Ep. 450: Trend Report 2026

27 Jan 2026 · 1 h 9 min · 32 chapters

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Podcast Notes: How to Decorate - Ep. 450: Trend Report 2026

Episode Overview The Ballard Designs team discusses the upcoming trends in interior design for 2026, highlighting colors, materials, and aesthetic movements expected to dominate in the upcoming year. Hosts Caroline, Taryn, and Liz are joined by product designers Hillary Park and Will Turner to explore these themes.

Key Trends Discussed

Color Predictions

  • Dominant Colors for 2026:
  • Cocoa Powder: A rich brown, signifying the move away from cool grays.
  • Builder Khaki: A nostalgic return to warm neutrals, evoking memories of past trends.
  • Green Glow: A vibrant, acidic green reminiscent of childhood "slime."
  • Transformative Teal: A deep teal that continues to be a favorite.
  • Fresh Purple: A bright, lively shade akin to the classic crayon color.

Notable Insights

  • Brown as the New Black:
  • Brown tones will replace gray, reflecting a shift towards warmer, more comforting hues.
  • Popular combinations include brown with warm metals like nickel.
  • Nostalgia in Colors:
  • The resurgence of colors associated with the 80s and 90s, such as cornflower blue and butter yellow.

Material Trends

  • Shift in Materials:
  • The decline of shiny glam finishes in favor of honed stones and textured materials.
  • Leather continues to gain popularity, with a move towards earthy tones and unique applications in furniture and decor.
  • Bouclé Evolution:
  • Bouclé is evolving, moving away from being ubiquitous to incorporating more nuanced designs.

Design Aesthetics

  • “Grandma Crafts”:
  • Embracing analog crafts such as needlepoint and embroidery is becoming a popular decor trend.
  • Celestial Motifs:
  • Incorporating stars, moons, and zodiac signs in home decor, reflecting a desire for personal meaning and direction.
  • Nancy Meyers Aesthetic vs. Maximalism:
  • A contrast between the cozy, classic style of Nancy Meyers and the more eclectic, personalized approach of maximalism.

Fun Micro-Trends

  • Weird Art:
  • Personal and odd items being framed as art, encouraging individuality and storytelling in decor.
  • Cabbage Ware and “Vampire Core”:
  • Unique themes and motifs that reflect personal interests and cultural phenomena.

Quick Decorating Takeaways

  • Neutral Trend:
  • Brown tones are set to become the dominant neutral palette, replacing gray.
  • Material Evolution:
  • Textured, honed materials will become more popular, while shiny finishes decline.
  • Personalized Spaces:
  • Emphasis on creating distinctive and meaningful spaces that reflect personal style and history.

Important Time Stamps

  • 00:00 - Introduction to the Trend Report
  • 01:30 - How trends are predicted
  • 04:45 - Color predictions discussion
  • 11:00 - Builder Khaki and nostalgia
  • 28:00 - Nancy Meyers Aesthetic
  • 43:00 - Discussion on personal art

Conclusion The episode encourages listeners to embrace the upcoming trends by making their spaces uniquely theirs through colors, textures, and personal touches, ultimately promoting a sense of comfort and individuality in home decor.

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For more insights and to send in decorating questions, listeners are encouraged to subscribe and engage via social media. Happy decorating!

Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.

Chapters

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Introducing the Trends Report

1:10 to 1:40

Introduction to the trends report and guest speakers.

“I have a feeling you're going to find some pieces you really love.”

Understanding Trends in Design

1:40 to 3:00

Insights into how trends are predicted and what influences them.

“And because of that, we are on top of trends.”

Sources of Trend Insights

3:00 to 4:50

Discussion of sources used to gather trend predictions.

“But we usually start by telling you guys that we have scoured the internet and some of our sources are fashion snoops, WGSN, we look at Pantone, definitely all the shelter publications.”

Color Trends for 2026

4:50 to 6:40

In-depth analysis of predicted color trends in design.

“In our last episode, because we were talking about things we'd seen.”

Emerging Color Preferences

6:40 to 11:10

Exploration of color preferences shifting towards earthy tones.

“Anybody, Nickelodeon green slime is a really good way to describe it.”

Nostalgic Influences in Design

11:10 to 14:02

Discussion on how nostalgia influences current design trends.

“And then we're, okay, that's sort of a gray-brown, gray, gray, and then white black.”

Exploring 80s Color Trends in Design

14:02 to 15:00

Learn about the resurgence of vibrant 80s colors in contemporary decor.

“To be these 80s colors are very prominent right now.”

The Rise of Electric Blues and Tonal Patterns

15:00 to 18:03

Discover the shift towards electric blues and soft tonal patterns in design.

“Like in terms of like blues, like you have Navy is not a neutral to me.”

The Return of Rich Colors: Oxblood and Mauve

18:03 to 19:26

Uncover the appeal of rich colors like oxblood and mauve in upcoming trends.

“Oh, and another color I didn't speak to, only because it's not on the kind of the predictions, but everybody has seen how much this oxblood, burgundy, plum.”

Annual Color Palettes and Predictions

20:31 to 23:10

Explore color palettes and paint trends from major brands for the year.

“I'm like, well, I guess we should probably also tell the customers and viewers that we have two pallets.”
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Material Trends: Honed Stones and Leather

23:10 to 24:39

Examine the trend towards honed natural stones and versatile leather in design.

“So we're getting away from the shiny glam and going towards a more refined honed again, heritage.”

Textural Evolution in Decor

24:40 to 28:00

Learn about the growing importance of texture and unique materials in home design.

“Leather is being applied in all different kinds of applications on case goods.”

The Rise of Custom Upholstery

28:00 to 28:59

Explore the trend of custom upholstery and tailored furniture designs.

“Kind of on upholstery, though, I think skirted furniture.”

Nostalgia in Design Trends

29:00 to 30:11

Discuss the nostalgic elements in current design trends and their implications.

“Everyone is, like, very analog, like they were talking about before the podcast, of people going back to landlines because they would like their children to be unplugged.”

Gen Z Aesthetics and Trends

30:12 to 31:21

Examine how Gen Z influences the modern aesthetic and design choices.

“Do we think it's just everyone's algorithm is different and there's sort of like this one track that's more of that kind of 90s streamlined aesthetic and then, you know, the maximalism is another aesthetic?”

Contrasting Aesthetics: Maximalism vs. Minimalism

31:22 to 32:26

Analyze the differences between maximalism and minimalism in design aesthetics.

“And we have everybody who probably decorated in the 80s is now.”

The Comfort of the Nancy Meyers Aesthetic

32:27 to 33:48

Discover the appeal and simplicity of the Nancy Meyers design aesthetic.

“But I think the style itself though is the 90s because when I think of it, it's like these slip covered sofas, Nashville rugs, brass coffee tables, things like that, which is very 90s.”

Patterns and Textures in Modern Design

33:49 to 35:17

Explore the resurgence of various patterns and textures in contemporary design.

“And I feel like at a younger age demographic, that's more attainable than maximalism.”

Inspiration from French Antiques

35:18 to 36:48

Learn how French antiques influence modern design collections.

“Like there's a lot of French, there's like delicate French, like Marie Antoinette, which was, which has made a resurgence in fashion.”

Challenges in Product Sourcing

36:49 to 39:18

Understand the challenges faced in product sourcing and manufacturing.

“but it's refined and more transitional just because it's made for the modern customer.”

Navigating Supply Chain Issues

39:19 to 41:36

Discuss the impact of supply chain changes on pricing and availability.

“This past year has been really, not just that collection, but in general, we've had a lot of trouble with the new tariffs.”

Emerging Trends in Design

41:37 to 42:00

Identify new and fun trends emerging in the design landscape.

“Well, what you've been able to pull off has just looked amazing.”

