-relieving and all-round positive interior trend.

Because it’s not just wall paint that can give you your nature fix. Where it was once just shades of green that were up for debate, designers and brands are now devising new concepts, materials and methods to change how you can plant green into your home. Joinery, wallpaper and surfaces present exciting new opportunities that will most definitely kick 2023 off with a boosting bang.

In this Chiswick project by Cor Domi, painted joinery introduces the blanket of green into the kitchen in the seasonally relevant shade, Pine Green (RAL Design). Interestingly, this kitchen combines two colour trends that emerged in the past couple of years: greens and bolds. It represents the movement away from the idea that only neutral colour palettes can be calming, and into feel-good bolds and invigorating shades of green. This statement colour is balanced out with bronze accents and creamy marble surfaces to keep it fresh and cool.

More out of left field is this wonderful, wacky and nature-inspired Kensington project by Cor Domi. While there is green joinery (and green everything), the wallpaper is the notable and very unique contribution of nature’s colour to the kitchen. It is the perfect depiction of green’s botanic influences and it nods to the reasons it has become so popular. Green is commonly known to be calming and its associations with nature boost the mood and relieve stress. Events like Covid and movements towards recognising mental health have increased our self-awareness and green has been recognised as a colour that helps to satisfy our yearning for mental stability.

The hand-painted wallpaper by de Gournay paints a lively woodland scene in creative energy that grows throughout the house. It works beautifully with the company’s preference to paint vibrancy and colour, “allowing you to relax surrounded by beauty”. This project’s aim was to create a biophilic concept that incorporated a yoga philosophy by inviting nature into the home, which perfectly incorporates de Gournay’s preferences and encompasses our own mental and domestic relationship with nature. Inspiring harmony between this home and the outside world.

But what’s beyond the surface? Surfaces and tabletops, even backsplashes, are reflecting this movement towards capturing a sense of personality in design, rather than just practicality. Terrazzo is having its moment, popular for its playful style and unique creation and Diespeker have created some gorgeous greens, ranging from different tones, designs and patterns. It’s also one of the most sustainable materials, something that plays into its popularity as sustainability has begun to take centre stage in the last couple of years. Terrazzo is commonly made from recycled materials like glass and natural aggregates and, in the case of Diespeker, old beer bottles, an apt metaphor of the company’s green morals. Because of this respect for the planet, the colour green seems to be a perfect match for terrazzo.

And now there’s a new wave of green on the scene, the extraordinary marble-effect additions from Atlas Plan. Inspired by the Brazilian Quartzite, the Exotic Green countertops and the Exotic Wave ceramic wall slabs are a celebration of nature, drawing from the alluring and lively personality of the local rainforest. Fittingly, Atlas Plan finds environmentally friendly solutions by using a sustainable programme, interfering in production lines and choosing planet-happy materials.

These products were introduced into the Caleido Project, as a means of thinking out of the box with colours that possess individual personality. The Exotic Green and Wave slabs can be cut and configured to suit your needs, allowing you to create something truly personal and captivating – it is the vitality, seduction and surprise of the rainforest in a marble kitchen slab. Kitchens, bars and bathrooms can host this etched new green veining, a trend that Livingetc magazine suggests nods to marble’s origins and “brings its glamour down a liveable notch or two”. From counters to table tops to walls, you can create a green interior like never before.

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