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5 Under-The-Radar Trends To Try NOW Before They Become Oversaturated (Thanks Social Media)
Fall is trend season. And while we’ve already chatted a bit about fall-specific trends (and followed that up with some supplemental shopping), I’m ready to look a bit more forward into next year and beyond. One of my favorite things to do as a design editor is to forecast, and, tooting my own horn, I happen to be pretty good at it. In my decade-plus, I’ve pinpointed decor trends as long as a few years out, which frankly, feels pretty rewarding. I get that few have the bandwidth to hear about something that’s going to be huge—I swear!!—in 2029, so instead, I’ll tighten the slack a bit and just peer into 2026.
What’s bubbling up to the surface that’s interesting, inspiring, or comforting? What’s right in front of our eyes but under-the-radar enough that your house doesn’t look like a rip-off of every content creator online right now? Well…the following five things, I believe.
The tricky thing about writing an article on decor themes, items, and motifs that haven’t quite yet “hit” but I’m betting will become more mainstream is that there aren’t many pictures to support my cause. “Look, I can’t prove it or show you, but my gut is telling me…this is the next big thing!” Sure, Arlyn…
And while I do believe what you’re about to read includes all things with legs based on what I’m noticing on the high-end of the market (where it all starts), what I’m seeing percolate in stores and design trade shows, it doesn’t really…matter?? If you love it, DO IT. The only thing I think trends give us is accessibility. Suddenly, that obscure material or color you love can be picked up at your next swing through IKEA, for example. And because fashions come and go so quickly these days, it’ll feel free again when everyone has moved on and you’re still into it. Live your truth, babies, whether on trend or not. Deal?
Okay, let’s dive in.
#1: Teal
I’m starting with the most obvious trend: the color teal. I’d say no one has come out and just outright said teal is in, but that would be a lie. WGNS, an international trend forecasting company, named “Transformative Teal” the color of the year for 2026. Now, every paint company around also comes out with their own color, and so far, only one other has picked a blue-green tone (Behr’s Hidden Gem). It makes sense; we’ve all loved and used blue and green respectively to the point that we probably don’t even know how to make it feel new anymore. Enter: an efficient combo of both colors! It’s been about 20 years since we last saw teal (or, as we referred to it then—peacock blue) rise to the top of the color pack, but I’ve gotta say, I’m ready for it. Just look how powerful and dreamy it looks in this seating nook by Nicola Harding & Co.
It can feel so refreshing, like a well-timed breath mint, like in this bedroom by one of my favorites, Reath Design. Note to self: Mix teal with buttery yellows, creams, and rust.
While I’ve seen teal being used more and more on walls and surface materials such as tile, never underestimate the power of upholstery. Sure, an armchair (especially these days when everything costs a fortune) is an investment, but it’s far less permanent than tile or stone and a great way to sprinkle in a daring color without it being overly in-your-face. Bonus points for some fringe, like this punchy little number by Lauren Doyle Grant.
The above photo, a design by Sarah Storms, actually showcases a whopping THREE trends I’m going to be discussing today, but I’ll save the non-teal talking points for later as to not give anything away. Anyhow, I’m a big fan of how well teal works with warm woodtones. As we move more into browns and darker wood hues, it’s easy for a jewel-tone like this one to really be a star if you’re after a design that feels friendly, yet elevated, yet saturated.
If you’re sitting here thinking teal has to be all moody, I hope this image from Rue Magazine designed by Jenny Keenan Design proves otherwise. In a room that gets great light, it can feel downright effervescent. Pair it with white and brass for a crisp aesthetic.
Another one by Lauren Grant Design, I do really love teal in a bathroom paired with rich woods and plenty of spa whites and grays.
You’ll have to scroll one photo over in the above carousel for the example I want to point out, but it’s a good one (again, with another trend I’m going to talk about if you keep reading). This kitchen in a home by Atelier LK via Architectural Digest is contemporary without feeling austere due in great part to the teal cabinetry.