Exploring Fun Design Trends

42:00 to 43:30

Learn about quirky design trends like cabbage wear and vampire core.

“because we're getting ready to photograph it, and so the product for that collection is just so good.”

The Influence of Celestial Themes

43:52 to 46:27

Discuss how celestial motifs influence home design and decor choices.

“I'll just reupholster these two tiers in the living room in the green.”

Chintz and Floral Patterns

46:27 to 48:18

Explore the relevance of chintz and floral patterns in contemporary design.

“I feel like, are we getting to like the end of the train of the florals?”

Wood Materials and Aesthetic Trends

48:18 to 51:38

Examine trends in wood materials and their applications in decor.

“It's a lot like Nancy Meyers, but it's a lot like the original California casual, which had these elements of, like, gilt gold, but then you also had this linen sofa and...”

Gingham's Resurgence in Fashion

51:38 to 52:59

Learn about the resurgence of gingham in fashion and home decor.

Unique Art and Gallery Wall Trends

52:59 to 56:00

Discover the evolving trends in gallery walls featuring mixed materials.

“There's nothing as magical as a fully twal room.”

The Rise of Personal Gallery Walls

56:00 to 58:24

Explore how personal stories are shaping modern gallery wall trends.

“i hope you guys styled it well there is another thing weird art weird art well i think tell me more you know we've been seeing a lot about how these um gallery walls are changing to mixed materials.”

Embracing Authentic Home Decor

58:24 to 59:59

Discuss the importance of authenticity in home decor and personal expression.

“a lot of people take their matchbox collections and they're starting to shadow box those and some Some of them from like the 50s, the 60s and the 70s are way more interesting than they are now.”

Grandma Crafts and Creative Hobbies

59:59 to 1:02:02

Delve into nostalgic crafts and the joy of creative hobbies like painting and upholstery.

“And instantly, you're the most interesting person on the block.”

Trends to Embrace in 2026

1:02:02 to 1:06:05

Discover funky trends and bold choices for home decor in 2026.

“I'll show you off camera what I've been working on recently.”
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Transcript

Automatic transcript. May contain errors.

0:01Welcome to How to Decorate from Ballard Designs, a weekly podcast all about the trials and triumphs of decorating and redecorating your home. I'm Caroline. I'm on the marketing team. And I'm Taryn, and I'm a product designer. I'm Liz. I head of the creative team. We're your hosts. Join the expert team at Ballard Designs for tips, tricks, and tales from interior designers, stylists, and other talents in the design world. Plus, we'll answer your decorating dilemmas at the end of each episode. We love answering your questions, so don't forget to email us at podcast at BallardDesigns.net. Now on with the show.

0:33Hey, Will here. You may remember me from our yearly trends report episodes. I'm one of the in-house product designers for Ballard Designs. One of my favorite pieces that I designed that's launching this spring is the Maris desk. I was in an antique store a couple of years ago, and I saw this beautiful little detail on this desk, and it instantly was like the most unique detail that just spoke to me. I took that detail, added a contemporary finish with these graceful sweeping cabriol legs and a very seamless silhouette, bringing a touch of Parisian chic to any home office. So, go check out all of our latest arrivals at BallardDesigns.com.

1:10I have a feeling you're going to find some pieces you really love. All right, let's get back to the show. Welcome to the podcast. We have a brand new trends report for you guys for 2026. We have our wonderful guest that we've had the past two years. We have Will Turner here. Hello. From the design team and Hilary Park. Yes, thanks for having us. So both of them work with me. The three of us developed the product for Ballard Designs. And because of that, we are on top of trends. It is our job in a good way to hear what's coming and try to predict what we feel we want to play. Where do we want to play?

1:53What are we inspired by? What are customers going to want to buy in two years from now? Which is a fun job. It's very fun. That's scary.

2:03Liz O'Neill:Also a little bit of a time warp. We don't know what year it is. You have no idea what year you're in. No. What year is it again? 20, 20, 25. You're living in 26, designing for 28. No, 27. And 28 soon. And then, yeah. But still waiting on product. But predicting 26, yeah. We said last time, trends are not so specific, ends out, and there's a lot of fluidity to it. And I know we also, the word trend is out, if we're going to talk about things. Friendly. No one wants anything on trend. Like, you know what I mean? They don't want to be defined by trend. So as we have this trend report, we are aware that you might be like, either, darn it, I am.

2:49We're going to say something you love or we're going to say something you're like, absolutely not. Yeah. You're recording the facts. We're not casting judgment. Correct. There's some judgment. Will brings the judgment. But we usually start by telling you guys that we have scoured the internet and some of our sources are fashion snoops, WGSN, we look at Pantone, definitely all the shelter publications. Veranda just put out their 2026 predictions so I even brought those and printed them most of the shelter publications put out one so it's their opinion based based on what they're seeing first dibs just put out theirs this week our boss sent it to us trend union is still one we also use which is the Lee Elder Court we look at what she said and we've attended her big she She had a big presentation on craft this year and really speaking to the artisanal, which we kind of highlighted last year, that people really want these one-off pieces.

3:51Speaking of not being on trend, people really want to feel like they have created their own thing. So did I miss any of our big sources? I mean, we, of course, do all the shows, all the show houses in Atlanta. We attend the markets. We attend the Atlanta market, High Point. so Antique show the Marburgers show in Atlanta that came so this is where we're getting all our information Pinterest was another that just put out their trend report Pinterest is my new favorite I haven't used it in years so yes Will just got excited the other day he was like Pinterest and I was like yes get your algorithm right it's always been Instagram and with other things going on I just liked Pinterest because it's very specific yeah Once it gets your algorithm, it's so good.

4:42Like once it knows what you like. I think it caught on very quickly. And we talked about how all of us are synced up algorithm. Yeah. In our last episode, because we were talking about things we'd seen. And we're like, yeah, I saw that too. So I'm sure as we go through, we'll find multiple things that we're all seeing again. So we started with color last time. I think color is such a huge part of what influences a lot that we do. So do you want me to go through what we, the predictions we heard first? Sure. Yeah. I think that'd be a good point. And then we can start off our internal palette and what we've kind of shaped it up to be.

5:20Yes. And how it actually shaped. Because these predictions were also made a year and a half ago. Mm-hmm. It's about. Twenty-three, four. We were listening to them. Yes. Four. Twenty-six. Mm-hmm. So these predictions, too, is this what they were predicting? And now we're here. So are these true, too? So some of the big ones from the FS and WGSN, we have transformative teal, which is, as you know, it's a deep teal. We talked about teal last time. So it seems to still, like, be a big one. We have wax paper, which, again, is an off-white. It's a creamier white. It's definitely not a cold, sterile white.

6:00We have fresh purple, which is—when you grew up and you said purple, it's— It's the purple crayon. It's the purple crayon, yeah. It is. Grave juice. Yes. It is the great... Artificially flavored. Yeah. Yes. It's electric. Yes. And then we have cocoa powder, which we talked about last year as well, and how much we are loving brown. And as you can see by what we're even wearing today, our whole team is dressed in brown. So we are on trend. Pro brown. Pro brown. And then the last is green glow, which is a... acid. Yeah, also very electric. Oh, yeah. Anybody, Nickelodeon green slime is a really good way to describe it.

6:47Yeah. It's a show where you can dump them slime.

6:49Liz O'Neill:Yes. Yeah, where you got slime. That's nostalgic. Okay. 90s. We're pivoting, as usual. But have you guys played Cues and Clues? My kids love it. It is the hardest game for me. Wait, what is it? Cues and Clues? Cues and Clues. Yes. Cues and Clues. Plug. Not sponsored. So this game is literally Liz. We will play it next week. We will love it. Maybe we should do it on an episode because it is a board with shades of color, like shades. And essentially you have to describe the color to everybody around you. And everybody guesses what color you're saying. So if I said Nickelodeon green slime, you would put it on whichever little color dot you thought I was describing.

