08 Dec2025

Alesia Karnaukhova on 2026 interiors: design as therapy for a tired world

Design never stands still. But I don’t recommend chasing fleeting trends. What you should do is analyse, comprehend and transform trends into meaningful solutions. I am happy to share my vision of what commercial space design will look like in the coming year.

2026 promises that interiors will become smarter, kinder and more joyful. Lee Edelkoort, one of the world’s most influential trend forecasters, notes a focus on simple forms, joyful colours and comfortable materials that promote a friendlier, more creative lifestyle.

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Design in 2026 will be a therapeutic tool with an emphasis on elements that evoke happiness, not just practicality.

Bringing emotion back into space

After a decade of minimalism, sterile offices and cold surfaces, sensuality and warmth are back in fashion.

In commercial interiors, this means moving away from corporate neutrality in favour of spaces that stimulate, calm or inspire, depending on the context.

The office no longer has to look like a work machine, nor does a restaurant have to look like a stage set. Space takes on an emotional function, becoming an environment for interaction between the brand and the individual.

Edelkort calls this trend Interior Child 2026: a return to naivety, playfulness and joy as a response to the stresses of modern life.

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Colour: a healing palette

In 2026, colour will become a form of therapy. According to analysts at WGSN and Coloro, the shades of the new season will not only appeal to the aesthetic senses, but will also serve a psychological purpose — to calm, harmonise and restore balance.

The palette of the year will be dominated by warm neutrals and natural tones. The base colours — Universal Khaki, Amber Haze, and Blue Aura — create an effect of stability and soft light. They are supported by the expressive accents of Transformative Teal and Electric Fuchsia — colours of dynamism, creativity and forward movement.

Alongside them are the deep shades of Silhouette (espresso) and Divine Damson (burgundy-plum), which lend depth and drama to the space.

This is an emotional palette that supports people, rather than brightness for the sake of effect. Such colours are a resource for the psyche: they do not dominate, but work on the subconscious, reducing tension and increasing concentration.

In commercial interiors, this principle manifests itself in the fact that the shade of light, the texture of wood or the colour of the walls become part of the emotional design that shapes the brand’s atmosphere.

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Style trends: nature + technology

Pantone highlights six key styles of the year, all of which seek harmony between the natural and the digital, between the past and the future.

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Scandinese is a new minimalism, warm and quiet.
The combination of Scandinavian simplicity and Japanese wabi-sabi philosophy creates an environment where calm reigns. Light wood, sandy shades, textiles with pronounced textures — everything creates an architecture of harmony and balance. Such interiors are ideal for offices where concentration, balance and a sense of trust are valued.

Ancestral, on the other hand, appeals to instincts.
It features earthy colours and textures of clay, stone and linen. Here, materials age beautifully, and surfaces breathe history.
In commercial spaces, this trend creates the effect of a return to one's roots, to something familiar — where a person feels protected. Forecaster Edelkort calls this a revival of physicality — a desire to feel the weight of things again, to touch the authentic.

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At the other end of the spectrum is Augmented, the poetics of technology.
This is light that reacts to movement, digital surfaces, interactive structures that come to life at the touch of a finger.
I interpret this direction as humanistic digitalism — when technology serves people, not the other way around. These are offices with adaptive lighting, showrooms that change the atmosphere depending on the time of day or event.

Exotic Retreat — tropical therapy.

Soft organic lines, greenery, natural motifs, and textures of water and sand dominate here. This style works perfectly in relaxation areas, lounges, and restaurants, creating an environment for restoration.

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And finally, Futura — cosmic minimalism.

This interior demonstrates the power of technology and directs thought. It is an environment for concentration, clarity and inner focus. It is about clarity, conciseness and light that shapes space. Smooth surfaces, metallic reflections, mirrors — everything is reminiscent of hi-tech. But modern Futura is not about metal and coldness, but about intellectual simplicity, where technology creates comfort, order and tranquillity. It is an interior that encourages concentration, meditation and thinking.

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Despite different styles and palettes, the common idea for 2026 is clear: design is shifting from function to empathy, from technology to sensory experience, from fashion to meaning. Commercial space is beginning to interact with the human psyche: it calms, inspires, and stimulates interaction.

I see this as a new role for designers — creators of environments that care for people. The future of design lies not in new forms, but in new sensations.