Purveyors of beautiful decorative antiques, Violet Grey, look ahead to 2022 garden styles and how antiques perfectly tie into upcoming trends. The recent pandemic pushed the focus back onto outdoor space, and the desire to create an oasis of style and comfort was paramount. The concept that key decorative pieces could help define and characterise a garden, showing the owner’s unique vision and taste grew in popularity.
The desire for distinctive pieces, not seen in gardens across the UK, meant that novice gardeners and garden designers alike turned to garden antiques to offer a unique feel to outdoor space or garden rooms. The team at Violet Grey are seeing this trend continue into 2022 as more and more customers are looking to create a personal sanctuary in their garden spaces.
With the need for rare, or special or quirky pieces, came the wish for items that were more environmentally conscious - rather mass produced on an industrial scale. Customers were willing to wait for the perfect piece to complement their garden design, but also wanted it to feel unique to them. The authenticity of garden antiques, breathing new life into old pieces, or restoring weathered pieces, all fit well with the combined ethos of an environmentally conscious society and those looking for one of a kind items. A recent study by carbon-clear.com (commissioned by antiquesaregreen.org) found that the environmental impact of antique furniture is nearly six times less than that of new furniture.
Caryl Tincknell, Violet Grey Founder comments: “We’ve seen a real increase of customers that are looking for antique pieces, items that have a real history to them and that are truly unique in their own way. Antiques offer the perfect combination of history and storytelling which is the opposite of mass produced furniture. We’re finding that customers are willing to wait for the perfect piece to come through and are conscious of the environmental impact of purchasing mass produced items.
In 2022, we expect to see a continued focus on creating unique garden spaces, with people spending more time at home than ever before. We know that the popularity of garden antiques and antique garden furniture will continue to grow as this trend grows.”
Finally, a design trend that Violet Grey expects to see make a come back in 2022 is maximalism. Seen throughout 2021 in homewares, the maximalism trend is moving into gardens as the idea of blocking out the outside world and creating unique spaces continues to grow. The intricacy and versatility of garden antiques makes them perfect for a maximalist feel. Filling a fountain with bulbs rather than a water fountain, nestling wrought iron tables under low hanging trees, carefully placing decorative antique items to catch the eye all tie wonderfully into this trend.