7:38So anyway. It's like a giant pan. And you get points the closest to the color. Oh, my gosh. I need to do this. So I just purchased it because I played it with my family during the holidays. And I was like, I love this. And it is hard to describe because I said orchid. Because do you remember orchid was one of the colors? Yeah, exactly. I mean, that's fair. That's where I was. It was a bad choice of words to describe. this very pink that went purple. It was like orchid Pantone a few years ago. Right. Radiant orchid. Yes, thank you. It was that color. But none of my family, they were like orchid.

8:16They're not in our business. Yes. So it was funny to play. So I think we need to play. It was the 2016 Pantone color of the year, duh.

8:24Liz O'Neill:The other kicker of the game is, correct me, you can only say like one or two words, right? Like you can't use the full sentence. So it is. Yeah. Anyway, it's funny. So back onto colors. So those were the five that were kind of the big predictors for this year. So there's some pages we gave the team and we'll have a presentation ready for you guys for anyone listening as well. So you can kind of see the colors we're talking about. But then we looked at these colors and we have chosen some other colors that kind of work what we think are good for our home. And because those colors are predicted for across like the industry.

9:08So that is saying clothing and sports. Yeah. Yeah. So all types of different products. Yeah. It's not like it's interior. years. So when you think about your home, and it's more of where we're at in homes and kind of making this central safe location that you feel just really at peace, you know, very meditative space. Nesting. Nesting, yes. We, you know, brought some of these tones down. And I know that last spring we were very excited and had very punchy colors and the peony pink did not work for you guys you guys were like that is too aggressive let's take it back a notch so we brought the colors back a little bit add a little bit of the earthiness that we spoke to last year as well so every color has a little bit of that complexity nothing is really clean the colors all have you know a little bit of a subtle under color um so we um definitely the greens we've seen as well uh predictions are saying as well they're getting a little more acidic and colors so we're seeing a lot more briny colors um pickled colors they've called it all these the descriptions were great like all sour lime yeah sour specifically yes a lot about talking about that for this for where green is headed so you'll see a little bit of that where we've gone a little bit of that and then chartreuse is probably the color that probably listeners know if you talk about it yeah olive, chartreuse I'm seeing another like good shade of green in there lime

10:59Liz O'Neill:I was going to say I said lime already yeah it's definitely it's being said too that like people aren't really emerald people have seen it done it and so the greens again are getting are going away from that so going more yellow yes okay yellow is also a term we could have used instead of acidic but yes um brown killing it loving it influencing us every shade yeah okay light to dark and eat because khakis have also become something that people are talking about i think it's going back to heritage and things you know and yeah kind of safety and khaki is one of those that people know in some place in your life you either wore it as a uniform or it was like in girl scouts it was some part of your life and so khaki is one of these safe colors and as we continue to not be headed towards gray i think khaki of course makes sense that people kind of found that to be their like safe spot so khakis all the way to dark espresso-y browns um have seemed to be what is uptrending and like we said too stark whites are out so like shades of cream all the way to brown you know you really can take it all the way the neutrals kind of have color in them like a warmer yes like it's that cold and a tone of gray is out yeah Mm-hmm.

12:24Mm-hmm. And then we're, okay, that's sort of a gray-brown, gray, gray, and then white black. Okay. Well, when did we buy these? Yeah. This year. I do feel like gray, no matter what, is, in my opinion, it's a winter. It's not a gray. It's a winter color, and we're on winter. The color gray is out. It's the cold, sterile undertone. Yeah. Mm-hmm. And definitely in home, you know, we've had a lot of gray case goods in the past 10, 15 years. And fabrics. But we're not doing any gray case goods. And a lot of houses, new builds were all agreeable gray. Yeah, right. A really big trend in the suburbs. And now that's going away to this softer, creamier colors, but can blend better with more natural colors.

13:16So builder khakis, probably. I mean, I remember there was some khaki in my house growing up. Yeah. Well, khaki was a very 90s color, I think, just for interiors, you know. It's like khaki and like yellowy khaki. Yeah, more like a camel. Yeah, and with like the reds and the greens and the, yeah. Well, it's very like nostalgic of Ralph Lauren. I knew that was going to come up. Which is making a huge resurgence right now because I think that we're seeing this like 80s and 90s movement. that's just permeating all markets. And Ralph Lauren is killing it right now. It's some beautiful pieces across the board.

13:59And colors are trending that way as well. To be these 80s colors are very prominent right now. And you've seen them, I'm sure. Again, this butter yellow is also very prominent. There's very solid reds. And we were talking a lot about blues. So cornflower is very on trend. It's so, it's such a rich, hot, poppy color right now. Blue isn't subtle at the moment. And not to say, again, this isn't across, but in trends, it is showing that blue has really become electric. And it continues to be, if you look at, this time next year, we'll tell you how they've predicted. Wait, so you're saying that in the trends going forward, the blue is going more of an electric color versus the cornflower?

14:48Yes. Like cornflower has sort of been around for the last five. For us, but the market is still loving cornflower. Like if you read some of the trend forecasts, and even Veranda speaks to how much people are loving cornflower still, because it's punchy and it brings such a life to a row. It's a happy color. And it's a happy color. It's almost a neutral, I think. Like in terms of like blues, like you have Navy is not a neutral to me. But you are noted on the past two years of hating me. So we do want to know. We would like to circle back. For anyone who actually has listened. I wore a Navy shirt last year.

15:27Navy hater. Just kidding. Last year you did say you were you were you had figured out how to work in Navy. So we'll see. We need you to end on that, though. So hold your Navy thoughts. um but yes blue is getting a little more electric so um other colors that people are really loving still is these dirty lavenders and we're seeing lots of that that it goes so well with the brown um some of the dirty blues go well with the brown um we were just saying like black and white right now is like just not really present everything is in these you're seeing like this very tonal it's like white and off-white it goes back to like this checkerboard patterns that we've been seeing that all all the markets textiles clothing things like that you have these tonal i mean your outfit that you have on now your pants are tonal check it's not such a stark difference that it's just soft and cozy and it gets easier on the eye.

16:35Yeah, it's not graphic. Yeah, it's not as graphic. I think it's that, again, going to like homemade and, not homemade, it's not the right word, artisanal. Nostalgic. Where like nothing's perfect and kind of aged. And like none of that is stark white if you think about it. If you think about antiques, like nothing's stark white or black. There's a bit of dirt. Yeah. And I think there's that heritage-wise, Back to that kind of word that seems to come up over and over again. And dark woods still in. People are really still loving dark woods and dry light oaks are still prevalent for metals. We've seen a lot.

17:13Nickel. Nickel continues. We talked about it last year how we thought a nickel continues to be kind of. Both in pewter and polish. Yeah. These very warm tones. Mm-hmm. Like warmer tone of the silver colors versus chrome. Yeah. Nickel and pewter. Well, I think that chrome will probably have a resurgence because, I mean, if you look to the 90s, there was a lot of very cold chrome. But again, I think it'll be a slow decline into that. Well, if you think that you're decorating your room with more warmer neutrals like browns and creams, the nickel is a silver finish that will work better with those.

17:55Oh, definitely. Because it has that warmer undertone to it, so it makes sense. And it's got that strike of modernity in it. It's just something completely different. Mm-hmm. Oh, and another color I didn't speak to, only because it's not on the kind of the predictions, but everybody has seen how much this oxblood, burgundy, plum. Cherry. She's like this. Edible tones. Mm-hmm. There's this deep, luscious intrigue, again, back to those 80s, 90s colors of this deep burgundy that seems to really, I think this fall will be, again, just such a strong, you'll see it in all of... It's beautiful yarns that are like these, I hate to say blood colors, but I think it's going to be the new black.

