Design trends worth keeping.
Color in the right places, calm where you need it, warmth everywhere — and a home that actually looks like your family lives there.
Trends come and go. The ones worth keeping make your home feel better to live in — and still look right years from now. This year, the best ideas aren’t about one look. They’re about balance.
Designers surveyed by Sunset, Homes & Gardens and others keep landing in the same place: warmer color, layered texture, natural materials and rooms with personality. Stark, all-white minimalism is stepping aside. But “warm and personal” doesn’t mean color on every wall. The secret is knowing where to use it.
Color in the right places
The most livable homes use color with intention. Instead of painting every room a bold shade, put your color where it does the most work: the kitchen, an entry or mudroom, a powder room, a built-in or a single feature wall. Let the rooms around it stay light and quiet so the color feels special, not overwhelming.
Entries and drop zones are a perfect place to start. They’re small, they work hard, and a deep color with board and batten instantly makes the first thing you see when you walk in feel finished.
Color in the kitchen
Painted cabinetry is one of our favorite ways to bring color home. Deep blues, slate, sage and forest green feel rich without being trendy, especially paired with warm brass hardware, a marble or quartzite counter and a vintage-style runner. Try a darker island against lighter perimeter cabinets, or color-drench the whole kitchen for a moody, collected look.
The key is grounding the color with natural texture: stone, wood floors, woven baskets and handmade pottery behind glass. That’s what keeps a colorful kitchen feeling warm instead of loud.
Warm color, layered with beige and crisp white
The big paint brands went warm this year — Sherwin-Williams named Universal Khaki, a soft mid-tone neutral between beige and taupe, its 2026 Color of the Year. We love pairing it with two Sherwin-Williams favorites: Urbane Bronze, a deep, earthy bronze for cabinetry, doors and accent walls, and Alabaster, a soft warm white for walls, trim and ceilings. Around them, designers are reaching for clay, caramel, terracotta and muted greens.
Universal KhakiSherwin-Williams SW 6150 · 2026 Color of the Year
Urbane BronzeSherwin-Williams SW 7048
AlabasterSherwin-Williams SW 7008
Swatches are approximate — always test paint samples in your own light.
The way to make warm color feel fresh is contrast. Layer warm walls and woods with soft beiges and linens, then add crisp white — on trim, ceilings, counters or bedding — to keep everything bright and clean. Warm plus beige plus white is a combination that feels current today and won’t date tomorrow.
Calm spaces
Every home needs a place to exhale. Bedrooms, primary baths and reading corners are where we keep things soft: light neutrals, natural linen and wood, gentle lighting and very little visual clutter. The NKBA’s 2026 Bath Trends Report points to spa-like primary baths with larger showers and wellness features, and neutrals named overwhelmingly as the most popular bath colors.
Calm also comes from storage. Appliance garages, floor-to-ceiling cabinetry and drawers that hide the everyday keep counters clear and the whole house quieter.
Bring in your family’s personality
The biggest shift designers are talking about this year is homes with soul. A home should tell your story: the art your kids made, a vintage rug from a trip, your grandmother’s pottery, books you actually read, photos that make you smile. Reclaimed beams, handmade tile and collected pieces add history that a catalog can’t.
Personality can be playful, too. A sofa full of colorful, collected pillows, a bold tile in a powder room or patterned wallpaper in the entry is an easy, low-risk way to have fun.
Natural stone & warm wood
Stone with real movement, waterfall islands and warm wood cabinetry give a home a foundation that lasts. The NKBA’s 2026 Kitchen Trends Report found natural quartzite close behind quartz for counters, and flat slab doors among the cabinet styles rising in popularity.
Layered, warm lighting
One ceiling fixture isn’t enough. Build rooms with layers: a statement pendant over the island, sconces on either side of a range or shelf, and under- and inside-cabinet lighting — the lighting types that topped NKBA’s kitchen research. Warm brass and bronze finishes finish the look.
Indoor-outdoor living
Merging indoor and outdoor spaces was named a growing trend in NKBA’s kitchen research, and nowhere does it make more sense than in Arizona and Southern California. Glass walls that open wide, patios that feel like another living room and finishes that carry from inside to out make the whole home feel bigger and more relaxed.
The European influence
Some of the most interesting ideas this year came out of Europe. At Milan Design Week in April, the halls were full of warm wood, earthy color, soft curves and tactile finishes — homes meant to feel lived in and built to last. Alongside that calm, a bolder look showed up too: glossy lacquer, sculptural furniture and confident color.
Rich, natural wood. Walnut has led for years, and now lighter oak is rising beside it. Visible grain and deeper brown finishes feel collected rather than new. We love walnut furniture over light oak floors.
Earthy color. Cream, sand, taupe, chocolate and olive, with muted metals. Build a neutral foundation, then add olive or brown accents.
Softer shapes. Rounded sofas, curved cabinetry and softened countertop corners bring warmth to a room. An oval dining table or a curved lounge chair is an easy place to start.
Texture and matte finishes. Tactile upholstery, natural stone and wood with an understated sheen. Layer them together so a quiet room still feels rich.
The bolder side. Furniture as sculpture — a distinctive table base or an architectural chair — lacquered pieces, expressive wallcoverings, and burgundy or deep red accents, from a single statement piece to a full room.
Trend or timeless? Here’s how to tell.
As a designer who is also a broker, I look at every trend two ways: how it feels to live with, and how it reads to a buyer. My rule is simple — invest in the bones, play with the layers.
Invest here
- Natural stone and quality counters
- Warm wood and smart storage
- Layered lighting on dimmers
- A calm, spa-like primary bath
- Warm neutral walls with crisp white trim
- Light oak floors
Have fun here
- Painted kitchen cabinetry and islands
- A colorful entry or powder room
- Wallpaper, art and gallery walls
- Vintage rugs, pottery and family pieces
- Hardware and light fixtures
- A lacquer or burgundy statement piece
Ready to bring a few of these home?
Whether you’re refreshing the home you love or getting ready to list, let’s talk through what fits your home, your family and your plans.
Sources: National Kitchen & Bath Association (NKBA | KBIS) 2026 Kitchen Trends Report and 2026 Bath Trends Report; Sherwin-Williams 2026 Color of the Year announcement; designer trend forecasts from Sunset, Homes & Gardens and 1stDibs; Milan Design Week 2026 coverage from Livingetc, Tatler and Chaplins. Images are for design inspiration.
