The Newest Heritage: Interior Design Trends for 2026

Denna Jones believes that recent interior design trends are coming together to form a new look focused on smaller spaces, sustainability, and care for the environment

Foliage wallpaper by Heidi Caillier for House of Hackney

A trend is set to grow into a movement in 2026 and the years beyond. It can be summarised as ‘our true human nature is Mother Nature’ – a belief that spreads beyond interior design. From the trunk of this metaphorical tree are branches that may grow into equally sustainable movements: small, new heritage and William Morris. Unsurprisingly, these trends started to grow against a backdrop of global societal, economic and political change: GenAl (Generative Artificial Intelligence), increased interest in the design of our homes during COVID-19 lockdowns, and changes to US international trade tariffs. Generalised unease is why consumers are attracted to the safe harbour of home where small, new heritage and Mother Nature are not luxuries but necessities.

Search online for antonyms to ‘trend’ and you find negatives: dated, obsolete, old-fashioned, passé. Sustainability advocates like Californian Ray Azoulay, owner of a vintage furniture gallery, reclaim these negative antonyms; he pointedly named his Los Angeles showroom Obsolete. Azoulay recently collaborated with British textile, rug and wallpaper company House of Hackney (HoH) on a William Morris collection. New heritage is reflected in Azoulay’s interiors and those of designer Heidi Caillier, who also collaborated on the HoH Morris collection. Caillier mindfully seeds ‘old’ with new to create what she describes as ‘enduring interiors.’

Frankly Yours’ exhibition by India Mahdavi at Svenskt Tenn, 2023

‘What would William Morris do?’ is the guiding principle of House of Hackney. The 19th-century designer’s perennially popular patterns, and his socialist and sustainable ideals, inspired HoH’s founders to invite ‘Mother Nature’ to join their board of directors in 2023. A revolving cast of humans represent her and advocate on her behalf. International demand for Morris patterns has surged in recent years. Morris would be pleased with companies like HoH, but appalled by fast homeware brands who churn out unsustainable, mass produced short-life products (including rugs) that feature Morrisesque patterns often produced using GenAl. 

Small can be a synonym for nimble, innovative, creative and resilient, meaning that a ‘small’ mindset is an increasingly valuable asset. Small means local production, handcrafted and sustainable materials. HoH partners with craft ateliers in England to make its ‘future heirlooms’ including Axminster for its rugs; its wallpaper is printed by Borås Tapetfabrik, a likeminded company in Sweden. 

Another Swedish company, the interiors brand Svenskt Tenn, also partners with small-scale local manufacturers. Nature based patterns by the company’s famous designer Josef Frank (1885-1967) were influenced by Morris’s nature motifs (which were influenced by Morris’s love of historic Persian design). 

Though distinctly different, Frank and Morris patterns share a love of small nature-based details. Small includes ‘detail fetishism’ (e.g. bullion fringe on sofas) and objects that reflect the interiority of things. This concept is based on the idea that inanimate objects possess an inner nature, character or quiddity. When interiority combines with small it creates magic.

Svenskt Tenn celebrated its 101st anniversary in 2025 with the exhibition ‘Svenskt Tenn on a Small Scale‘ which featured room settings scaled to 1:5 and 1:8 with small replicas of many of the company’s iconic designs.

William Morris believed manufactured goods lacked beauty, heritage and the individuality of craft. What would Morris do if faced with current US international tariffs? Antique rugs (more than 100 years old) and artworks are tariff-exempt, but handmade rugs in general are classed as ‘manufactured goods’. Would Morris ask HoH’s Mother Nature proxy to join him to challenge the manufactured categorisation? Their challenge would include the unique art rugs made by women of the Manchaha initiative of Jaipur Rugs.

Morris and Mother Nature would also lobby on behalf of hundreds of other rug companies whose rugs are worthy of artwork classification. Unique handmade rugs are the bedrock of the new heritage, Mother Nature and small trends. Each weft, each warp, each knot represents handcraft, art, unique interiority, and above all else they express our true human nature. 

Words by Denna Jones