I love sharing the upcoming interior trends for the year ahead, and there’s plenty of movement in the living room for 2026 and beyond.
Whilst earthy, grounding colours are still at the top of everyone’s wish lists, we’re seeing subtle changes to the flooring trends, a moment for lighting and even more of an urge to create a unique, personal space.
And, if you’re not a fan of colour drenching, I’m sharing the next best paint decorating trend on the horizon that might be the perfect excuse to don a paintbrush before the year is out.
Here’s everything to lust over in your living room in 2026!
Living Room Trends 2026, The Decor Updates Worth Trying
This year I’ve spoken to some of the experts in the industry to get their honest thoughts on where the trends for living rooms are heading, along with my own observations in the paint world and beyond.
Plus, I’m sharing my own design tips on how you can replicate each trend in your own home, without the huge expense of renovating your entire room.
1. Cocoa Brown Warmth
Earthy inspired design is going nowhere anytime soon, and it’s seeing us reaching towards even richer, deeper shades of our favourites this year.
“Cocoa brown is emerging as one of 2026’s key living room colours, bringing a rich, inviting warmth to interiors. This deep, earthy shade creates a naturally cocooning feel, especially suited to the cooler months, and works across walls, furniture and accessories”, shared Wallsauce.
Courtney Batten at Paige Studio in Dallas, TX agreed that browns are going to be the key colour trend in living rooms for 2026. “I’m definitely seeing a shift toward warmer tones across the board, especially browns”.
“I love Sherwin Williams “Sealskin” for a deep brown that feels rich without going muddy. It’s the perfect brown for those colour-drenched, cocoon-like rooms that are having a major moment right now”, says Courtney.
The right type of brown is one that will make you feel good to be around, don’t let the darker shades overwhelm you. Pairing with a warm white on a ceiling, or perhaps just trialling it on an accent wall is a great way to tap into the indulgent cosiness of this colour in a living room.
My top tip: browns feel good in almost any orientation of room, they’ll temper the intensity in a south facing living room, but they’ll up the ante and cosiness stakes in a north facing room by leaning into the darkness. But, don’t forget to test them in your space first as light can make paint shades look completely different to that on the internet. Trial the paint on an A4 sheet of paper, moving it around the room and sitting with it for a few days through sunny and gloomy weather to get a good read on how it will feel.
2. Wide Planks Make a Welcome Return
Flooring trends are typically very cyclical and the last few years have very much been dominated by herringbone and light washed styles of wooden flooring, but that drive towards earthier, and more grounding design elements is apparent in 2026 with the return of wide planks.
Adam Robertson, Managing Director at Urbane Living says, “It’s been herringbone, herringbone and more herringbone for the last few years, so it’s refreshing to see wide boards coming back”.
This style of flooring gives the illusion of a larger space and is a perfect idea in living rooms, whilst creating a much cosier feel. With wide planks, we’re also starting to see the return of warmer, darker stains.
“Wide planks create a sense of space and flow that feels less busy and more calming. They have fewer joins across the floor, which gives rooms a cleaner, more sophisticated look. This simplicity is really resonating with people who want their homes to feel restful and uncluttered“, added Adam.
My top tip: Flooring is an expensive investment to make, so it’s really a decision that needs to be made at the beginning of extensive renovation works. Whilst trends come and go, planks are a timeless choice so you don’t need to worry about redoing them every few years.
3. Indulgent, Earthier Colours
All paint trends for 2026 point towards earthier, deeper and more reassuring colours. Even the paint brands colours of the year share this same sentiment with Benjamin Moore’s Silhouette, a charcoal brown, Valspar’s Warm Eucalyptus and Earthborn’s warming shade, Freckle.
Whilst colours of the year are often speculative, they’re forward thinking and derived from their own market data.
These colours really are the perfect antidote to a busy life, delivering a soothing and comfortable environment to be around. Earthy colours in general are in, and this is typically colours that can be associated with nature, so think greens, browns, reds, creams and grey.
The best thing about this rising trend is that earthy colours are enduringly timeless as they surround us on a daily basis, it’s one of the most classic ways you can decorate a living room right now.
My top tip: There’s so many paint shades to choose from, so where to start? I personally don’t think you can ever go far wrong with a comfortable green. Ideal for both light and dark orientations and one that makes you feel good to be around. Vert De Terre from Farrow and Ball is one of my all time favourites.
4. Move Over Colour Drenching, It’s All About Colour Capping
Colour drenching has very much been the ‘it’ decorating trend over the last couple of years. Saturating a room in one singular colour for a dramatic effect, and let’s face it, it had us at no cutting in.
This year, we’re seeing this evolve into a much more sophisticated trend which has been named as ‘colour capping’ by Benjamin Moore. Rather than a singular shade, this trend involves introducing other tonal shades to finish the ceiling/woodwork to create a more impactful, elegant look.
This also goes one step further than Little Greene’s ‘double drenching’ trend which starting doing the rounds towards the end of 2024, although, one that hasn’t caught on as much as colour drenching.
“This is a finish that can be quietly impactful, even in a palette of neutrals, where an off-white wall colour is capped with a slightly more saturated hue in the same tone, gently drawing attention to period detailing while making the ceiling an integral part of the décor”, says Benjamin Moore.
This has been beautifully executed in the below living space, using Queen Anne Pink HC-60 on the walls, Handmade Rug CC-124 on the ceiling and finishing with Firenze AF-225 on the cornicing. They each share the same pinky-red undertones, yet feel so intentional positioned next to one another.
