What does 2022 hold for Decorators?

A Busy Year

Following a surprisingly successful 2020 (for some decorators) and a very busy 2021, demand for the trades shows no signs of letting up. This means there’s another busy year ahead as more domestic jobs need doing, construction projects need finishing off and more DIY gone wrong needs fixing.

Every decorator we have spoken to has said how busy they are next year; it looks like this Christmas break will be the last lull in work for a while.

Spraying

As next year is going to be so full-on, it’s as good a time as any to invest in a spray setup.

Interior airless spraying has seen a large rise in popularity in recent years – arguably the biggest change in the industry since the introduction of water-based paints. The speed and even coverage achieved by spray guns make them desirable, although many are still put off by the amount of prep required and particularly the expense.

We often hear decorators talk about how they wish spraying had been more readily available earlier in their career, due to the days – weeks even – that would have been saved with a spray gun. At this time, due to the price of spray setups, it isn’t so widely used. However, as more people start to pick up spray guns, and with more budget airless sprayers available there is increasing accessibility for the trade.

Sustainability

As new, younger decorators come into the industry, a change in priorities comes with them. Those who were at the painting and decorating show in November will have noticed an increase in the number of sustainable products and initiatives compared to previous years.

Recent years have seen plastic use and climate change brought to the forefront of our minds, and people have been doing their best to cut down on plastic consumption and reduce their carbon footprint. In 2022 the painting and decorating industry will start to see changes gather pace.

Next year will see the introduction of the UK government’s Plastic Tax, implemented to reduce the amount of single-use plastic(link) in packaging. At ProDec, our product development team have been working hard for some time now to substantially reduce the amount of plastic in our packaging. Where practical we are eliminating plastic altogether and where elimination is not possible, we’re looking to both reduce the weight of plastic and ensure that all the plastic we use is fully recyclable.

Paint Colours

A more obvious change will be the change in paint colour trends. As we get closer to the end of the year, more and more paint brands are releasing their ‘Colour of Year’ for 2022.

Following a turbulent year in 2020 many paint brands elected to choose colours that epitomised hope, wellbeing and mindfulness for 2021.

In contrast, for 2022 paint brands have gone down a different route but once again many have chosen a similar theme. Dulux and PPG’s colours of the year embody ‘new life’ and ‘regrowth’, and Tikkurila is similar to PPG in that they both chose shades from nature.

One thing is sure, the bright colours that were chosen for 2021 are being replaced by more calming tones for 2022.

Social Media Stars

Being such a visual trade, painting and decorating lends itself brilliantly to social media. The development of social media and the rise of Tik Tok has brought new celebrities to the fore, a particular UK decorator clocking up 20million likes.

With more people realising that there is an audience out there that want to watch them work, social media has become an even greater tool for raising awareness about your brand and finding new business.

The start of a new year does not necessarily mean new beginnings. Following another restricted year, we certainly hope that there will be a positive change. The decorative industry is a staple amongst the trades and those businesses who follow or set modern trends are certain to prosper.

What have you got planned for 2022?