18:47It's like these beautiful saturations of red, I think, will start to take over.

18:55Liz O'Neill:Another color that we constantly talk about, too, but I think our pink, you know, we had our peony in previous years, And we've talked about our melon and grapefruit pink color, but now it'll be more of a soft pink with a glow, a very cheerful pink, too, for this next season. You know, I feel like mauve was a big color in home for a while, that sort of brownie pink color. So you're saying it's going to go more like a little bit sweeter than that? I think a little bit sweeter, but also like ballet pink. Yeah. Ballet pink, but I don't want to say like used ballet shoes, but like has a little warm, a little dusty.

19:41Everything's a little fleshy. Does that make sense? Yeah. I hate that word, but it's still cheerful. Yeah. I just think there is this like brown undertone that's still like is kind of the through line on all these colors. So I think you're right. Did I miss any of the other ones? Your little one grew three inches overnight. Adorable. Also expensive. Sell their pint-sized pieces on Depop and list them in minutes with no selling fees. Because somewhere, a dad refuses to pay full price for the clothes his kids will outgrow tomorrow. And he's ready to buy your son's entire wardrobe right now. Consider your future growth spurt budget secured.

20:23Start selling on Depop, where taste recognizes taste. Payment processing fees and boosting fees still apply. See website for details. I'm like, well, I guess we should probably also tell the customers and viewers that we have two pallets.

20:37Liz O'Neill:So we'll have like a spring fall or spring summer pallet and then a fall winter pallet. So as we're talking about these, some of these lean more towards our spring summer pallet and some are more for our fall for 26. Right. But they do span the full year. Well, within. And they're all meant to go together. Within tones. Yes. And they're all meant to go together. Yeah, you're right. so we're excited about we were talking about some of the fabrics that we see coming that have we have this great one that does have this deep teal and chartreuse and a little bit of this like gray lavender in it and it's like so beautiful and um so i think you guys are really going to love all the colors we have for the season too it's going to be a good year of deep colors and rich colors that you guys are going to gravitate towards.

21:25But I did want to go back to other finishes that we were kind of looking at. So, oh, I had the colors of everybody's, the paint colors that everybody has this year. Do you want me to list those real quick? So like Pantone, we already talked about, was Cloud Dancer. Infamous Cloud Dancer. It's white. Valspar, theirs was a warm eucalyptus. Sherwin-Williams is khaki. There is, Benjamin Moore did a silhouette, which is really like a espresso slash charcoal. I mean, it's brown, but it's got like that, by charcoal it means it's definitely like not a pure espresso. It's definitely got some like gray undertones.

22:11Something like this. This is a lot of gray in it. It's like a heathered brown almost. um bear is hidden gem which is like a smoky jade as they describe it if that kind of helps you it's definitely taking that teal and making it again just a little muddier uh glidden is the warm mahogany which is again that kind of oxblood color like it's in that family of of kind of plum and then we have little green is it's just like aubergine plum color called adventure and Grimm and Brown's is a deep plum and then Dutch Boy's is a ivory. So you can kind of see again, everybody, the paint companies are also saying the same things.

22:52They're feeling again, there's mahogany, like again, that maroons and deep teals, browns and yeah, warm eucalyptus. Yeah. So a lot of really dark colors and then paired with like some jewel tone inspired colors and then some earthy colors very nice and very natural yeah it's definitely very cocooning like we're in a very like again your home is your space space how safe can like we're cocooning we're making it feel that safety for us for this year um i feel like i've talked the whole time you feel like that's what other trends what other trends do we have for materials? We touched on metals. Did I miss any?

23:42We're seeing a lot more honed stones. So we're getting away from the shiny glam and going towards a more refined honed again, heritage. It's that like it's used. It's worn. I hate to say that, but it's had a past. It's got history. it's a like we've been seeing a lot of resurgence of these like relics and things that i feel like reh did a long time ago like almost two decades of these beautiful like things they just found in the junkyard somewhere and now it's on your coffee table yeah plaster again being that imperfect kind of material natural rattan and womens are still very strong in the marketplace

24:30Liz O'Neill:place. Some slightly different applications. You know, you're seeing them not just in, I think, decorative accessories, but we're seeing them in all types of case goods. Leather. Leather. Leather is being applied in all different kinds of applications on case goods. Lighting. I think at market, we saw this beautiful secretary that was wrapped in this very soft lambskin. And it was just so beautiful. Like, yeah it's a really pretty game table at market oh yes what about colored leathers um i i think that we saw at a couple of showrooms it again it they're dying at these natural earth tones so it's nothing like really out there it's going to be something that's going to blend in with everything you probably already own or pretty close so i mean i've seen greens like deep reds it's like that oxblood red that we've seen um i think that like these camel brown all different shades of brown which is pretty quintessential um for leather goods i mean again you can think about ralph lauren like that saddle saddled leather and brass accents and that's yeah i've been seeing a lot of that kind of on the colored not necessarily leather but we've been to several markets now where we keep seeing colored stained wood finish and we've also utilized that in some of our lines that we've recently done but we still see that fairly often you know where something will have like a subtle color there's this really pretty burl that was like a lavender i want to show you it's like the most subtle you couldn't even really get a picture of it it was so subtle but in person it was just like the faintest it was so beautiful so pretty so we did a blue stain what's our blue stained Calista it's very popular so that was one that we were like alright we gotta get this colored stain because it was such a we're doing that console table yeah there's a new one it also utilizes two different veneers it has a blue stain and then there's a more of a chestnut stain and then along the edges is like almost like a blonde veneer that kind of highlights and shows the silhouette of it.

26:53It's very pretty. Yeah. I can't remember what that's called either, but it's, yeah. She made it. Very she. I just can't remember. It's really all about texture. Again, I know we always, we have continued to speak about, and every person we've interviewed is like texture, texture, texture. But I think this year you'll see a lot of our products just have some sort of texture. You know, nothing is really flat and simple. People really want that uniqueness and that, again, that hands, the artisans who've made these wonderful weaves or, again, the leather trimmings or... A lot of mixed material. I'm really excited to see boucle leave, though.

27:37It's becoming something different. I just feel like it was on every single thing. Yeah, it's had its time. Yeah. It traps everything. So... It's not practical. It's like a shag carpet. It doesn't actually make sense. It will probably need the shag carpet of my generation, I guess. It's like, this is everywhere.

28:00Liz O'Neill:You'll remember when it was. Kind of on upholstery, though, I think skirted furniture. Yes. Skirts are so huge. So it's like billowing and very, very tailored. It's just very, very pretty. Yes. I think that they've spoken to dandiness becoming like this. Oh, yeah. And I think it comes across, again, as everything is custom, everything is detailed, everything is precious. And we definitely, you know, even we are providing as much custom that we can for the customer. We have now custom rugs. You're about to be able to do custom Roman shades. You know, we've got custom, what's the thing above your mind?

28:41Valances. Like the hard valance. Like all these things are coming. Custom dorm. Mm-hmm. So we're really, there's that elevation of making it your own and it fitting perfectly into your home. Because you, again, it's your home. Make it feel, you know. Special. Yeah. Get it right. It's going against this whole, like, picture-perfect algorithm. Everyone is, like, very analog, like they were talking about before the podcast, of people going back to landlines because they would like their children to be unplugged. it's very I think it's nostalgic I would say it's nostalgic I don't know what other people would say but it's very nice just to go back to like something less springtime yeah I've actually been thinking about it a lot because I was curious if y 'all you know we were like in looking at some of these there's a lot of I feel like maximalism is still very much.

