Let's be honest about grey. For about fifteen years it was the answer to every room in London: grey walls, grey sofa, grey kitchen, white everything else. It wasn't really a style. It was a way of not making a decision, and estate agents loved it because nobody hated it.
In 2026 that's finally over. Designers have pretty much written grey's obituary, and what's replacing it is warmer, darker and a lot more interesting.
Earth tones, and properly committed ones. Terracotta, rust, clay, ochre, mustard, deep burgundy, wine, bottle green. Not on a cushion, on whole walls, sometimes ceilings too. Paired with timber, stone and fabrics you actually want to touch, rather than gloss and chrome.
Rooms built for living in, not for Instagram. The buzzwords are "cocooning" and "enveloping", which sounds a bit much, but the idea is right. The stark minimalist look was designed to photograph well. The new stuff is designed for a Tuesday night when you're knackered: softer lighting, layered textiles, curved and rounded furniture instead of hard boxy lines.
Even red has calmed down. If you bought a bright cherry-red statement sofa a couple of years ago, sorry. The reds that feel current now are grounded ones: brick, terracotta, the colour of a clay pot that's been sat in the sun. That tells you where the whole palette's going. Colour that comes from real materials, not from a paint chart.
Mediterranean, minus the cringe. One of the biggest directions this year is a stripped-back take on Mediterranean style. Not the 90s version with fake Tuscan columns and sponge-painted orange walls. The modern version is limewash, terracotta tiles, natural stone, reclaimed wood and loads of linen. Simple, warm, and it gets better with age instead of dating.
Right, so why is a landscaper telling you this?
Because interior trends never stay indoors for long, and if you're about to spend money on your garden you want to know where things are heading before you pick materials.
For years cool grey porcelain and grey composite decking were the default outside, mostly because they matched the grey kitchen. If your house is moving towards warm stone, timber and terracotta, a garden that still looks like 2018 is going to feel off. You'll notice it every time you open the back doors.
The good news is the warm palette works brilliantly outdoors. Natural stone, oak, reclaimed brick and planting in deep reds, coppers and plums all sit together nicely, and they weather in rather than wear out. The best gardens we build treat the outside as the next room: same mood, same materials, straight through the doors.
And no, that doesn't mean ripping out a perfectly good patio. I'd be the first to tell you not to. Often it's the smaller stuff that changes how a space feels: a timber screen, a stone step, warmer planting, better edging. If you're redecorating inside this winter, now's the time to think about how the garden's going to sit with it come spring.