Whilst it works well with warmer, softer neutrals, it can work equally as well with bolder, knocked-back jewel tones or a palette of warming autumnal shades, ranging from buff through to rust for even more of a dramatic end look.
My top tip: To tonally find the best shades that match, I really recommend getting your favourite brands colour chart in front of you. They always group colours in their colour family, this way you can easily see what shades tonally work well together. Another example could be by choosing one shade, then pairing with the next that’s one shade darker, and one shade lighter for a really cohesive feel that’s not difficult or daunting to select.
5. Creamy, Warm Whites Are The New White
White still plays a role in interior design, and it always will, but we’re moving away from those clinical whites, and leaning into warmer whites that are earthy and feel comfortable.
Courtney weighed in on this, “White still reigns, but I’m finding that we’re leaving behind those bright, museum whites in favour of creamy, warm whites that feel softer and more welcoming. Alabaster and Greek Villa from Sherwin Williams are two of my go to’s, they stay fresh and clean but bring just enough warmth to avoid that sterile look”.
There’s inevitably a shake up with these warmer neutrals in 2026 as we’re seeing more paint shades come onto the market that share both cool and warm undertones, these light adapting paint colours are ideal for every type of room, no matter the orientation which also makes it easier for homeowners to please their home.
Amateur Ceramics by COAT and Farrow and Ball Off-white and Old White are great examples of these type of paint colours.
My top tip: Warm whites typically have a red, yellow or pink undertone, you can find these by referring to paint brands colour charts as they will be grouped together. I personally prefer to lean into red and pink undertones for a warmer look as some yellow based whites can often appear quite yellow in certain lights.
6. Personal Gallery Walls
Gallery walls aren’t exactly a new concept, but that desire to create more unique, personal spaces is becoming even more important to homeowners, and where better to do it than in a living room.
Personal style, snippets from travel and artwork picked up from that road trip with your partner are the stories that an interior tells, and without that, you don’t achieve that personal and unique space that you might be seeking.
Living rooms are perfect for capturing gallery walls, be it a space behind a sofa or being incorporated into a gallery wall with an Art Frame TV to perfectly disguise said TV. (Take a look at my own coastal inspired living room to see how I did this).
Take inspiration from the below image and combine art from different categories to lighten dark-coloured walls in your home, or vice versa. The result is an indulgent, cosy and lived in space that tells a story.
My top tip: the thought of actually pulling a gallery wall together can be the most daunting part. I always recommend planning out your artwork on the floor first before getting it up onto the walls. It can also be difficult to visualise how each frame will work with one another so using tracing paper or baking paper to draw around your frames and use as templates to affix with masking tape to the wall is such a great way to work out the layout before committing to it.
7. Full Length, Dramatic Window Treatments
I’m happy to say that the days of short curtains might nearly be over. The length of curtains has always been a point of controversy in interiors, but let’s face it, long length always wins.
In 2026, we’re going to be embracing the trend of treating our windows to dramatic, full length voiles and curtains for added comfort, cosiness and warmth.
Heavy weight fabrics bring gravitas with them and added warmth that will keep drafts out and keep the warmth in, during the winter months. Pairing with a voile curtain like shown below diffuses light for a beautiful look, as well as providing privacy. If you have a particularly sunny south facing living room, adding a voile like this stops your space feeling uncomfortable in the height of the sun, and makes paint colours feel less intense.
Not sure what to hang them from? I always recommend choose a 19mm black curtain pole if you aren’t sure, they suit virtually any interior scheme, and provide gorgeous definition against any wall colour.
My top tip: If you have dogs or a busy household, you might want to skip on the curtains for various reasons. I find roman blinds a much more practical option as they’re not gathering dirt on the floor, pairing with a cafe curtain softens the light whilst adding privacy too.
8. Earthy, Natural Materials Feature Heavily
One trend that’s featuring throughout the home, and heavily this year is the use of earthy, natural materials. This takes us back to earthy inspired design again, and it’s just the best way to create a cosy, grounded living space.
Natural materials include anything that can be derived from the natural world, some perfect examples that you could use in the living room are rattan, seagrass, wood, glass and stone. Combining a few elements when layered on top of a warm neutral or earthy colour palette will finish off the scheme beautifully, adding natural warmth to the room.
Like any accent colour, with a material you only need to feature a few small doses in situ to benefit from their grounding nature. Let the below living room inspire you, those wooden frames, rattan base on the side table and gorgeous wooden flooring creates the most tactile effect that’s ultra relaxed, yet stylish.
My top tip: This is one of the easiest trends you can tap into without having to repaint the entire room, or invest in a complete renovation. Rattan is one of the cheapest materials and things like baskets are a great addition to a living room, bringing natural warmth but serving a practical element for storing wooden logs, blankets or kids toys!
9. Upscaled Lighting Takes Centre Stage
One of the most timeless trends you can take to the living room, and one that will set the tone and create the biggest impact, is your lighting. Or perhaps, the size of it.
Throughout interior design in general, scaling up is one of the best kept secrets. It can feel counterintuitive in a small living space, but the reality is that when you add something small like lighting, it makes the space feel even more inferior.
Scaling up will change the game and make a living room feel even larger, and more inviting. Just pay attention to the drop, this doesn’t mean incorporating a larger than life drop, you can get gorgeous flush mounted lights these days that still bring gravitas, but you won’t bump your head everytime you walk past!
But don’t just think it applies to the ‘overhead ceiling light’, large table lamps are another opportunity to play the scale game, creating a cosier and more ambient space which really is at the heart of the living room trends for the year ahead.
My top tip: Always go bigger than you think, but just be mindful of weight as it may need additional reinforcement from above to handle the weight sufficiently.
