Interior Design Trends 2026: What We Would Actually Use

Most trend lists are written by people who won’t be living with the result. This one is different: it’s what we’re seeing on site and in suppliers’ showrooms in 2026, and what we’d actually put in a client’s home. We also say what we’d skip.

1. Colour drenching

Walls, ceiling, woodwork and sometimes joinery, all in one colour. It works best in smaller rooms, where it blurs the edges and makes the space feel larger. Deep greens, plums and warm browns have replaced the all-white box.

2. Darker, warmer timber

Pale Scandinavian oak is giving way to walnut, smoked oak and stained ash. Darker timber brings warmth and age to new joinery, which matters in new builds that need a sense of history.

3. Textured walls

Limewash, polished plaster and clay finishes add movement that flat emulsion can’t. They cost more and need a specialist, so we use them where they will be seen and touched: an entrance hall, a stair wall, a bedroom wall behind the bed.

4. Upholstered walls and headboards

Fabric is coming off the sofa and onto the walls. Upholstered panels soften sound as well as look, which helps in rooms with hard floors. Oversized, wall-to-wall headboards are part of the same move. We’ve written about designing a bespoke oversized headboard and wall panelling.

5. Stone with character

Bold, heavily veined marble and quartzite are being used as the main event: a full-height splashback, a bath surround, a single slab island. One strong stone per room, with quieter surfaces around it.

6. Curves and arches

Rounded joinery, arched openings and curved sofas soften rooms with hard edges. The key is restraint: one or two curves read as considered, ten read as a theme.

7. Mixed metals, done carefully

Brass taps with a bronze lamp and blackened steel shelving can work, as long as one metal leads and the others support it. Mixing three metals in equal amounts usually looks accidental.

8. Quiet sustainability

Clients are asking for longer-lasting rooms rather than eco labels: solid materials, furniture that can be repaired or re-upholstered, and existing pieces reused well. That has always been how we work; here’s how we approach it.

9. Bringing nature in

Natural light, planting, natural materials and views out shape how a room feels as much as any finish. Our guide to biophilic design goes into the detail.

How to use trends without dating your home

Use trends where they are cheap to change: paint, fabrics, lighting and accessories. Keep the expensive, built-in decisions (kitchens, bathrooms, flooring, joinery) on the side of timeless. That’s the line we draw on every project, and the reason our clients’ homes still look right years after we finish. You can see more in our portfolio.

For what caught our eye at last year’s trade shows, see our week at Decorex 2025.