Interior design trends for 2026: the decorating ideas to use in your house now

As we’ve been saying, the interior design trends for 2026 are bringing us plenty of smaller and less showy things, and the rise and rise of small-scale prints is just another confirmation of this direction. The argument for these micro-motifs, explains interior designer and founder of Studio Raymond Carina Raymond, is that ‘small-scale prints offer subtle texture and visual rhythm, which can make a room feel more spacious and layered without overwhelming it’. Two of our highlights would be the funny little ‘Tack Stitch’ that Billy Cotton recently designed for Soane and Howe at 36 Bourne Street’s classic ‘Mr Men’ paisley print.

Mosaic tiles (or really small square tiles)

In the bathroom of his north London flat, Brandon Schubert has used tiny square tiles from Winckelmans, bought via Olde English Tiles, on both the walls and floor. The space has a pleasingly 1970s feel along with the teak lined walls of the main space.

James McDonald

It’s been all about zellige tiles for the last decade or so, and we can’t complain – their handcrafted forms and rich colours are incredibly beautiful. But there’s no doubt we could do with a bit of fresh blood on the tile front, which is why a recent crop of mosaic tiles is so exciting (and further proof that everything is getting smaller). Our favourite examples come from the bathrooms of two very stylish people: interior designer Brandon Schubert, who used a pleasing combination of teal and chocolate tiles in his very glamorous shower room, and Corey Hemingway, founder of estate agency Hemingway+K, who used a similar colour in the bathroom of her mid-century house. Both sourced the tiles from French company Winckelmans (‘they’re basically the same ones you see in public swimming pools or train stations,’ says Brandon). Both have paired them with wooden joinery – teak panelling in Brandon’s case and pine cabinetry in Corey’s, emphasising the modernist aesthetic (and mid-century-inflected blue and brown colour scheme), but we’d be delighted to see them in any colour you please. If you’re looking for similar, we adore Balineum’s glass tiles, which come in a range of delicious colours.

In the bathroom of Corey Hemingway’s modernist house, she has used more or less the same combination as Brandon: in this case sky-blue mosaic tiles from Winckelmans and pine cabinetry.

Tom Griffiths

Surrealism

Most of the ideas we’re predicting will be big in 2026 are in keeping with a general shift towards a more modern aesthetic and away from traditional, pretty styles. Perfectly in keeping with this is a growing appetite for surrealist and witty pieces that nod to the whimsy of the early twentieth century. As our decoration editor Rémy Mishon explains, ‘we saw a huge amount of pieces by Claude Lalanne at PAD and Frieze this autumn, as well as pieces by Leonora Carrington. In general anything that looks like another thing – humanoid chairs, lamps that look like birds, bottle openers in the shape of fish – fits the bill.