if 2023 and 2024 were the era of "quiet luxury" — the beige-on-beige, the sculptural vase, the nothing-on-the-walls minimalism — 2026 is the soft backlash. people got bored. the spaces that feel right this year are warmer, a little messier, more lived-in. less "architect did this" and more "interesting person lives here."
i've been scrolling, saving, and asking my designer friends what they're actually specifying for clients right now. here's what keeps coming up — and the trends that are already on their way out.
Travertine is everywhere (and i'm not mad about it)
every "trending now" interior board has travertine on it. travertine side tables, travertine lamps, travertine bath sets, travertine candle holders. the warm, slightly porous stone that was in every italian villa in the 70s and somehow came back around.
what's nice about it is that it has texture. you can see the grain, the small holes, the imperfect surface. it doesn't look polished or cold. it looks like something that lived in someone's house for fifty years. that's the opposite of the slick white-marble look that dominated the 2020s.
if you're not ready to commit to a travertine dining table, start with something smaller — a travertine soap dish in the bathroom, a travertine coaster set on the coffee table. the stone has a way of making everything around it look warmer.
Warm woods everywhere
for a while it felt like every interior was going pale oak or ash — that almost-grey, almost-white wood. that's out. in 2026 it's all walnut, dark oak, rich honey tones. wood you can actually see is wood.
the mood is warm, library-ish, "someone's been reading here for forty years." a walnut dining table. a dark oak bookshelf. a deep amber wood cabinet. the room should feel like the sun has been hitting it all afternoon.
if you have pale wood furniture and you're not ready to replace it, you can warm it up with what's on it — a wood bowl, a warm-toned book, a candle in an amber jar. the room will read warmer without a single furniture swap.
Sage green (finally)
i've been waiting for sage green to come back since the first time it left. it has. ceilings, walls, accent chairs, ceramics, even whole rooms painted in this dusty almost-grey green.
the trick to sage not looking like a 2014 blog post is to ground it in warm neutrals — cream, honey wood, terracotta — instead of cool grey. the green has to feel like the only cool thing in an otherwise warm room. that's when it looks expensive instead of dated.
if you're not ready to paint a wall, a sage vase or sage candle on the mantel does the same thing in small.
Curved furniture (again)
curved sofas, curved benches, curved chairs. we did this once before and it cycled out. it's back. the appeal is the same — a curved silhouette is softer and more inviting than a sharp rectangle. it makes a room feel less like a showroom.
what's different this time is the scale. the 2018 version was a small accent chair. the 2026 version is bigger — a curved sofa is a real commitment, but a curved bench at the end of a bed or a curved dining chair are easy entry points.
the rule: one curved piece per room, max. two starts to look themed.
Wabi-sabi and the handmade
this is the bigger story underneath all of it. 2026 rooms look like they were collected, not styled. imperfect ceramics next to a perfect brass lamp. a slightly wonky candle holder that you found at a market. a hand-thrown vase that's a little uneven. visible brushstrokes on the wall.
the opposite of the instagram-perfect 2019 living room. the 2026 room has one piece that is clearly handmade, or one piece that's clearly older than everything else, or one piece that doesn't quite match. that's what makes the room feel like a home.
the easiest way to get there: go to a local ceramics studio, a flea market, your grandmother's attic. find one thing that has a small flaw. put it somewhere you'll see it every day. the room will feel different.
Linen everywhere (still)
linen curtains, linen bedding, linen tablecloths, linen couch covers, linen napkins. linen is the fabric of the year and probably next year and probably the year after. it's because linen looks lived-in from the moment you put it on — wrinkled, soft, slightly imperfect — which is exactly the mood.
the move for 2026 is layering linens — different weights, slightly different shades of cream or warm white. linen-on-linen-on-linen. it looks more intentional than mixing linen with one cotton throw.
What's out
- all-white-everything rooms. they photographed beautifully in 2020 and look like a doctor's office now.
- the strictly minimalist shelf. books spines out, one vase, nothing else. it's been done.
- fast furniture — the trend toward "i'll replace this in two years" pieces is cooling. people want to buy once.
- highly styled "shelfies." the curated look is giving way to the actually-used look.
Small moves that change a room fast
if you're not doing a full redecorate, here are five swaps that move a room from 2023 to 2026 in an afternoon:
- swap your white cotton curtains for linen ones in a warm cream or oat tone.
- replace any "decorative" object you don't actually use with a handmade piece from a local maker — a bowl, a vase, a planter.
- add one piece in travertine — a small tray, a soap dish, a coaster. it warms everything.
- swap cool-white bulbs for warm-white (2700K). instant 2026.
- replace one "matchy" piece with a clearly older or clearly handmade thing. it doesn't have to be expensive — a thrifted candlestick works.
How to keep it from looking like a trend
the biggest mistake i see: people trying to do all the trends at once. a sage wall, travertine everywhere, curved sofa, linen drapes, wabi-sabi ceramics — that's not 2026, that's a magazine spread. it stops looking like a home and starts looking like a set.
the trick: pick one or two trends per room, let everything else be neutral. the room should feel like it's been collected over years, not styled in a weekend. which means: live in it for a few weeks before buying more.
the rooms i love most are the ones that look like the person who lives there just has good taste. not like they read the trends.
happy decorating. see you in the next one.
