Key Interior Design Trends: Tradition, Handcrafted Details, Animal Prints — and the Return of Red
Long before it finds its way to consumers’ favorite chair or sofa, upholstery fabric makes its debut at the Interwoven textile fair, held semi-annually in High Point, N.C. The fall edition of the show revealed a number of trends, from emerging colors to patterns and materials, likely to shape furniture design and interiors over the coming seasons.
Here, what lies ahead for fall/winter 2025/2026:
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Fresh Takes on Traditional Motifs
The nostalgia trend continues to influence with the return of classic patterns with modern updates through color, texture and technique.
“We’re enhancing classic prints with super-saturated color and macro-scaling to excite the senses,” said Kristen Moonjian, creative director of home interiors and lifestyle at trend forecaster Fashion Snoops (FS).
Sunbrella gave classic stripes and plaids a twist with dotted or segmented lines, and English country florals and checkered patterns looked fresh in modern shades of blush, salmon and chambray blue.
“We see layering the different stripes — the ticking stripes, the textural stripes — with other classics like tiny polka dots,” said Amy Gillam, design manager at Sunbrella. “They’re a fun way to mix and match and create a collection that customers can layer.”
With its new Modern Roots collection, Valdese Weavers’ high-end Circa 1801 line put a new spin on plaid and florals by incorporating rich texture via plush yarns such as chenille and bouclé.
“We have traditional patterns that seem more contemporary with a variation in scale and the toolbox of different types of yarns we can use since we make our own,” said Jill Harrell, director of marketing and brand communications.
Handcrafted Details
Playing off the desire for traditional designs, the focus on artisanal techniques and handcrafting remained important, showing up in embroidered effects and fringe details throughout Interwoven showrooms.
“I love that we’re seeing a lot of fringe,” said Katie Atwater Williams, creative director of De Leo Textiles. “We’ve done a few this season, from more eye-catching versions in bright colors to a subtle, refined fringe that adds texture to a neutral fabric.”
Embroidered patterns added a touch of handcrafted style to fabrics not only from DeLeo, but Sunbrella, Valdese Weavers, Kravet and Thibaut, among others.
“We’re doing a lot of new embroideries,” Atwater Williams said. “We’re seeing so much traditional coming in.”
These techniques reflected the urge of consumers to honor the traditions of artisans along with a greater appreciation of nature’s role in home design.
“We’re responding to consumer disillusionment of fast fashion and over-consumption in the face of the current humanitarian crisis,” Moonjian said. “There’s a growing desire for meaningful products that honor both the maker and the materials. We’re embracing local resources a lot more than ever before, and we’re working in harmony with nature’s natural cycles.”
Red Returns
Though earthy tones of blue, green and brown have dominated recently, red seems to be making a comeback for interiors.
“Red is having a moment, especially in fashion, and we’re going to see it continue well into fall/winter 2025/2026 in the home, especially with these darker, burgundy-end hues,” Moonjian said.
On the lighter end of the spectrum, earthy terra cotta tones of the past couple of seasons continue to warm along with the rest of the color palette.
“We’re seeing more warm tones across the board, and terra cotta is moving more pinkish into a salmon,” Harrell said.
Richer reds cropped up at DeLeo, from dustier shades to juicy wine hues.
“We’re loving this marsala, almost raisin color,” Atwater Williams said. “More red is coming in, though it’s muted right now, which we haven’t seen in a while.”
Moonjian said that while colors have been more subdued in the home in recent years, a shift toward more vibrant hues such as red is on the rise.
“We’re definitely entering a time where we are exploring a lot of color in the home,” she said. “This is definitely our most colorful season in quite some time.”
Animal Magnetism
The influence of nature on interiors continues, this time in the form of updated animal prints that go beyond the typical leopard and snake.
Spotted koi in chenille at DeLeo and whimsical woodland creatures on a toile patterned fabric at Valdese Weavers illustrated the trend, but the look reached different heights in Kravet Couture’s new collection with designer Joseph Altuzarra.
The line included a range of patterns and colors, including Rorschach, a painterly rendition of large-scale butterflies, and Moth, which featured an overlapping design reminiscent of the details of moth wings.
“People come to us for design inspiration,” said David Lappert, vice president of sales, Kravet. “When we design fabrics, it’s not for that moment — it’s for what’s happening over the next two years.”
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