The future of design

Earlier this year, the biggest brands launched their new collections at Milan Design Week – these are the trends that will be shaping 2026

- FEATURE Pip Rich

trend one

DAIRY MILK BROWN

Perhaps it shouldn't have been a surprise that so many design houses were all focusing on the velvety warmth of milk chocolate brown.

Terracotta from two years ago became last year's oxblood and now here we are - richer, deeper, even more comforting to wrap yourself and your home in. Spotted on tables, chairs and tiles, it truly is the decor colour of the year - use it as a flash next to earthy tones such as the brown-and-mustard stripes seen at Arflex, or take it floor to ceiling with the moreish ceramic tiles at Florim. British designers like Tom Morris, Tiffany Duggan and the colour guru Cassandra Ellis have been drawn to it as a paint choice for a while - Tom has called it a neutral against which all other colours pop - and it's intriguing to watch it roll out onto the global stage. Less bright than many of the tones we're used to seeing at Milan, it's a shade that's good enough to eat and just as enriching for the soul as its confectionery counterpart.

trend two

A NEW ANGLE