29:44Absolutely, but like customized. In here. But I also have just seen a lot, I think especially with Gen Z, you know, they're all about like the Nancy Meyers aesthetic, which is very classics, neutrals, really streamlined. Slip covered. Slip covers and just like a, you know, classic wood coffee table, glass and really simple. And I feel like even Gen Z fashion. And I was, you know, kind of thinking about those two and whether they're, you know, is this sort of like almost like a recession indicator or like a reaction to the economy for a younger generation? Do we think it's just everyone's algorithm is different and there's sort of like this one track that's more of that kind of 90s streamlined aesthetic and then, you know, the maximalism is another aesthetic?

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30:40I don't know. Y 'all been seeing that sort of more neutral look out in. I mean, the Nancy Meyers is very, I would say almost California cool, but very relaxed and not as. Well, it's very well for it, I would say. Yes, absolutely. Because I immediately think of like blue jeans hovis.

31:07I think that's like a happy. To me, that's automatically happy. I think nostalgia is safety. I think it's wanting to get back to that safety. And so I think there is, again, I think there is this book. Comfort. I know what that felt like. And I know. And we have everybody who probably decorated in the 80s is now. You know, like there's this age you really decorate, right? And then you kind of like, not us, but in general. There's that whole like set it and forget it generation of like the 80s. And I think that is what is heavily in the market now, too, which again is the reactionary of I think it's like the mid-century modern.

31:52You know, it's like this like as we continue up the kind of years, we're now hitting like the 80s are finally like back. Which is like those big voluptuous sofas and like with the big rolled arms. Booyah on fringe. Booyah. Trim's tapes. I feel like it's kind of interesting the way that maximalism and Nancy Meyers to me feel very antithetical, but both nostalgic, but they're opposites in a lot of ways, right? Definitely. Nancy that sort of Nancy Meyers Ralph Lauren vibe is all about like classics and you know sort of timeless pieces that go with everything the slip covers in the woods whereas the maximalism and the customization it's like it's a one-of-a-kind piece that's very specific to your home you know what I mean like they're they're they're opposites it was I feel like minimalism got more like made the 1980s feel more max.

32:58It wasn't. Does that make sense? But Nancy Meyers is not 80s. Yeah, you're right. She's 90s? No, early 2000s. 90s, 2000s. But I think the style itself though is the 90s because when I think of it, it's like these slip covered sofas, Nashville rugs, brass coffee tables, things like that, which is very 90s. A lot of chrome. Or I should say polished nickel pieces, things like that. I mean, almost every kitchen that she designed in these sets has these nautical nickel lights over the islands, which is just very nostalgic and pretty. It's so pretty. Like it's the classic white kitchen. Whenever I think of anything that she's done.

33:45And it's just comfortable. It is comfortable. And I feel like, I don't mean this in a negative way, but the Nancy Meyers aesthetic is an easy aesthetic that anyone can do. And I feel like at a younger age demographic, that's more attainable than maximalism. Because I can tell you right now, my style has taken years to be able to finally get it to where I want it to look. so I think that it's just it's an easier aesthetic but it's still comfortable and it's still nice because I don't think it builds on itself yeah absolutely like you can start there and then add to and kind of get up to yeah I think that's a good point it's more attainable yeah definitely sorry I didn't mean to derail this conversation I don't know what we were talking about we were talking about textures no no we were talking about oh we talked about blue clay skirted skirted upholstery we were getting into more of the The details.

34:46Okay. Lattice was another one we were loving and we really utilized a lot. Ribbons. Yeah. They've gotten like XXL. We've seen these ridiculous bows that are like the entire tree. It's cool, but it's just wild. you know Toll and Paisley are like two patterns that were in different colored checks and lots of plaids colored plaids oh I love the unusual checks yeah the unusual

35:23Liz O'Neill:checks are fantastic colorful and then stripes but with like interesting details within the stripes they'll either be like an embroidery or like a double stripe organic pattern that makes the up Australia. Yeah. Yeah. Very French. Like there's a lot of French, there's like delicate French, like Marie Antoinette, which was, which has made a resurgence in fashion. Yeah. And I do think this year too has a lot of beautiful European inspired things based on what Hillary and I saw in France. There's a lot of antiques that we were very inspired by. So I think you're going to find some beautiful antique shapes and like details just from Europe, which is so like, you know, in the toll and just all the details I feel like are coming through.

36:20When I looked back, I was like, oh, my gosh, so many memories. And I really hope that people gravitated to like love them like we did. I think they will. Are we launching the Colette Bedroom Collection this year? Mm-hmm. Okay. I'm really excited about that because I designed it. But it's very, like, you're speaking of these French antiques. Well, this one was literally designed after one that they'd found at an airport or something. And they're like, we love this thing. We have to have it. And... It has, like, a cello bass, right? Yeah, like a Bombay chest. Yes. A very much... So Frenchy. French curves.

36:57but it's refined and more transitional just because it's made for the modern customer. But it turned out really, really well, and I was very afraid that it wouldn't. But I've seen all the pieces now, and I'm very, very happy with it. Did you want to tell them where you got it? We found the inspiration twice for this one. Oh, yes. Yeah, Hillary can tell it.

37:20Liz O'Neill:Well, we didn't purchase it, but when Will and I went to an antique store here locally... Hillary goes, oh my gosh. She was there. It was crazy. So we saw it in France. It was the exact same one. It was at one of the major markets. And, you know, we walked you guys through, like, the markets. And it was beautiful. And we loved it. But, you know, it was— It's like$6 ,000. Yeah, it was—we walked past it, took some images. We were like, this is gorgeous. Love her. But the ironic part is, yeah, they were out shopping. And it was the exact one. It wasn't— I think it was the exact one. Because the scraping of the pattern of the wood and the paintings, it's the exact one.

37:59And it had a tag. So Hillary was like, it's literally. And we had photos of the one we saw. So it is somebody there. 20 minutes behind you, someone was like, I'm putting that on my container and it's going to Atlanta. It's one of our favorite stores, Box Club. They're snatching up left and right over there, I'm sure. They probably were on your. They were right behind you. They were on the next flight behind you. We did see several of the same groups of people. Everyone was doing the markets with us. Yeah, that was for sure. But you'll see some of that. And then burl, we still, again, talking about that texture.

38:33Like, burl is still just such a beautiful pattern. So we've really utilized it a lot. And different tones of burl, too. Oh, yeah. Espresso. We've got a new office line, the Marist Office Collection. Oh, yes. Oh, yes. That's another Will. That's a dark burl. That was another me. I'm very excited. Oh, oh. It's very handsome. You know, I think compared to a lot of our office collections. Well, that was a two-year wait on just getting it from concept to having it launched. So it's like a baby. It's so beautiful. It's so elegant. Walk us through why it took two years. Like, was that a sourcing issue?

39:12Was it? I think that that was just a transition period. Okay, okay. There's a lot with vendor, too. that kind of plays in. Right. This past year has been really, not just that collection, but in general, we've had a lot of trouble with the new tariffs. It's made a lot of products very expensive. Yeah, they just don't, we just can't, there's a lot of things that we had started designing even and developing and gotten to a certain point and they've just, you know, with the large tariffs, we aren't able to make them happen this year. It would be price prohibitive. Our customers. But I mean, our source, oh, sorry.

39:59Liz O'Neill:Oh, no, that was. Our sourcing team has killed it. I mean, for lighting specifically, I just have to praise them because I was crying this past summer that so many of my lights that I designed were not going to happen. But we resourced and pivoted and came out better than we imagined. it was just a really hard year for a lot of manufacturers just trying to work with different vendors you know in the tariffs and materials too like you know 2020 was hard because of materials and that seems to still be the price of materials based on the tariffs even you know even if it's american-made it's there's still been a large transition so So it's been a hard year.

