Four shifts are showing up in nearly every brief we take this year — and one long-running favourite is quietly on its way out.
/ 01Palettes got quieter
The high-contrast monochrome interior is over. What replaced it is a narrow band of warm neutrals with tone doing the work colour used to.
/ 02Stone got heavier
Thin 12mm tops are giving way to thick, honest slabs with a visible edge. Weight reads as permanence, and clients are asking for it by feel.
People stopped asking for stone that looks expensive and started asking for stone that feels solid.Yusuf Karaca · Materials Lead, SpaceUp
/ 03Edges got softer
Radiused corners on everything — tables, islands, case goods. Partly it photographs well; mostly it is what a room full of people actually wants.
Quick takeaways
- Warm neutrals over monochrome.
- Thick slabs, visible edges.
- Radiused corners everywhere.
- Fewer materials, repeated more.
/ 04And what we're retiring
Open shelving in kitchens. It photographed beautifully for a decade and nobody has ever enjoyed dusting it.
RisingWarm neutrals · thick stone · soft edges
FallingMonochrome · open kitchen shelving
ConstantThree materials, repeated
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