What's in for 2026

Every year designers predict the next up and coming ideas which is fun to just take in and see how it fits with your style. I am not a trend follower, unless it’s  good. Timeless and tasteful should be your first mantra. Then personalizing and adding  a bit of flair can make a good space, a great space. I am a huge lighting fan and we don’t give enough attention to lighting as art. Lighting can also be changed over time so it’s a good impact piece. Read on to see this year’s trends and deide for yourself which ones work for you.

 After a year of bold color and cozy corners, home decor gets more thoughtful and refined.

 

 

Don't let 2026 be the year of boring light fixtures. Artistic styles, such as this fun bubble chandelier in a dining room designed by Lindley Arthur, charm and delight.

Nathan Schroder

Years of minimalism made us crave warmer spaces. By 2025, we were letting dopamine guide us as we splashed entire rooms with color, turned to antiques to fill our shelves, leaned into earth tones and carved out wellness nooks. For 2026, interior design builds on the past year of chasing comfort and refines it. Curves become more sculptural, materials more tactile and details more intentional.

Here are the interior design trends we’re most looking forward to.

 

 

A dramatic chandelier in a Roz Murphy design draws on two trends: sculptural lighting and metal finishes.

Dan Piassick

Lights are giving main-character energy in 2026. Following furniture’s lead, they, too, are taking more supple, expressive shapes.

“There’s a strong move toward sculptural lighting and furniture with softer, more organic silhouettes,” says Roz Murphy of Roz Murphy Design.

Instead of lighting that fades into the ceiling, pendant lights become a room’s visual anchor. Architectural sconces replace table lamps, mixed-material floor lamps become statement pieces, and wall-mounted fixtures become functional art objects.

“Pairing lighting with natural materials such as onyx, alabaster and selenite enhances that effect, creating a layered, ambient glow that feels both refined and inviting,” Murphy says.

 

 

If there's a pattern you can't get enough of — like the butterflies, birds and flowers of Lewis & Wood's Fleurie — go all out.

Courtesy Lewis & Wood

Color drenching set the stage for pattern drenching, which is just what it sounds like: covering a room floor to ceiling in prints and patterns.

“We’re seeing many of our favorite textile houses, such as Fermoie and Lewis & Wood, introduce coordinating wallpapers alongside their fabrics, which makes it possible to truly pattern drench a room,” says Lindley Arthur of Lindley Arthur Interiors.

Designers are using wallpaper, rugs, curtains, upholstery — even hand towels — to saturate a space in layers of mixed fabrics and patterns.

“The effect feels very English and traditional but also wonderfully enveloping, ultimately creating spaces that feel cohesive, layered and deeply cozy,” she says.

 

 

 

Brass accents add a bold, modern note to this Roz Murphy–designed kitchen

Heacox Creative Co.

Metal finishes are riding the modern heritage design wave, too. Instead of sterile coordinated finishes, metals are being layered, softened alongside organic materials like wood and marble, and allowed to patina, lending a feeling of history to a room.

“Metal finishes are all the rage entering the new year, especially when they’re integrated in more architectural ways,” Murphy says. “We’re seeing brass insets applied directly to cabinet fronts, strapping details on kitchen hoods, and dramatic cabinet hardware have a major moment. These elements add another layer of depth, turning functional surfaces into design features.”

Arthur agrees.

“Lighting and furniture vendors are moving well beyond standard brass, with beautifully nuanced finishes leading the way,” she says. Her team loves the softly oxidized finishes on light fixtures by Jamb and Urban Electric and custom metal tables by Kathy Slater in her French Blue finish.

“These tones feel distinctive yet neutral, adding character without overpowering a room,” Arthur says.

 

 

 

Tatum Madden and Heidi Feliz-Grimm with O'Hara Interiors let the wood do the cooking in this kitchen, which also showcases a marvelous sculptural light fixture over the table.

Avery Nicole Photography

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Thoughtfully crafted wood adds depth to a space and rewards the eyes of anyone who takes a closer look. Flat, featureless cabinets are giving way to cane detailing, wavy fluted panels and curved Shaker cabinets.

Designers are ditching the smooth, lacquered surfaces pervading contemporary kitchens for wood finishes that look like wood, like sawn timber, a raw, textural wood with knots and grain exposed. Cabinet and pantry doors are ornamented with reeded glass and mesh panels; molding is back, customized to fit each space; and doors and walls integrate wood paneling details.

 

 

 

It can take years to build a collection of things you love living with, and that's part of the fun.

Emery Davis

The antidote to design’s era of mass production embraces meaningful spaces built from thoughtful, sustainable resources at a reasonable pace. “Clients are increasingly drawn to interiors that feel collected and curated, rather than instantly finished,” Arthur says.

Slow design nods to the past by incorporating antiques and refurbished pieces, embraces the present with design that serves function as much as form, and prepares for the future with designs created to stand the test of time.

“Antiques are essential to achieving this look,” Arthur says. “I’ve been an antiques dealer for over 15 years, and while Dallas has always appreciated pieces with history, I’m seeing a renewed interest, especially among younger homeowners. There’s a growing desire for spaces that tell a story and feel personal, rather than looking like they were assembled straight from a showroom floor.”

 

 

 

Nicole Arnold used principles of biophilic design in the living room redo for an Uptown empty-nest couple.

Dan Piassick

Think of biophilic design as dopamine decorating’s smarter, nerdier sibling. Where the former is guided by mood-lifting decor, biophilic design is buzzing for its science-based approach to creating an environment that can actually make you healthier. While creating an at-home gym or a meditation room can certainly foster healthy habits, incorporating nature into your living space (the main concept behind biophilic design) can alter your entire well-being, from lowering blood pressure to reducing the production of stress hormones.

If your goal is to make your space a sanctuary of serenity, creating ways to engage with nature in your home regularly can do the job. Designers are increasing access to natural light and fresh air, encouraging plants and indoor gardens, and using Mother Nature’s palette to evoke the great outdoors inside.

 

 

Historic houses like this one on Clermont Avenue in Hollywood Heights often have stained-glass windows. They're making a comeback.

Shoot2Sell Photography

In addition to the reeded glass and mesh panels taking over kitchen cabinet fronts, stained glass is also making a comeback. Colored glass can add texture and color, shape the mood of a space and layer in ethereal light. It can assist in color drenching through large planes of tinted glass or subtle borders, diffusing light indoors when used as a room partition or window between rooms, and allowing filtered light while maintaining privacy in bathrooms.

The contemporary iteration is more deliberate than the heirloom variety, though the decor of the past is something the younger generation very much has its eye on right now.

There you have it: the trends that promise thoughtful interiors curated, slowly and deliberately, to express individuality and foster inner peace. Whether you choose to give wall-to-wall patterns a try or simply add a colored-glass vase to a kitchen window to enjoy a patch of rainbow of light when the sun streams in, let your decorating decisions in 2026 spark joy and tell your unique story.

By Raya Rockwood Dec. 30, 2025