Another great bathroom example, here by Owl Design London. It’s a cool monochrome look broken up by a variety of textures.
And finally, teal in a more organic, low-fi application. Try it on some bedding or even just a throw to punch up a neutral color palette, as seen here in a bedroom I found on The Materialist Co.
#2: Vintage Glass Chandeliers & Sconces
Moving on to one of my favorite home categories: Lighting. Metal, linen, and even paper have been all the rage for a few years, but more and more, I’ve been noticing vintage Italian glass chandeliers and sconces coming into the picture, and I LOVE IT. They’re so romantic and posh. Let’s look at a few.
One of the beautiful things about this type of lighting is the soft colors that can be incorporated, like the rainbow-like combination here in a space by Smac Studio. It’s quiet yet speaks volumes and is definitely eye-catching in a way only a few things in a room can be. Has it always been there? Is it new? It’s a lighting enigma.
Again, by Smac Studio, the same design of the chandelier in the previous kitchen shows up in hushed pink in a stately wall sconce.
Once you look past that INSANE jade green island, you start noticing some of the other details of this fancy kitchen by Constanze Ladner, like the beautiful glass sconce on the left wall. Something opaque or metal would have been expected (and still lovely), but the smoky glass is a delightful, surprising moment.
Wow, that sconce. Gorgeous. That vintage piece has the ability to cut through all the newness of this bathroom by the Australian firm Arent & Pyke. Stately and textural without screaming.
Arent & Pyke at it again (with some teal via the desk in the mix, too!). The caption for this image notes that this is a 1970s Mangiarotti chandelier, and it’s amazing to me how something that’s 50+ years old can still come off so modern.
Glass lighting fixtures aren’t just for fancy and elaborate rooms. They can add some serious tension (in a good way, like I wrote about here) to earthy rooms and design aesthetics as seen here in Arch Digest.
#3: Lacquer & High Gloss Finishes
And so we reach one of the trends I’ve hinted at twice already in the above photos, though it’s seen more than the two times I mentioned it. High-gloss is coming, people! After years and years of matte finish everything, lacquer is back. Honestly, this one kind of crept up on me, but it wasn’t until I was perusing East Fork looking for something that I noticed their new gloss finish. I thought, “Hmm…is this a thing?” The more I dove into it, the more and more I started to see it kind of everywhere, specifically in product. For example:
And….
I’ve even been noticing it a lot on finishes like tile, cabinetry, and wall paint:
While this isn’t a shopper post per se, I did want to drive my point home with this little round-up of high-gloss-finish product, from coffee tables to lamps to dressers and sideboards. It’s everywhere, all in candy colors. If it weren’t for the fact that lacquer scratches very easily, I’d be all over this. I’d say stick to one to two high-gloss pieces per spa for maximum impact.
Top Row, From Left: No Handle Design Shiny Drawer Accent Chest | Bruno Coffee Table | Metal Table Lamp
Bottom Row, From Left: Simple Style Sideboard | Visby Side Table | Wright Rectangular 48″ Lacquer Sideboard
#4: Arts & Crafts Style
On the total opposite side of the spectrum from high-gloss modern lighting and furniture, we have Arts & Crafts style. This “trend” may or may not hit as widely as something like the color teal, but I’m telling you, it’s brewing. I think it’s an answer to all the curvy and glam looks we’ve been seeing the last few years, which is funny, because that’s loosely why Arts & Crafts came to be in the first place both in furniture and in architecture. After the Victorian era and the industrialization of furniture making, this style was an answer to mass production and ornateness (from around 1880 to 1920). It was seen as a return to quality craftsmanship and the beauty of wood in simple forms. Arts & Crafts celebrated joinery and wood itself.