40:46And so we're really excited about the pieces that have made it to fruition because I feel very, well, and it's been on top of like, it's been several, several hard years, right? Like we had a lot of, um, like the cost of getting the materials here, right? Like all of the, um, the supply chain, sorry, that's the word. I'm like, what is the word I'm going for? Like supply chain has changed a lot in the last, you know, since 2020. and like that caused a lot of our prices to go up and that is, yeah. All of those compounding. Yes. Right. I mean, we're working on that though. I mean, it's definitely an initiative to make the best for our customer, but also at a good price point and we are actively trying as hard as we can.

41:34Tariffs are just more rough. Well, what you've been able to pull off has just looked amazing. Really beautiful. And we're so excited to have all of those in our new photography. I'm excited. Like, I keep seeing all this product coming in, and I'm just like, oh my gosh, Hillary, Taryn, have you seen this? Yeah. It's great. Well, Liz and I are kind of talking through fall 26 right now because we're getting ready to photograph it, and so the product for that collection is just so good. So good. It's exciting. So many beautiful fabrics. Yeah. Soft goods as well. Just to like help layer everything in and everything is special.

42:19A really good year for design. We have resonates with our customers. Step two. We have done this part. Okay, so let's talk about, do you guys want to talk about some of those?

42:31Liz O'Neill:More trends? Yeah, like the fun ones. Like now we've talked about what we're doing. We've given you kind of a lay of the land. And now we're just going to tell you some of the funny things as well that are happening out there. Because funny things. I love it. It's happening.

42:48So one of the fun just kind of trends, and I'm sure you guys are seeing this, is cabbage wear. Pinterest said that the cabbage wear is like happening. Vampire core. This goes with that ox blood. And then gop. Wins of gop that we've been seeing last year. Yes. Vampire core. Yes. So in case you want to go into that, a lace is starting. Like, are we talking Dracula? Like, what are Bram Stoker embellishments? Yes. I think you're on to it. Velvets, heavy velvets. I mean, our queen's velvet is apparently doing. This episode is brought to you by Peloton. Break through the busiest time of year with the brand new Peloton Cross Training Tread Plus.

43:33Powered by Peloton IQ. With real-time guidance and endless ways to move, you can personalize your workouts and train with confidence, helping you reach your goals in less time. Let yourself run, lift, sculpt, push, and go. Explore the new Peloton Cross-Training Tread Plus at OnePeloton.com. Amazing. Just so exciting. It comes in so many colors. I'll just reupholster these two tiers in the living room in the green. They're beautiful. And I'm obsessed. Just so happy. And like, well, this is an exaggeration, but it seems like half of the assortment of Queen's Velvet is a brown. There's like 10 different shades of brown.

44:14There are. There's a lot of brown shades. But they're very, very different. Oh, I'm all about it. I think they're gorgeous. I'm saying there's like a lot of variety. The saddle one is my favorite. There's saddle, there's chocolate, there's sort of a, you know, yeah. I meant it in a good way.

44:32Liz O'Neill:Lots of Celestial. Oh, yes. I love it. Like stars, moods. Oh, I love that. Oh, that's kind of fun. Witchy. Yeah. I mean, nature inspired. Where are you working that into? Well, um. Maybe a paper. Hardware. That'd be great. I know we have some star Monrovia-shaped draperies. Hardware. Mm-hmm. Capital hardware. Bedding. Bedding. We just listened to this webinar pretty much on, And just kind of like having, I'm just going to say the same wording as the other week. It's like everyone needs a North Star of what to believe in and what that is for you. It could be your sign. It could be your religion.

45:19It could be. Whatever is giving you hope. Yeah. Yes. People really need hope right now. Every year, like to start off the year, we need to think about what is our purpose and direction. And that kind of goes into that mirror. Or is it your... It does. Like, it's like, I bought my crystals last year. Remember they were with me. I was like, I need fixing. Maybe these crystals. I don't know. They've been charging in my window. I don't know what I'm supposed to do with them now. They've just been sitting there charging. I look at them. Charging like getting sunlight? Yeah, you should have charged them.

45:51See? And the moonlight. And the moonlight. Yeah. Obviously, crystals are not in my algorithm. Listen. I want them to be. They will be now. We just talked about them. Actually, my phone's downstairs. Oh, okay, good. So I'll send you my crystals. You've got to amplify. Anyway, so I think this whole like lunar, celestial is like believing in this higher power, whatever that is for you to give you the direction. And how that influences your home and how you live would be kind of our theme of fun ones we've taken away. I love that as a theme because, you know, florals are sort of the original earthy pattern and motif, right?

46:38And I love a floral. I feel like, are we getting to like the end of the train of the florals? What's happening with florals? That maybe is another thing we should discuss. But I like that sort of stars and the moon feel like a... Kind of like a relevant, also earthy motif. Without being animals. Yeah. So you got animals, florals, botanicals. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. So anyway, on that note, what is happening with florals? Where are florals going? We're very geometric viney right now. Meaning like, again, back to that, like, it's a stripe without being a stripe. It's organic. Mm-hmm. But to the extreme.

47:25Chinsy. Chintz is still very strong. Definitely.

47:30Liz O'Neill:What'd you whisper? I just said I think it's still there, yeah. Yeah. Okay. I mean, I love chintz. I think that a lot of people can misconstrue that as like super precious fabric that you don't want to touch ever, but I don't think that that's really the chintz that is relevant now. It's mused. It goes up to that cottagecore that we talked about a couple of years ago. It's very much in that vein of, you know, this home that you've lived in for decades. And you have this chintz sofa that you've had for 20 years. And it's a little worn. It's worn out. Rachel Ashwell was like the queen of chintz.

48:13Mario Bada. She was very like shabby chic. Yeah, yeah. But she was very much like, huh? Casual. Yeah, casual. She was super casual. Like, it wasn't too precious. It's like... Nancy Meyers, but floral. Well, it is Nancy. It's a lot like Nancy Meyers, but it's a lot like the original California casual, which had these elements of, like, gilt gold, but then you also had this linen sofa and... And terracotta. Terracotta, things like that. Like, you had a... It's very... Well, I think we've called in the past European, but it's Americanized. so it's way more casual and earth like materials being from the earth that people can recognize again terracottas like are still like a very strong marble is still very strong um stones handmade tiles oh the delft tile oh yeah seeing these beautiful mirrors ceramics ceramics are still very strong um on that all natural

49:18Liz O'Neill:thing I think we're seeing more and more uh Wood on wood. So you have your wood floors and then you're also having lots of wood paneling or even a different stained wood room. Wood on wood. I read this thing about your coffee table having to match your floor. Has anyone ever heard of that? No. I hate that. That sounds like I'm going to trip because I don't see it. I don't understand. Why? I don't know. That was AI generated, by the way. It was AI generated. See? Don't trust it. I don't trust them I just didn't know that was like an unspoken rule I never knew Nor is it one I want to follow So I'm going to pass on that one What about gingham?

50:01I feel like gingham has been all over fashion the last couple years

50:06Liz O'Neill:Oh yeah Her pants? I still freaking love gingham I think it's very Ballard Application Is what I think makes it lame or cool at this point Right. What's a lame gingham? Good question. Like drapes. Like if it's just like. That almost makes it just too cottage. I think too much. But we. But I just did Miles bed in the gingham. A small gingham. But that's cute. It's cute. It's also tonal. It's tonal. But gingham is tonal. Well, but I'm. Otherwise it becomes. The gingham is uncool when it goes super. Super stark. buffalo check as just super ubiquitous for a while i don't think we've gotten back to that buffalo check and gingham well size is small size but what point does buffalo check become gingham when you scale down buffalo check is is you know really wide i'd say it's almost like six inches by six inches for every square right and a a small gingham is probably like half an inch or I just thought of fabric and it's a gingham I believe based on scale and it is one and a quarter inch up to two inch anything like that Schumacher's is two inches because I wanted that one so I know that are you still looking for your lavender gingham chair fabric I keep I'm like lavender is wildly in where are you yeah thank you schumacher for doing that i was gonna say speaking of thinking about your dying tears um i talk a lot as you can tell about my house well okay so gingham is yes we like gingham yes yeah and can i give a fun side note on gingham yes the new um outdoor collection we have that's cushionless if you look at the pattern on it it's kind of gingham inspired because it's open squares and then closed squares and we have several um we have two new gingham fabrics coming for spring right two new sunbrella yes we oh and umbrellas have y 'all seen the fun oh they're so fun and then there's some that also have these beautiful tassel or bouillon drum and then ones that have like um panels that are you know blue white we like amazing yes we talked about fun umbrellas last year i bought fun ones so it sounds unfortunate that might be jealous that i might need more and i might need to go gingham so yes to gingham because i think colored checks and um plaids are so in that i think that's why gingham is so still relevant i think the fun thing is twall coming back in and like that it kind of dandy equestrian.

