The Grass Is Greener in 2022

It’s the most colorful time of the year.

Every autumn, the arbiters of color from the worlds of paint and design release their annual predictions for the next “colors of the year”. Generally, predicting trends in color is more of a marketing exercise than a true glimpse into what’s to come for home. However, this year’s forecast is decidedly different.

For 2022, these “forecasters” resisted the urge to set their own color trends, and instead chose a color to suit the mood. After taking the collective temperature of the world, there is near-universal consensus on next year’s color.

That color? Green: the color of hope, vitality and energy (and money). While some choices lean warm (contemporary khaki) and some cool (silvery sage), they are all similar in what they represent: a return to nature, pending rebirth and tenuous optimism for 2022.

But what do these colors mean for tile?

With its association to nature, the initial instinct is to partner green with warm, earthy tones; but, as we often say, there are no rules in tile. Below, we have paired a tile for each of these six shades of green. And as is the clé way, we’ve created couplings that bring texture and depth, designed to elevate every hue from chartreuse to celadon.

Behr Breezeway with Fornace Brioni’s glazed ceramic Tivoli

Breezeway is a soft, romantic sea glass green. Why not pair it with something unexpected, like Fornace Brioni x Cristina Celestino’s Tivoli pattern from the ‘Giardino all’Italiana’ collection. Inspired by the formal gardens of Italy and the geometric forms of its trees, topiaries and sculpted hedgerows, it features matte and glossy glazed cottos that bring Breezeway an unexpected worldliness.

Benjamin Moore’s October Mist with Forage Terrazzo in White

This soothing vibe of this pale pistachio calls out not for a solid (which would give it too much contrast) but for something with just enough visual texture to liven things up. The union of October Mist with neutral Forage Terrazzo in white will keep a space fluid and serene but with enough interest to ensure things never get boring.

Pittsburgh Paints Olive Sprig with Antique Terracotta Hexagons

This warm and herbaceous hue may be a color for 2022, but it recalls olde English reading rooms and 19th century French salons de thé. We also look to Europe for this tile twosome, with our reclaimed antique terracotta tiles. These gems are extracted from European dwellings and come complete with the signs of their previous lives across their patina. Classic, comforting, thoroughly of this moment–and sure to last far, far longer than any trend ever could.

Farrow & Ball Breakfast Room Green with Fornace Brioni’s Rocaille Shell in Nude

This cheerful green is a color chameleon, changing hues with the light in the space. Rather than toning it down, we advocate a more playful–but nonetheless ultra-sophisticated–approach. Enter Fornace Brioni’s Rocaille Shell in Nude from Cristina Celestino–a soft pink with a high gloss glaze and undulating ceramic surface that creates a subtle play of shadow and light. Proof that when it comes to pairings, it’s not just color but texture that matters too.

Valspar Blanched Thyme with clé Slate

This cool green with its moody undertones finds its kindred spirit in clé’s classic, textured Slate. The mix is muted and grounded but with enough contrast to bring out the best in each.

Sherwin-Williams Evergreen Fog with cement Big Spin

For those that like a more tone-on-tone effect, this winsome duo fits the bill. Evergreen Fog, with its swirling misty tones, will get a jolt of energy–but not high contrast–with our Big Spin cement tile. This versatile cement tile features our own takes on green (kelly and leaf) with our perennially popular federal blue. Classic, but not quite what you’d expect.

Go ahead, design emboldened.