"Look up, you never know what unusual finishing touches you will spy! I'm smitten with these charming shepherdess-head shutter stops that I spotted at our holiday gîte in Charente-Maritime, France, earlier this month."
If there was only one interior design style setting the tone in 2026, it would be Japandi. Apartment Therapy's State of Home Design survey identified Japandi style as one of the year's top design aesthetics, according to insights from 140 designers - and it's easy to see why. As more people strive to create spaces that feel calming, intentional, and grounded in nature, Japandi's blend of Japanese restraint and Scandinavian warmth feels especially timely.
Pigments Instead of Paints Experimental Art Spaces Return to Analog Above: You've probably seen the recent surge of "analog bags": tote bags filled with knitting, small sewing projects, crossword puzzles (the kind on paper), and other things to fill in-between moments. Call it analog, call it DIY, but making things-and antidotes to doomscrolling-is a move we can get behind in 2026. Photograph via artist Kate Kilmurray from Natural, Hand-Woven DIY Potholders Will Have You Revisiting a Childhood Craft.
Mixing wood tones can be a bold and rewarding design choice, but the potential for unseemly clashing is real. With a room as important as your kitchen, you want the space to feel inviting, stylish, and functional all at once. Before diving head-first into mixed wood tones, research the different ways to avoid a potentially ugly contrast. Kitchen flooring, backsplashes, cabinets, countertops, and even light fixtures all have the potential to be transformed with a wooden facelift.
