Trend forecasting is not disappearing.
It is expanding at an unprecedented rate. More reports. More imagery. More predictions. Entire directions can now be generated in minutes. What once required experience, research and interpretation can now be produced instantly, often at little to no cost. I have spent over three decades working in this industry. I have never seen more trend content available, or more ways to generate it.

Molteni&C's new Ningbo Dibao tower places a Richard Rogers building around a Vincent Van Duysen interior, with Gio Ponti pieces reinforcing the direction. Together they confirm what we have been forecasting across the premium category: colour is returning, and it is returning through disciplined geometry. This is what that shift looks like in built form, and what it means for the next two buying cycles.

The design industry now has unprecedented access to inspiration. Trade fairs provide hundreds of references within days, social platforms showcase new interiors, products and materials constantly, and AI can generate fully resolved spaces in seconds. Access has expanded significantly, yet outcomes have not improved at the same pace. Many businesses still struggle to build product assortments that feel resolved, commercially relevant and clearly differentiated. The issue is not a lack of ideas. It sits in what happens after those ideas are gathered.

Across the current interior landscape, several aesthetic directions are exploring how familiarity is being re-engaged with greater intensity. Domestic references continue to hold relevance, particularly those rooted in heritage, craft, and recognisable spatial language. Within this broader movement, a number of expressions are introducing more energy, saturation, and personality into these established formats.

Why nature in interiors is becoming more architectural, more disciplined and more resolved For the past several years, biophilic design has offered the market a clear emotional proposition. Plants, natural light, earthy finishes, and organic references gave interiors a softer, more restorative perspective. 

Is it just me or is there a growing cacophony of trend forecasts being released in 2026? Every week seems to bring a new report, a new point of view, a new prediction of what comes next. With AI now able to generate convincing narratives and imagery at speed, it can feel as though anyone with a degree of intuition, and the right prompts, can present themselves as a forecaster.