I’m lucky enough to live in a part of California where both Arts & Crafts and Craftsman homes still stand and I have to tell you, they are a site to behold. For those new to this, Craftsman (and Mission) styles were the American offshoot of the British-born Arts & Crafts style. Mission is a leg of Craftsman, and Craftsman is a leg of Arts & Crafts (i.e, all Mission is Arts & Crafts, but not all Arts & Crafts is Mission). They all have similar spirits with streamlined works where wood reigned supreme.
This is an Arts & Crafts home that designer Nina Farmer (another favorite of mine) worked on for a client in Massachusetts. You can see more of it on her profile, but it’s so beautiful, particularly that staircase railing. The sleek, humble, and special warmth of A&C works well in modernday homes because it’s easy to mix in with flashier silhouettes. It’s very grounding.
A&C furniture often had special little details like the hearts in the chair highlighted above in a room by Antonia Stewart.
This room, by Madeline Stuart, just glows! It includes a mix of English, French, Chinese, and American Arts & Crafts pieces against the foundation of A&C architecture (look to the left to see the gorgeous joinery around the mantel of the fireplace). It’s so calming, has so much heart, and is built to last a lifetime.
How good would this chair be in a subtly designed room? You can see that Arts & Crafts lacked ornamentation, unlike what came before it, but it was still distinct and artful in its own way.
Stickley Furniture is the best-known example of American Craftsman-Mission furniture, and it has a long heritage of exquisite craftsmanship. I used to think Stickley pieces were boring, not a fan of the vertical slats common to this style of furniture, but I’ve grown to really appreciate them. The above is a gorgeous 125th anniversary bench by the company that features rare intricate inlays. It’s an heirloom piece (with a price to match).
#5: Wallpaper Borders
Somewhere, in some universe, my mother is still removing all the wallpaper borders in my childhood home. Wallpaper borders (and painted/stenciled borders) were such a staple of 1990s decorating, but well…they’re back. Gone are the blueberry bush branches, chickens and English rose gardens, though. Much of what we’re seeing is geometric, slender, and punchy. Think more “trim” than a six-inch ceiling belt like the days of yore. I gotta say, I love it in the right space.
You can find wallpaper borders in a handful of places like Etsy and Rebel Walls, but the best ones are from UK companies, like Ottoline de Vries (above).
I’m especially fond of these slender borders around windows and doors. It’s kind of like a fun ribbon detail that draws the eyes up and around a room. This one above is by Common Room, again, out of the UK.
I know the last few examples I’ve shown are fairly British, layered and graphic like this character-filled space from Studio Atkinson’s account, but today’s wallpaper borders could also be amazing in a simpler, stark modern space.
I do suspect scallops have reached a fever pitch, but a little wallpaper border in the shape is still very, very cute, especially if just in one small area like a reading nook, as above by Atelier Florentine.
And finally, these thin borders can certainly be used to create the illusion of molding. Take a look at the second photo of the carousel from Studio Atkinson above for some inspiration.
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This is where I leave you. Five trends-in-the-making deep, feeling ready for fresh ideas (even if many—or most—are call backs to styles of eras past). As always, I’d love to hear what you’re thinking after getting down to this point. I know not everything is for everyone, but if it were that way, how boring would design and decorating be, am I right? Let’s have some fun. Until next time…
Opening Image Credits: Design by Emily Henderson | Photo by Kaitlin Green | From: Kaitlin’s 70s Inspired, Colorful And Cool Living Room Revealed (Y’all, I’m So Jealous)
Wow! I’m not sure I can lean into wallpaper borders again, but my son just bought a craftsman four square that has some lovely a and c original details! He’ll love to hear he’s right on trend!
Ahh, I’m reading from the lovely confines of my teal/peacock blue reading nook, in a home where I’ve hand-painted some faux wallpaper-type details. I personally love spotting trends, even if I simultaneously find them silly, and I so appreciate this roundup. Also, I believe you’re right about these [except that I’m not sure lacquer ever went anywhere!].
Loved this so much.