4 Interior Paint Trends Designers Have Put To Bed In 2026 (So Far)

The color of a room has effects that range from practical to aesthetic and even to emotional. It dictates how a room ties together, influences home value, and alters the mood of the inhabitants. No wonder many homeowners have perseverated on a seemingly benign paint choice, like picking baby blue or sky blue. If you're stuck on a painting project, the subtleties between colors can eventually become imperceptible, maddening. That's where advice from interior design experts comes in handy. They have informed opinions on what colors are trendy and complement one another and, perhaps just as importantly, which colors and ideas are out of style. From stark white to Millennial gray, designers have put a number of paint trends to bed in 2026.

Of course, trends move quickly. Right when the perfect shade finishes drying on your wall, you might come across a TikTok in which an influencer calls the same color outdated. As famed fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld once said (via Harpers Bazaar), "Trendy is the last stage before tacky." What matters most at the end of the day is that you like the colors inside your home. Trends are simply a roadmap to point you in the right direction, but there are many ways to go when choosing paint colors for your home.

White might seem like the most timeless paint color — it's a neutral that goes with almost everything, after all — but many experts say it's time to forget stark whites. The wrong white can evoke a flurry of not-so-pleasant adjectives from interior decorators: cheap, cold, bland, boring, off-putting — and the list goes on. The shift away from stark white paint isn't a recent phenomenon either; the color (or lack thereof) was losing favor prior to 2026. Even when used as trim, stark white is hard to pull off because it can easily clash with adjacent colors.

The good news is that warm whites are in style, providing the versatility needed from a neutral but with more depth and personality. On Instagram, interior designer and content creator Ghazal Malik says pure white paint can make spaces feel flat; in contrast, warm neutrals can make spaces "feel calmer and more layered." As interior designer Loren Kreiss puts it in a TikTok, stark white is a color reserved for hospitals. So, whether it's in the bedroom or the living room, creamy, warm whites are kicking stark white to the curb this year.

Accent walls, sometimes called feature walls, have long been a popular and easy way for homeowners to add a pop of color and a unique focal point to any given room. They were a major craze in the 2000s and 2010s but trace back decades earlier. Now, some designers consider accent walls dated, more choppy and clashing than complementary. Of course, given their longevity, accent walls aren't completely dead in 2026, just changing. The basic idea still works, but experts are saying you can do more than simply painting one wall a different color from the rest.

Jonathan and Drew Scott, a.k.a. the Property Brothers, posted a YouTube video with several ideas for "statement walls" that feel more contemporary. "2026 is the year where we're over boring," Jonathan says. They suggest using wallpaper or wood veneer paneling to create an eye-catching look or take advantage of the color drenching paint trend. Think texture and depth. You can take the same concept of an accent wall and apply it to different parts of a room, too. For example, an accent door is a fresh alternative to an accent wall.

By 2026, many people have gotten the memo that the all-gray outbreak of the 2010s is no longer in style. This paint color, or rather the overuse of this one color, is simply called millennial gray. This monochromatic phenomenon was so pervasive and distinct that it has its own Wikipedia page. "[Gray] was the go-to neutral for homes, offices, and even cafes over the last decade," says Jacqueline Dantier, an interior designer who runs the YouTube channel Dantier and Balogh Design Studio. When a gray aesthetic is executed incorrectly, Dantier says it can feel "outdated or soul-sucking" but adds that it can be saved with a few tweaks, such as adding texture like chunky blankets or woven baskets, layering warm lights, and mixing in contrasting colors.

The gentle minimalism of millennial gray shares some overlap with Scandinavian design, but the latter incorporates warmth, nature, and natural light to create spaces that are simple yet comforting. Keep those features in mind if you want to revamp an overly gray room without repainting. However, if you are looking for a more modern neutral paint color, one of Nate Berkus' go-to neutral paint colors this year is Benjamin Moore's Smokey Taupe.

This downward trend is somewhat divisive. Sage green has been everywhere the past few years, from fashion to home decor. A gentle hue of sage green was named Benjamin Moore's Color of the Year in 2022, and the color is still beloved by plenty of people today. It's also a versatile color, pairing well with wood, brass, and an array of earth tones. However, its ubiquity in the 2020s has recently led the internet to label it the "new millennial gray." "It's safe, it's everywhere, and while it's still pretty, I'm way more excited by colors that bring depth, drama, and a little mood into a space," popular home decor influencer Alexandra Gater told Good Housekeeping.

There's nothing inherently wrong with sage green. Like any trend, it's just been met with some fatigue. 2026 could be the year to forget sage green and opt for different shades of green instead. A striking emerald green, for instance, is a bold jewel tone that works throughout the house, either as an accent piece or primary wall color. Similarly, forest green is a color that channels the nature vibes of sage green but with richer undertones, and it's a particularly great earthy paint color for kitchens in 2026.