52:59I just love that. Parsons. There's nothing as magical as a fully twal room. Yes. Like bedding, wallpaper, drapery. Oh my gosh. Right. But like for a while we were like, ugh. Now I'm like, oops. Yeah. It was like early 2000s. Yeah. Early 2000s? I remember it. My mom had this vacation bag that was twa and I thought it was ugly but I think they're she loved it yeah they're on their way back and y 'all remember vera bradley oh yeah very every every like millennial girl had their vera bradley pattern and mine was blue and white twaul it was fabulous I wish I still had it actually but I do know what you're talking I got to college and I did not have it.

53:55I didn't have one either. It's like that Marie Antoinette inspirations again. I mean, that's, to me, very high. Marie Antoinette is 12, for sure. The pastoral themes with her fake farm. The silks and all. Village. Yeah. Yes, that was a fun one. What other ones? Oh, they were saying circus is like a little micro theme. Circus. Circus. I think it's the stripe thing in the striped room. Like tinting your room. I think it's hard for thought. What about minimalism? Minimalism. That is one that, yes, we identified in one of our reports. It's like the, I think, halfway between minimalism and maximum.

54:43Liz O'Neill:It's just very edited. It's just an edited version. I think it's the person we interviewed the other day, and I don't know if this episode is going to come out before that, who had that. she was a clean maximalist. Layered maximalism. Layered minimalism. Layered minimalism. Yes. Is minimalism. It doesn't look at all like that. Well, that's for images. Okay. Meaning there are still patterns and textures, but you're not tchotchke level high. You're like, yes. And we didn't make it up. No, no. No. what about scallops last time we talked about scallops last year we discussed they were going in more wave direction now what is the anywhere though curves are still in curves in general i think people still like a rounded soft shape i think it's like sculptural honest yeah okay so the new veda bed oh did love her so yeah so that's that's another texture item there you go woven sculptural but it's nostalgic like scallops waves it's a really beautiful bed frame yeah that has lots of waves and that one you guys will see it you you won't be able to miss it i hope you guys styled it well there is another thing weird art weird art well i think tell me more you know we've been seeing a lot about how these um gallery walls are changing to mixed materials.

56:18I'll say materials loosely. Anything goes on the wall. Like anything. If you can mount it to the wall. But it's more personal that way. And I mean, we've seen some really cool, especially you, Taryn. I've been bringing like some just really, really awesome inspirations for these gallery walls that have shadow boxes and florals, metal florals mounted to the wall and just all kinds of like... some beautiful oddities that you find that if you can put a nail on it it'll go on the wall i don't know if i had told you guys this but i speaking of weird things you like you have a fish on your wall yes i do i have i have some fish from portugal that i got years ago that are um ceramic little fish that i yes i just sorry yeah i did you know you're right um so yes i'll put anything to with a nail but my most recent weird thing was I found a pack of like an old pack of cigarettes and my dad passed years ago now but we found it up in the woods in Maine and I mean it was like under we were putting up this old deck and we found this like kind of and I literally called dibs between me and my sisters and all my brother-in-law's I was like dibs on the old cigarette pack and I got this beautiful linen wrapped canvas with the acrylic frame over it And I pinned this old pack of cigarettes in it in this little beautiful, pristine box.

57:44Oh, I love that. And it looks beautiful because it's it was just like a little high dad, you know, like to find this. Like, would you know he shoved that hiding it from my mom? Like there with all those women. He's just out back just like smoking to keep sane. And I just love the image of him being like, I'm just going to. Cigs inside. Yeah. There was no cigs in the box. I'll say that. anyway so talk about random things but to my point you'd be like why is there a set like why is there a pack of cigarettes on your wall and i'm like you definitely know there's a story but you're like that i think that's yeah i don't know what story is but there is one and so i think that's what yes like people are putting those on your walls like right just playing your story yeah a lot of people take their matchbox collections and they're starting to shadow box those and some Some of them from like the 50s, the 60s and the 70s are way more interesting than they are now.

58:43Yeah. And I love it. We see those at market. I've seen people do that with like their vinyls. Yes. And like putting the vinyls on the wall. I saw this ad for like your birth year song. Things like it's very, very kitschy. But at the same time, just like, oh, I think I love a record that I like for 19, whatever. No. But it's only 150, so it's personal. A family member's collection. Wasn't going to give my age away. Oopsie. But it does go back again to your house being authentic and curated to you. And your history and your likes. It's not some algorithm that you just copy and paste it over and over and over.

59:28It's your personality. mm-hmm okay that is sort of the ballard way right that's what we want for our our customers and ourselves to have something you need i mean og ballard was yeah was out there but it was cool and interesting and i think it's we've really tried to bring some of that back so get your old relics and dust blow the dust off next to your brand new bouillon fringe and your beautiful tape trim drapes. Right. And instantly, you're the most interesting person on the block. Come on for a drink. Do we have any other funny ones? I think people are still into hosting. I still think that Grandma Crofts.

1:00:16Grandma Crofts are still trending. I just started these paint by numbers. I love it. And are you happy? Yes. Oh, God, I love it. I don't have to talk to anyone. I don't have to see anyone. Just me and my music and my candles. I love that. Your candles? Wait, so give us your whole routine. You like candles and turn on music and paint your paint by numbers? Yes. That sounds lovely. What a good evening. There's this amazing candle that I like. I don't know if we're allowed to. It smells amazing. What is it? It's Candeli from Maison Louis-Marie. and her Marie Louis. It's one of those. It's Bella Kachina in Buckhead's house scent.

1:01:05And I remember walking in that store one day and I was like, what is the smell? I need it. I love a house scent. I want my house to smell like this. And so I bought a candle for every bathroom that I had. It is just such an amazing wild jasmine. It's fresh. It smells like you've walked into the most expensive spa you could find. and so I do that and I do some Chopin and then I paint. Oh my gosh, I love that. It's great. It's very relaxing, but like truly this scent is so invigorating. It's just, you just feel like you're in this spa. My grandma craft is needle pointing, but it looks very different from yours.

1:01:45My sister started doing that. I'm wearing my glasses and my headlamp. Yes. She works with my grandma. I drink my tea. I have tea too. Don't worry. The opposite. Bergamot. I love it. I know. We got to work on our grandma craft.

1:02:02Liz O'Neill:I brought an embroidery stitch kit for Christmas for myself so I can learn how to do all the stitches, but I haven't. Oh, my gosh. Oh, you would be so good at it. It's so easy. Okay. It is. I believe you. Yeah. Liz, you know what to do? Okay. I'll show you off camera what I've been working on recently. It's great. Anyway. Sorry. What's your grandma craft? I don't know if I have a grandma craft. Do I have a grandma craft? We all have artists. So y 'all have like 2026. You get it on that. Although, although. Watercolor. Hurt. I did just message both of you that there's an upholstery workshop coming up to learn how to upholster.

