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Key Takeaways<\/p>\nKey Takeaways<\/p>\n
Designers say warm, personalized interiors are in for 2026, and gray color pallets and stark white and black interiors are out.<\/p>\n
Replace faux plants with live ones, avoid overly minimal decor, and use high-gloss paint finishes sparingly this year.<\/p>\n
Give rooms a personality with art, books, layered lighting, and personal items.<\/p>\n
The beginning of a new year is the perfect time to refresh your space, whether it\u2019s a fresh coat of paint<\/a> on the walls or simply swapping out a couple of throw pillows<\/a>. This past year saw a distinct shift toward warmer, more personalized interiors, and designers say this trend will continue in the coming year.<\/p>\n \u201cAs we close out 2025 and head into 2026, I am seeing a clear shift away from trends that feel overly formulaic or driven by quick social media appeal, toward deep curation and real living, says interior designer Erica Davis.<\/p>\n Today, designers are sharing the top decor trends that are officially outdated in 2026\u2014and why it\u2019s time to retire these once ultra-popular looks.<\/p>\n Meet Our Expert<\/p>\n Erica Davis is an interior designer and the founder of Eralyn Interiors<\/a> in West Palm Beach, FL.<\/p>\n Fariha Nasir<\/a> is an interior designer, DIY expert, and frequent guest on interior design shows.<\/p>\n 1. Faux Plants that Look Cheap<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not a huge fan of using faux plants unless it\u2019s a very high-quality tree or a very realistic potted<\/a> plant<\/a> that makes you do a double take,\u201d says interior designer and DIY expert Fariha Nasir. If you can\u2019t keep real plants alive but want to add greenery to your space, it\u2019s worth investing in a high-quality artificial plant rather than settling for a collection of faux plants that cheapen your space. \u201cIf your shelf is sporting a plasticky looking succulent, replace it with something else that looks more natural on a shelf,\u201d Nasir suggests.<\/p>\n 2. Stark All-White Spaces<\/p>\n After many years of stark, all-white interiors dominating the scene, designers say it\u2019s time for a change. \u201cSay goodbye to stark white walls and trim, all-white kitchens, and white furniture that lacks contrast or texture,\u201d Davis says. She comments on the recent design shift toward warmth and depth, which makes all-white spaces feel cold in contrast. \u201cWhile these spaces photograph well, they don\u2019t wear well over time,\u201d Davis adds.<\/p>\n 3. Cane Overload<\/p>\n Furniture and decor featuring caned details can add a great textured detail, but cane-everything? It\u2019s best to leave generic cane chairs, decorative trays, baskets, and vases in 2025. \u201cI really don\u2019t like seeing cane everywhere, especially on midcentury-style armchairs that look very generic,\u201d Nasir says.<\/p>\n There are ways to thoughtfully incorporate detail through high-quality pieces, but using a plethora of trendy cane items will only make your space look dated. \u201cCane is a beautiful organic material that I love incorporating where it makes sense, but not if it\u2019s used as a trendy accent piece,\u201d Nasir says.<\/p>\n 4. Fast Furniture and Generic Home Decor<\/p>\n Designers say overly trendy \u201cfast furniture<\/a>\u201d and generic home decor are officially retiring in 2025. \u201cOversized boucle chairs, cheap curved sofas, and uncomfortable accent chairs purchased purely for scale or look, rather than comfort and timeless style, are a thing of the past,\u201d Davis says.<\/p>\n The designer explains that these pieces dominate a room for a season before quickly feeling outdated. \u201cBoucle-everything is falling out of favor\u2014a piece here and there is lovely, but when the entire room is covered in boucle<\/a>, it just feels wrong,\u201d Davis adds.<\/p>\n The same goes for generic home decor, whether it\u2019s generic abstract art canvases or bookshelf accents. \u201cAlso, mass-produced dough bowls with spherical fillers like moss balls,\u201d Nasir says. \u201cYou can thrift an actual dough bowl and fill it up with fruit you\u2019ll actually use.”<\/p>\n 5. Matchy-Matchy Decor<\/p>\n People often think that bringing in matching furnishings and decor will ensure they get it right, but designers say it only makes a room feel clinical and formulaic. In 2026, the pull toward less matchy-matchy spaces and more layered, intentionally assembled rooms will continue.<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t try to match all the colors of accent pieces and decor; try to find something from your home that doesn\u2019t necessarily belong and throw it in the mix,\u201d Nasir suggests. The designer notes that even matching wall colors to wallpaper can feel a little outdated at this point. \u201cInstead of finding an exact match of the colors in your wallpaper, try to find something complementary<\/a> or even slightly\u00a0different in tone but in the same color family,\u201d she advises.<\/p>\n Related: How to Use the Color Wheel to Pick the Right Palette for Any Room<\/a><\/p>\n 6. Overly Minimal Decor<\/p>\n \u201cOverly minimal and personality-free spaces are being replaced with collected and curated spaces<\/a> that have depth and character,\u201d Davis says. She shares that rooms that are stripped of art, books, layered lighting, and personal items are becoming less and less popular. \u201cHomes that are expressive and feel collected are what we are seeing as popular in 2026 and moving forward,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n 7. High-Gloss Paint Finishes<\/p>\n There was a time when high-gloss everything was the trending aesthetic, but Nasir recommends varying paint finishes<\/a> to avoid a dated look in 2026. \u201cI love high-gloss paint, but when all pieces of furniture and\/or cabinetry are high-gloss, it instantly timestamps it to the 2000\u2019s,\u201d the designer says.<\/p>\n 8. Cool Gray<\/p>\n Color palettes and decor trends have been leaning toward warmer hues<\/a> in 2025 and will continue to do so in the new year. Cool gray may have been the it-color for over a decade, but it\u2019s time to rein in its overuse.<\/p>\n Nasir says gray kitchen cabinets paired with stark white countertops and matte black hardware are a look that will officially be outdated in 2026. \u201cCool-toned gray flooring and gray everything really makes a house look dated, too\u2014I\u2019m still working on replacing the millennial gray<\/a> from our builder-grade home,\u201d she shares.<\/p>\n Related: Designers Agree: This Color Is the Next Millennial Gray\u20143 Tips to Keep It from Feeling Overdone<\/a><\/p>\n 9. High-Contrast Black and White Schemes<\/p>\n High-contrast black-and-white color schemes<\/a>, whether in bathroom tiles or room decor, were a longtime go-to look, but experts say that\u2019s changing in 2026. \u201cGraphic black and white tiles and finishes can feel harsh\u2014soft, layered contrast is replacing this look,\u201d Davis shares.<\/p>\n Related: These 10 Interior Design Trends Are Already Defining 2026, According to Pros<\/a><\/p>\n