NEWS · Housing Market
The Housing Market Is Cooling — What That Means If You Are Renovating
Transaction volumes are down for the third straight quarter. We asked surveyors and builders which upgrades still return their cost.
Home Trends 2026: Quiet Materials, Fewer Objects
Our desks tracked what showrooms, brands and readers actually moved toward this year.
By Sofia Lindqvist, Design Director · Published August 15, 2026 · 2 min read
Photograph: Dan Gold / StockSnap
Trend reporting is usually a guess. This one is built on three data sets: what our readers searched for, what launched at the spring fairs, and what the interior designers on our contributor list specified for real projects.
Plaster and lime over paint effects
Mineral finishes moved from specialist to mainstream, driven by texture that photographs well and repairs invisibly.
One material per room
Kitchens finished in a single timber or single stone are replacing two-tone schemes, which date faster than any colour.
Fewer, larger objects
Styling advice has shifted from grouped accessories to single, larger pieces — cheaper to live with and easier to clean.
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