1:02:43Oh, I'm aged. So I would love to do that. I would love to do that. I think it counts as a grandma craft. I feel like that's a grandpa craft. There's nothing grandma crafts. Like, take it out in the old garage, rip off the upholstery. Upholstery? Really? Maybe finishing a bed. I feel like it's all going to be the same. I don't know. Upholstery, their nails. I know, but I really want a nail gun. Just so I can, like, reupholster whatever I want. No. Don't. I'm not convinced. All right, so I'm not taking you to the workshop. No, no, I'm going with you. Okay, wait. I already told you. I already told you.

1:03:16I already told you. I already told you about how I worked for a summer in an upholstery shop. I know. Y 'all, my nails, I would, I swear. I don't have nails. I'm fine. Let's go. Get up to date on your tetanus before you do it. I'll send it to you. Your tetanus shop. I will do it. Anyway. I feel like I'm grubby. It's good. You can do it. It's just, it's not a relaxing hobby. No, it's not a relaxing. It's not a relaxing with a cup of tea. I would never do it. No. Let's see, I want to do that. But I mean, like I would, I'm looking for a sideboard for the living room. and I am down to refinance something.

1:03:53Like, I don't have a problem. I'll sand it down. I've done stuff like that before. I would love that. So I think reupholstering something would be so fun. Yeah, Will and I are the same person. I'm like, yes, let's do it. I can't do it. Until I give up, and then I'm like, oh, that was cool. Yeah, I have to try it. That happens. Like, before I can be in your camp, I have to try it. You are capable 100%. I'm just, it is, yeah. Hard. It's hard. It's labor. That's why it's so expensive to buy a handmade sofa that's$10 ,000. You gotta pull out every single nail and staple. Yeah. And then re-staple them all.

1:04:33A lot of staples. No, but if it's electric, I feel like you just.

1:04:35Liz O'Neill:That's like a Mount Caroline's. I'll get Project Fictique, and I feel like an upholstered project. But you have to pull out every single staple with it. You use these, like, really sharp. It's like a screwdriver, but sharp. Like, pointy. to like dig every single staple out. Like, I don't know. It's just, it's, yeah. And if it doesn't come out, then you have to get the pliers and like pry it out. Yeah, staples and your fans and your arms and you're all over. And then, you know, you gotta restable. Yes, you can use a gun. I'm not dissuaded. Okay. Just, I mean, you know, I will say there are a lot of videos on TikTok that make it look super easy and lovely.

1:05:10Right. Because those folks, and I'm following half of them. But, yeah. Yeah. So that's kind of where my upholstery desires. Sure, do it. Do the class. All right. Cool. Okay. I feel like this like holds my feet to the fire. Like I got to do it now. You said it on the podcast. I love it though. You'll put it in your like 20. Oh my gosh. I've got a whole checklist by this point. Yeah, you do. It's already pretty full. Well, I hope that helps people feel, I mean, either inspired or. I know last year we ended with you do you boo sort of like situation of like whatever you love. Stay home. And stay bold.

1:05:52That's what I kept saying. You don't have to get on every single trend. Just pick the ones that you like. Especially for your home. So we continue to tell her to like be bold. Enjoy it. Live that best life at home. It's safe at home. I hope you guys enjoyed hearing about some of the funky trends, the things we're gravitating towards, the colors we're loving, patterns we're loving, materials we're loving. And I hope that helps everyone feel emboldened to go out and redecorate this year with our product. That's a great product. Yeah. I hope you guys enjoy the year and let us know what you're loving once we launch out the new things for 2026.

1:06:3926 and make your home, your beautiful sanctuary. Thought sweet green was just salads. Think again. There's a new way to do sweet green wrapped and ready. These handheld wraps pack bold flavor and 40 plus grams of protein into something hearty, satisfying and built for life on the go from craveable sauces to satisfying textures. They're designed to keep you going without slowing you down. So put that fork down. Try the new wraps today in app or at order.sweetgreen.com. Available at participating locations only. Let's see, wait. February 15th. Is it still on? It's not. I think it is live the 12th, but.

1:07:22Right. Come on. Things will start changing over the next week. Yeah. Yeah. The week of the 15th. So right after Valentine's Day. Very, very exciting. When does it usually hit the stores? Mid-March, yeah. Okay. Right. But you can fall in love online. I know, but I mean, as we've seen, our customer loves an in-person experience. Yeah, yeah. I love to be able to sit on this stuff I've designed. Well, this is the end of February, early March in Atlanta. Awesome. Great. And that's our show. You can find all of the show notes on our blog, howtodecorate.com slash podcast. To send in a decorating dilemma, email your questions to podcast at ballarddesigns.net so we can help you with your space.

1:08:04And of course, be sure to follow us on social media at Ballard Designs. Don't forget to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts so you never miss an episode. And please leave us a review. We'd love to hear your feedback. Until next time. Happy decorating.

From the publisher

It is our favorite time of year: the 2026 Trend Report is here! Caroline, Taryn, and Liz are joined by the Ballard Designs Product Design Team—Hillary Park, and Will Turner—to break down exactly what is coming next in the world of interiors.

The team reveals the surprising colors predicted to dominate (including "Green Glow" aka Slime and "Fresh Purple"), why "Builder Khaki" is making a nostalgic comeback, and the specific design aesthetic that bridges the gap between Gen Z and Boomers. They also discuss the move away from gray, the evolution of bouclé, and why your next gallery wall should feature "weird" personal art.

Quick Decorating Takeaways:

Brown is the New Black: Move over, cool grays. The team confirms that brown—from "Cocoa Powder" to "Builder Khaki"—is the dominant neutral for 2026. It pairs perfectly with the trending warm metals (like nickel) and "dirty" pastels.

Embrace "Grandma Crafts": High-tech is out; analog is in. The trend of "Grandma Crafts" is huge, with needlepoint, embroidery, and paint-by-numbers becoming the ultimate way to unwind and decorate.

Look for the "North Star": Celestial motifs are having a moment. Look for stars, moons, and zodiac themes in hardware, bedding, and fabrics as people seek direction and meaning in their homes.

What You’ll Hear on This Episode:

00:00 Welcome to the 2026 Trend Report

01:30 How the team predicts trends (Fashion Snoops, WGSN, Veranda)

04:45 The 5 Big Color Predictions: Transformative Teal, Wax Paper, Fresh Purple, Cocoa Powder, and Green Glow

06:30 The "Slime" Green debate and the board game Hues and Cues

11:00 The resurgence of Khaki and Ralph Lauren nostalgia

14:00 Cornflower Blue: The "Happy" color that isn't going anywhere

16:30 Metals: Why Nickel is overtaking Chrome

20:30 Paint Colors of the Year (Cloud Dancer, Warm Eucalyptus, hidden Gem)

23:00 Material Trends: Leather, colored stains, and the decline of shiny glam

26:00 Is Bouclé over? (Spoiler: It's evolving into skirts)

28:00 The "Nancy Meyers" Aesthetic vs. Maximalism

34:00 Pattern Trends: Lattice, Ribbons, and "Weird" Checks

41:30 Fun Micro-Trends: Cabbage Ware and "Vampire Core" (Oxblood)

43:00 Celestial motifs and the "North Star" theme

54:00 "Weird Art": Why you should frame cigarette packs and personal relics

58:00 The rise of "Grandma Crafts"

Also Mentioned:

Board Game: Hues and Cues

Trend: Nancy Meyers Aesthetic

Paint Color: Pantone "Cloud Dancer"

Shop Ballard Designs

Please send in your questions so we can answer them on our next episode! And of course, subscribe to the podcast in Apple Podcasts so you never miss an episode. You can always check back here to see new episodes, but if you subscribe, it’ll automatically download to your phone.

Happy Decorating!
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