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mbiente 2026 reveals five defining trends shaping the future of home and product design, from portable warmth and universal kitchen tools to playful forms and woven craft traditions. The fair frames design as a form of care, responding to climate pressure, shifting domestic habits and the growing demand for objects that support everyday well-being.
Artificial intelligence is moving from a marketing add-on to core infrastructure for brick-and-mortar retailers. In this interview with AiPRL Assist founder JD Camden, DNN explores how unified data, omnichannel memory and real-time customer intelligence can help local and regional retailers compete with national chains while strengthening the showroom experience.
Fashion forecasting firms Fashion by Informa and FS have outlined four material directions expected to shape apparel and interiors in 2027: Awaken, Wondermode, Space for Solace and Ritual. Spanning tactile, nature-driven surfaces, playful experimental constructions, restorative technical textiles and heritage-inspired embellishment, the trends point to a future where material choice becomes both emotional language and functional solution. With crossover implications for upholstery, soft goods and lighting, these emerging fabrics offer designers a preview of how texture, color and craft will define the next cycle of design.
Designed as a living studio for furniture, music, and dialogue, the space anchors the brand’s next chapter in downtown Manhattan.
AAHA Studio takes residential- and hospitality-level design thinking into uncharted territory, converting a former police gymnasium into a wedding venue that balances preservation, flow, and spectacle. The project marks the start of a series exploring how designers bring luxury sensibilities to unconventional spaces.
From grand, dramatic botanicals that define a room to subtle textures that help refine a space, we’ve gathered 10 new wallpapers that are worth a look.
Set within the 20-acre Harvest development, The SOMM serves as a beacon to Woodinville’s wine country and the Sammamish River Valley’s outdoor adventures. Drawing upon the region’s vineyards, forests, riverbanks and craft culture, Sixteenfifty’s design embodies a philosophy of perfect pairings, where the raw and refined cohesively converge in a spatial exploration grounded in locality while thoroughly modern. Wood, steel, leather and glass form the foundational material palette familiar to a sommelier’s craft, paired with smooth and rough finishes in harmonious contrast.
Salone del Mobile.Milano 2026 positions itself as a strategic global platform for design, culture and industry, with more than 1,900 exhibitors from 32 countries and a fully sold-out fairground. The 64th edition strengthens its international reach while introducing new curatorial and exhibition formats, including Salone Raritas, the immersive installation Aurea, an Architectural Fiction, and a redesigned wayfinding system aimed at improving accessibility and visitor experience. The return of EuroCucina with FTK – Technology For the Kitchen and the International Bathroom Exhibition reaffirms the fair’s role as the leading reference point for innovation in domestic and professional interiors.
The edition also marks a pivotal step toward the launch of Salone Contract in 2027, a long-term project developed with OMA under the direction of Rem Koolhaas and David Gianotten to address the evolving contract and hospitality sectors. Sustainability remains a measurable priority, supported by renewed ISO 20121 certification and a focus on circular design practices across materials and supply chains. Together, these initiatives frame Salone 2026 as both a marketplace and a cultural infrastructure, reinforcing Milan’s status as the capital of contemporary design and a driver of global exchange.
New initiatives spotlight global partnerships and cross-disciplinary dialogue under the 2026 theme, Common Ground
Each month, DNN Editor in Chief Courtney Porter curates five developments shaping the design industry, from international fairs and technology launches to regional shifts and standout interiors. The January 2026 edition spans Paris Design Week’s most compelling products, CES’s evolving relationship between technology and the home, and a sober assessment of California’s wildfire rebuild one year later, reframed through global philosophies of resilience and impermanence.
This month’s briefing also considers Dallas’ potential rise as a year-round design destination and closes with a close reading of Sheldon Harte’s refined desert interiors, which signal an evolution of Palm Springs style without erasing its past. Together, these selections map a creative landscape defined by nostalgia, adaptation and the search for durable cultural meaning in a period of ecological and economic pressure.