Interior trade show Decorex - held annually at London’s Olympia - is always a good insight into the home decor trends that we can expect to be really popular within interior design the following year. Featuring hundreds of interior trade stands from the leading suppliers of lighting, fabric design, hardware and furniture, it’s easy to spot the key colours and looks that will dominate in 2026.

This year, there were five key trends that stood out, and I expect that we will see a lot of these filter down into high street furniture and homeware design, along with featuring on interior social media feeds, over the next 6 months:

Skirts, ruffles and trim on sofas and chairs

Undoubtedly the biggest trend that I saw at the show, the return of sofa skirts and ruffles around the base of accent chairs could be found on pretty much every stand at Decorex. Sofa and chair legs are definitely out, as ruffles and frills could be seen on display furniture at Linwood, Ian Sanderson, Haines Collection and Recoire Ltd Furniture.

If you remember this trend the first time around, you’ll probably not be a fan, but I have to say that I love the modern twist of using vibrant and contemporary fabric patterns on furniture and pairing it with a ruffled skirt. It’s something that I am definitely going to include on the banquette seating being installed as part of our kitchen renovation plans.

Blue & Brown

The key colour pairing for 2026 has to be blue and brown, demonstrated perfectly on the Sophia Frances Studio stand via their new collection Tobacco and Blue, which contained blue and brown stripes and archive floral designs.

blue and brown fabric — *Sophia Frances Studio.*

It was obvious at Decorex that blue and brown is the new blue and red, an on trend colour pairing that’s been really popular in 2025. I also really liked the colour that Sophia Frances Studio had painted their stand in, which was a soft yet pigmented brown by Edward Bulmer called Cinnemon.

blue and brown table lamp — *The perfect blue and brown lamp.*

Stripes

Stripes have been a trend now for a while but they really aren’t going anywhere, so they will continue to dominate in 2026. From block cabana stripes to wavy striped patterns and stripes in colourful rainbow hues (the new fabric from Ian Mankin Wander Stripe was one of my favourite new prints that I discovered at the show), Decorex displayed stripes in abundance.

Ian manken fabric — *New from Ian Mankin.*

Little Luxuries

I kept spotting little luxury touches at the show. Rather than grand pieces or sweeping statements, tiny touches and small details gave a simple nod to a luxury lifestyle. I especially liked the lightswitch engraved with ‘Press For Champagne’ on the stand of The Soho Lighting Company.

press for champagne — *The Soho Lighting Company.*

Handcrafted pieces

From 3D botanicals made from paper, to intricate drawer pulls and knobs carved in the shape of fish and shells, everyday decor items (like art and hardware), featured a handcrafted element that added that extra level of detail to furniture pieces like bedside tables and kitchen cabinets.