A familiar palette: warm neutrals lead the 2026 colour forecasts

Reporting by Glass Magazine on the 2026 colour programmes describes a familiar scene: warm, earth-derived neutrals leading the year’s forecasts, with shades in the khaki, safari and eucalyptus families appearing across more than one manufacturer’s palette.

Convergence of this kind is rarely accidental. Manufacturers share the same trend agencies, the same furniture and textile fairs, and the same retail data. When several large programmes land in the same part of the colour wheel, the effect is self-reinforcing: specifiers see the same tones everywhere and assume the market has decided.

It also means that differentiation has to come from somewhere other than hue — from texture, sheen and the material itself.

Why this matters

For decorative plaster and art finishes, this is an opening. When paint palettes converge, the visual interest in a room increasingly comes from surface: the depth of a lime plaster, the direction of a trowel mark, the way a metallic finish catches light.

What remains unconfirmed

• Whether the convergence reflects shared data or shared trend agencies.
• How long the warm-neutral cycle is expected to run.
• Whether the same tones are being specified in commercial as in residential work.