Feeling overstimulated by screens and underwhelmed by white-on-white rooms? We dive into the real interior shifts shaping 2026 and explain why homes are moving from performative to restorative—spaces built for calm, conversation, and everyday joy. Drawing on years inside the industry, we unpack how cultural mood, technology, and cost-of-living pressures are changing what good design looks and feels like.

We start by reframing trends as signals of how we live, not flimsy fads. That lens reveals a decisive turn from digital gloss to tactile craft: honed stone with movement, handmade tiles with irregular glaze, timber with grain you can feel. Planning follows suit. Open plan fatigue makes way for thoughtful zones that support work, rest, parenting, and hosting without throwing everything into one echoing space. Kitchens become emotional centres with islands that meet dining, softer materials, and art on the walls—rooms that invite people to gather and stay.

Warm colour palettes continue their rise. Think ochre, nettle green, duck-egg blue, tobacco, and clay—tones that ground timber and ease the eye. White still has a role, but as accent rather than default. Bathrooms evolve into living spaces with layered lighting, joinery that feels like furniture, and even home saunas as wellness settles into daily life. We also make the case for personality: eclectic, collected objects, family photos curated with care, and flea-market finds that carry stories. The outcome is a home that feels human—not a showroom or a shop-the-look grid, but a place that holds you.

We also share a special invite: one final spot on our insider Paris and Milan design tour, with private access, line-skips, studio visits, and a guided morning at the legendary flea markets.

For more info about the tour reach out to us on insta: @Design.anatomy.podcast, @sisalla_interior_design & @bree.banfield

Want your home to feel calmer, richer, and unmistakably you? Hit play, then tell us the first trend you’re retiring and the material you’re bringing in next. If you loved this conversation, subscribe, share it with a design-loving friend, and leave a review to help others find the show.

Bree is now offering a 90-minute online design consult to help you tackle key challenges like colour selection, furniture curation, layout, and styling. Get tailored one-on-one advice and a detailed follow-up report with actionable recommendations—all without a full-service commitment.

Bookings now open - Book now

Join Lauren online for a workshop to help break down pricing & fees for 2026! You'll learn:

What has worked for Lauren over the past year
What hasn’t worked, and what she has changed
The exact fee structure Lauren now uses across all projects

For more info see below

The Pricing Shift: How I Structure My Fees in 2026.