Autumn is a season which brings a slow end to sunny, long days, and in turn creates new excitement for hunkering down indoors in the comfort of our homes. Let’s take a look at what interior colour schemes are on trend for autumn.

Thus far in 2022, interior design trends have been centred around bringing nature indoors, along with sustainable purchases, and this autumn there are certain trends which will endure until the winter months.

But, when it comes to autumn, what are people looking for and which colour schemes would it be wise to stick to if you’re considering putting your home on the market?

We take a closer look below.

Warm neutrals

Grey is arguably the most popular neutral in interior design today – however, a combination of grey and beige is seen as highly favourable for its capacity to warm up an all-over grey design scheme, therefore injecting the best of both worlds by blending the cooler and more placid look of true grey with the warming nature of beige.

This trend would be perfect for someone who is averse to bright colours, which sellers are warned to stay away from in general when trying to sell a home. Exploring and experimenting with a variety of warm neutrals can create a relaxing, cocooned, centred space to welcome autumn.

The key to nailing this trend is to match your accessories with the neutrality of your colour scheme, which means you don’t want clutter. Take your time to decide which décor items can add visual substance to the room such as texture and light, with the use of rugs, mirrors, lamps, frames, and cushions.

The 70s has also been an era of interior inspiration which incorporates groovy colour schemes consisting of terracotta reds, earthy browns, and oranges accompanied by low light.

Performs well in: sunny, south-facing rooms – particularly when combined with warm off-whites – yet also works well in darker spaces when paired with deeper, darker shades from a neutral colour family. It equally pairs beautifully with all natural materials like stone, clay, wood, and natural fabrics like linen or jute accompanied by soft warm lighting to create a relaxing ambient atmosphere in your home.

Enter brown

Following on from warm neutrals, brown has shaken off its perhaps negative reputation and perception – it was everywhere in the 50s and 60s but then fell out of fashion – and made a glorious re-emergence over the past year or two, with its fresh, new, tactile approach to minimalism.

With a spectrum stretching from cappuccino and taupe shades, to rich chestnut and dark chocolate, brown offers a broad scope for creating all sorts of looks, from sophisticated and tailored to calm and nurturing.

Our emotional wellbeing can be greatly impacted by colours and psychology points to brown as being a shade which creates the sense of safety and security within humans because of its association with the earth – grounding people with its elemental calmness and resilience.

Trend forecasting experts WGSN has described it as ‘soulful minimalism’ where cool tones and sharp lines are being swapped for neutral textures, materials, and a neutral colour palette combination of warm whites, browns, and greens.

Top interior designer Mark D. Sikes named brown as a colour to embrace in Vogue’s annual home décor trend report.

 “Everyone is wanting to feel close to and comforted by the earth, whether it’s an organic brown linen for a family room sofa or a rich chocolate silk velvet on bergères for a living room,” Sikes told Vogue.

Interior designer and principal of Studio Jake Arnold, Jake Arnold, also agreed, stating: “My motto is always brown, never grey. Shades of brown bring about warmth, earthiness, and calm that feel timeless and grounding.”

Certain brown colour schemes, bold and saturated with ample caramel undertones, can offer a real fashion statement without being too bright or overpowering – perfect for autumn with a seamless integration into the winter season.

Performs well in: north-facing rooms to incorporate a cocooning effect in spaces that don’t garner as much sunlight. Take care with choosing complementary colours as they will have to be modified depending on the quality of light in the room. Try to steer clear of bright whites, opting instead for warm, creamy whites with brown or yellow undertones.

Don’t be shy – make those colours pop!

Now is the time to be brave and make a bold statement within your spaces with pops of festive autumn colours to create a warming, welcoming effect. There are a few ways in which you can boost your home’s autumn appeal – consider swapping your soft furnishings or artwork to pieces grounded in earthy tones or opt for adding plants that showcase autumn colours.

Additionally, applying a colour accent with a window dressing is also a wonderful way to jump on this trend, as the colour presents itself boldly as light shines through the window.

If your goal is to draw attention with bright colours, then tiles can be the perfect way for you to accomplish this as they have the ability to utterly transform a room.

Adrian Blundell, production director at Craven Dunnill Jackfield, says: “If you’re looking to experiment with bold colours and decors and inspired layouts and patterns, tiles are the perfect way to make a distinctive design statement that is uniquely individual.”

Andrew Bendall, marketing manager at Craven Dunnill Jackfield, adds: “Whilst colour is key, the different ways that you can lay your tiles are a wonderful way of expressing creativity and bringing a touch of individuality to a space. If you’re looking for something more adventurous, a herringbone pattern is beautifully striking while an offset or linear pattern is a perfect alternative for something more subtle.”

Performs well in: a living room for a cosy look or in a bedroom with creative motifs and laying patterns to make distinctive design statements. Incorporating this trend in high traffic areas in your home with bold, strategically placed pops of colour will transform your spaces with energy and atmosphere of autumn.

Providing safety and security

Another reason why brown is a great autumn colour is that it’s closely associated with safety and security – something that is particularly in times of uncertainty. And, with the cost-of-living crisis, the recent reaction to the mini-Budget, another potential wave of Covid, and the war in Ukraine, uncertainty is certainly something we are all living with at the moment.

Surrounding ourselves with colours that feel safe and secure, and place a protective shield around us, is only going to improve your chances of getting your home sold if that is your intention.

It’s all coming together

The aim of autumn colour scheme trends is to showcase the beauty of nature in your home as the colder weather starts to force us indoors. Some of the most popular colours for autumn 2022 are deep or earthy shades such as greens in olive or mossy shades, warm-toned browns, tans and caramels, and warm neutrals such as beiges and off-whites to soften the space.

Playing around with these relaxing and restorative looks can help you create a calming home retreat where you can kick back and recharge, and one which will have significant appeal to buyers.

You can look towards architecture and even landscape design for inspiration as lighting effects and colours found in these elements such as stone colours, natural contrasts, and everyday shadows and shapes are perfect for enriching a space.

Leanne Kent Property are a locally based estate agent covering South Wales, providing a unique buying and selling experience for our clients. We are a technology-driven estate agency meaning that you remain informed and in control at every stage. Your property will be marketed on the leading property portals, social media, and of course, our very own website.

We believe that as a homeowner, you should be charged with fairness and transparency. This means we offer a very competitive and unique fixed fee structure, which we believe is a fair price to pay for the professional services involved with marketing and selling your property.

We will work hard to achieve the best sale price from the moment you list with us to the moment your home has sold.