The term “trend” is a dirty word in interiors; it suggests frivolity and flash-in-the-pan pieces. But all homes do slowly evolve to some degree.
Here’s a micro-guide to get ahead of the curve; we’re not for one moment suggesting you should update your home for the sake of it, but if there’s a spot that needs a fresh lick of pain, or a corner in need of a little zhuzh, then here’s some timely inspiration.
As in, it’s time to go right back to bed-making basics (although taking your winter duvet to the laundrette for a proper clean is always a good idea).
Nordic Knots linen throws retail from £335
Anders Kylberg
Forget heaps of bolster cushions in clashing prints which inevitably end up on the floor — the new vogue is far more low-key.
Simply chuck an enormous linen throw over the whole bed, tucking it snugly under the pillows.
“It creates a beautiful, calming and cosy feeling that’s warm but also minimal,” says Lucy Currell of Studio Iro.
The best thing about this trend is that it doesn’t matter what the state of your bedlinen is or if your pillowcases are mismatched— the top sheet is the ultimate master of disguise.
Go back to basics with an analogue kitchen
Borough freestanding pantry from Neptune
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Air fryers? What an eyesore. A smart fridge? Please! The trend for gloriously low-fi, unfitted kitchens is gathering pace (see Neptune’s just-launched Borough collection of freestanding pantries and sinks).
Chef Solynka Dumas, co-founder of Elsa in Fitzrovia, dreams of cooking in a space as bucolic as Callie Coles’s farmhouse kitchen.
In the meantime, she’s lusting after vintage animal-shaped tureens and building on her collection of Art Deco digestif glasses.
Salt Fish from The House Upstairs
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Pantone might be backing “cloud dancer” — a “billowy white imbued with serenity” — and yes, it’s probably great as a neutral backdrop, but where’s the fun in that?
Not to be confused with its Cotswoldy cousin, sage green, “it sits at a balanced point on the spectrum that allows it to feel both fresh and enduring,” says Svetlana Willems, of fabric and wallpaper studio Franquemont.
Lick’s inky midnight blue
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For paint brand Lick, 2026 is all about an inky, moody blue. “Softer than black but equally grounding, it wraps a room in this down-to-earth, cocooning warmth,” says Tash Bradley, director of interior design and colour psychologist.
Whatever shade is right for you, the trick lies in how you apply it: rather than colour-drenching, everyone is set to move on to “colour capping” — where you use multiple tones of the same colour (for example a touch lighter above the picture rail, then even lighter on the ceilings).
If 2025 was all about Art Deco, then 2026 will be the year of Surrealism.
Fuelled in part by the Schiaparelli: Fashion Becomes Art exhibition at the V&A, which opens in March, interior designer Joel Donovan (@the_interiors_concierge) says this is the moment to embrace the wonderfully peculiar into our homes.
“We’re moving beyond the safe and the symmetrical, surrounding ourselves instead with objects and furnishings that entertain, provoke, and delight.”
Six Dots Design offers surrealist metalwork furniture and lighting
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He cites London studio Six Dots Design for founder Joseph Ellwood’s surrealist metalwork furniture and lighting, which champion self-expression and imperfection.
It takes just one piece to knock everything off-kilter — in a good way: “It’s about choosing objects that are just a little strange, undeniably cool and impossible not to talk about,” he says.
Or maybe it’s by way of an abstract mural to update a ceiling. “They’re naturally escapist, turning blank walls into immersive narratives,” says fan Ed O’Donnell, creative director and co-founder of Angel O’Donnell.
Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler’s Brook armchair in Ebury brown is a chintz marvel
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If we gleaned only one thing from Kendall Jenner’s mountain cabin tour on Architectural Digest, it’s that a chintzy sofa is set to knock boring bouclé out of the water.
The title called the supermodel’s print of choice (Hollyhock by heritage brand Lee Jofa) “the granniest grandma-chic fabric”.
Fanning the flame for faded florals is the ongoing Marie Antoinette exhibition at the V&A. Pass the pot pourri?
If in doubt, add a tassel
Velvet and tassel drum lampshade, Oliver Bonas, £30
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It’s officially curtains for twee scallops. “They have been completely and utterly over-done,” declares interior designer Phoebe Hollond.
Instead, she is gravitating to tassels and fringing — and she isn’t alone.
“Adding a fringe can elevate the simplest of pieces,” says Rose Hanson, co-founder of interiors studio Penrose Tilbury.
Hanson has even used a tassel tie-back from the queen of trimmings — Jessica Light — on a shower curtain as a final flourish.
Hollond is applying them just as liberally: “They look more luxurious and opulent, and are delicate but in a less obvious, try-hard way.”