Pros Reveal the Biggest Summer Decor Trends for 2026
From earth tones to stone tables, here's what interior designers predict for the season.
While it can be fun to experiment with design trends as soon as you enter the new year or tackling some spring cleaning, there’s another ideal time to embrace them—and that’s summer. Everything feels new and alive outdoors, so why not bring that feeling indoors, too?
Summertime trends often nod to the season through lighter and brighter color palettes and materials. But it’s also halfway through the year, when trends from the beginning of the year are cycling through and new ones are entering the scene. In other words? Now is the time to start weaving some new trends into your home.
Ahead, find out which summer decor trends pros think will be popular.
Earthy Color Palettes
According to Abby Powell, LEED Green associate owner and principal designer of House of AP, summer interiors are becoming less “coastal” and overly bright. Instead, they’re more earthy and atmospheric.
“We’re seeing warmer plaster tones, olive, clay, mushroom, muted saffron, dusty blues, and richer wood tones replacing stark white interiors,” she observes.
Bold Backsplashes
Boldly-hued backsplashes will gain momentum this summer, just when you might be inspired by bursts of color the most. As Leah Hook, founder and principal designer of Gray Oak Studio, puts it, neutral, quiet color palettes are over, and in the kitchen, this means the introduction of bold-colored backsplashes, with or without white cabinets.
“This summer, I predict we will see colorful kitchen backsplashes that range from navy blue to olive green,” she says.
Tactile Materials
“People are gravitating toward materials that feel natural and lived-in rather than pristine,” Powell says. “Honed stone, limewash, textured plaster, unlacquered metals, aged wood, and linen with visible texture all make a space feel softer and more collected.”
RELATED: Why Designers Say “Refined Layering” Is the Must-Try Home Trend of 2026
Bar Carts
Summer is the ideal time to roll out the bar cart for a backyard happy hour, and luckily, they’re trending. “We love a bar cart in a dining room, sitting room, or even a swanky home office,” Hook shares. “These portable accent pieces add color and style, in addition to function. They present an opportunity to display fun or special stemware, cool decanters, and kitschy cocktail stirrers.”
Ambient Lighting
Recently, Powell has been noticing that decorative lighting is replacing what she calls “overly recessed spaces.” “There’s a huge shift toward ambient lighting and homes that feel calmer at night,” she says. “I’m seeing more portable lamps in kitchens, paper lantern pendants, sculptural sconces, and layered lighting overall instead of relying on rows of recessed cans everywhere.”
Stone Tables
To nod to the outdoors during summer and beyond, look to a trending stone table. Hook says, “We're seeing more stone side tables, coffee tables, and dining tables. Stone is both performance and organic. The livability and the one-of-a-kind nature are both as on-trend as it gets.”
Rich Wood Tones
“For a long time, everything leaned white oak, but darker walnut tones and medium stained woods are coming back because people are craving more warmth and contrast,” Powell says. “Even in lighter homes, there’s more balance now instead of washing every surface out.”
Stripes
Stripes have always been a summertime staple, from clothes to interiors, but Hook says that this pattern is coming back for all four seasons, not just summer. “They are as classic as it gets without feeling ornate or old-fashioned,” she says. “I predict we will continue to see them in wallpaper, rugs, fabrics, and decor.”
“Collected” Decor
Calling this decor approach “more restrained global influence,” Powell says that currently, homes are feeling less theme-driven and more quietly collected.
She says that there are subtle influences from Scandinavia, Belgium, the Mediterranean, and Japanese interiors, but in a more personal way that feels layered over time rather than heavily styled.
Painted Ceilings
“Everything is leaning toward more color, including ceilings,” Hook says. “You'll see subtle and bold colors finding their way onto the 'fifth wall' of a room.”
RELATED: Designers Say the "Fifth Wall" Is the Most Underrated Design Surface
Soft Silhouettes
Summer is the perfect season to soften things up, and soft touches are also finding their way into people’s homes. Referring to the trend as “less visual harshness,” Powell believes that people are getting tired of interiors that feel too sharp or rigid.
“Curved edges, softer upholstery shapes, relaxed linens, and more organic forms are making spaces feel calmer and more inviting overall,” she says.
Shelby Deering is a freelance lifestyle writer who frequently covers home design and decor for national publications. She has worked as a full-time freelance writer for over a decade, and has worked in the industry for nearly 20 years, writing home tours, interviewing top designers, and beautifying her own home. She holds a master's degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and when she's not writing, you can find her at thrift stores and flea markets, running, or exploring local trails in Madison, Wisconsin, with her husband and corgi, Dolly.
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