Issue #00004 : December 11th, 2025

Pantone just announced Cloud Dancer—a lofty white—as its 2026 Color of the Year, calling it “a whisper of tranquility” in our noisy world. The design community responded with a collective eye roll. Instagram lit up with comparisons to “landlord white” and even raw chicken breast. Designer Katie Feng Shui burned her Pantone swatch book on camera, telling nearly three million viewers the choice is “exploitative, tone-deaf, and full-out racist.” That last accusation feels like a reach, but the broader critique isn’t unfair: in a world starving for color and beauty, this is not the time for another soulless neutral.

Just like the AD100, you have to ask—who decided a couple of people sitting in an office should dictate color trends for an entire industry? The market tells a different story. Blues are on fire right now. Greens are having a major comeback. My takeaway: ignore Cloud Dancer. Use color. Be inspired by what you see actually happening around you.

Read on for another blow to architects, RH’s latest earnings report, and why gummy bears are about to dominate design in 2026.

Rates drop. Design pops.
On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve lowered interest rates by a quarter point for the third straight meeting, bringing them to 3.5%. Mortgage rates don’t follow the Fed directly—they follow the 10-year Treasury yield—but Fed cuts shift investor expectations, pull the yield down, and mortgage rates almost always move with it. They’re now at 6.19%, the lowest level in over a year. New home loan applications jumped 4.8% last week, and refinancing applications are up 88% year-over-year. I see light at the end of the tunnel.

Lower rates mean more home sales, and more home sales mean bigger decorating and renovation budgets. When homeowners refinance, they pull cash out for remodels and interiors. Watch mortgage rates closely—if they keep dropping, we could be in for a banner 2026.

Eye on the markets
I’m obsessed with the stock market because watching certain bellwether companies helps design entrepreneurs see where the economy is headed—and plan before everyone else catches on. Knowledge is power.

Actually, real designers say “color-drenching” is in.
Every December, Apartment Therapy releases its State of Home Design survey, and the 2026 edition is worth your attention. They polled 140 design professionals—the actual tastemakers changing real homes—and the forecast looks promising: bold, cozy, authentic, collected, textured. Modern farmhouse is out (94% say it's toast), while maximalism, Parisian pied-à-terre, and contemporary English cottage are in.

The color story is particularly encouraging. Espresso bean, warm mahogany, martini green, and marigold dominate the palette. Delft tile is the predicted breakout material, alongside unbleached oak and cork. The verdict: curvy furniture, brass, and color-drenching. Cloud Dancer didn’t make the list.

By the way, this absolutely fascinating research report from the Science Museum Group has revealed that everyday objects have become progressively grayer over the past 200 years due to shifts in materials like plastic and stainless steel replacing wood, and minimalist design trends. (Check out this incredible video.) The good news: Gen Z appears to be reversing this by reintroducing more color into spaces.

The proof is in the pinning
Of all the trend reports out there, Pinterest is the one I trust most. It’s pooled from the largest data set of any platform: actual user behavior, not editorial opinion. More importantly, it’s fun, engaging, and offers unique intelligence for business planning. 

The platform identified 21 trends for 2026, from Neo Deco (Art Deco with a modern twist, up 80% in searches) to Gimme Gummy (candy colors, rubber textures), Afrohemian Decor (Nigerian textiles meeting bohemian style), and Cool Blue (icy sophistication).

My favorites this year are Neo Deco and Gimme Gummy—I already have ideas for how both can work across my companies. Marketing teams should be studying this, because Pinterest users are actively searching for these aesthetics, which means they’re ready to buy.

Kravet gamifies interior design
Kravet just partnered with Design Home, the addictive interior design game app, making its furniture and luxury textiles playable for millions of users. Over 50 digital pieces launched during Thanksgiving week.

This isn’t surprising if you know Kravet, I’ve long admired their tight family leadership. They’re the Coca Cola of our industry (I say that kindly) servicing everyone from 1% clients to mass market. They’ve always been three steps ahead on technology and merchandising. Years ago, I had the idea to gamify design when my kids started playing Minecraft, but I never pulled the trigger. Imagine 10-year-olds fighting over whether to install artisanal Italian fabrics in their virtual castles.

Anyway, the move makes sense: Design Home players get access to designer-level products they’d never see otherwise. Kravet gets brand exposure to a younger demographic. Smart marketing that meets customers where they are—playing games on their phones. The industry needs more forward thinking this.

Wallpaper's next dimension
Trompe-l'oeil wallpaper—the French art of “deceiving the eye”—is having a moment. The New York Times just profiled the latest printing innovations allowing wallpaper to mimic everything from embossed leather panels to woven cane with such precision that customers reach out to touch it, convinced it’s real.

Advanced digital printing, haptic techniques, and wide-format printers now create raised textures and ultra-high-resolution imagery with shadow, grain, and tonal depth. This is a welcome evolution. Wallpaper has been making a comeback for 15 years, but the low barrier to entry attracted tons of businesses digitally printing generic patterns. It became more graphic design than real design.

These new 3D styles are different—skilled, artful, and hard to execute. I’ve worked with San Patrignano in Italy, where recovering addicts hand-make dimensional wallpapers as part of their rehabilitation. Today’s buyers want something that stands out physically and emotionally—not only texture they can touch, but stories with social impact. Nothing is flat anymore.

Forget Google. AI is the new search.
Home retailer Ashley just partnered with AI search engine Perplexity and PayPal to let customers get product recommendations, add items to cart, and complete purchases in a single conversation. The furniture retailer joins Walmart and Target in integrating with AI platforms to create streamlined shopping experiences.

Whether you’re an interior designer with a personal website, or an ecommerce giant with 50,000 SKUs, if you’re not already thinking about AI search strategy, start now. The smartest companies are producing original content specifically so AI can discover them. This isn’t five years away. This is happening right now, and your competitors are already working on it.

Another hard week for architecture.
Last week, we reported on the U.S. Department of Education stripping architecture of its “professional degree” classification. This week, the profession lost two titans: Frank Gehry died Friday at 96, followed by Robert A.M. Stern at 86.

Mr. Gehry gave us the Guggenheim Bilbao, Walt Disney Concert Hall, and that wild Santa Monica house wrapped in corrugated metal and chain link. He understood that architecture could be emotional, democratic, and messy—like actual human life.

Mr. Stern reinvented prewar luxury with 15 Central Park West, proving that traditional elegance could outsell every sleek glass tower in Manhattan. (Check out this wonderful conversation in AD.) I never met someone who had something bad to say about Bob Stern—he was a genuinely kind soul and will be dearly missed.

Great news: you can now afford this Frank Lloyd Wright architectural masterpiece after a dramatic price cut. Bad news: you’d have to live in Galesburg, Michigan (Pop. 2,083).

This British Farmhouse is the highlight of Dezeen’s best houses of 2025. 

Interior designer Loren Kreiss takes a blowtorch to Kendall Jenner’s latest decorating choices. 

Home Depot’s giant Santas disappeared, triggering panic, price-gouging, and leaving one lonely amputee Santa nobody wants.

Thanks for reading. See you next week!