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Livingetc
Livingetc
Hugh Metcalf

8 Bedroom Trends That Set the Tone for Relaxing, Cozy Spaces in 2026 — And for Rooms That Are Too Good Just for Sleeping

A dark blue bedroom with an oversized rust colored headboard.

Are there really specific trends for bedrooms, I hear you ask? My answer will always be yes. And it's not just about a particular kind of bed, or nightstand, or the sort of sheets everyone's buying... Yes, they're trends, too, but what I'm looking more at is the trend in how we want our bedrooms to feel and function. So, while wrap-around headboards, color-drenching, room dividers, and more tactile, interesting finishes are all the big bedroom trends for this year, it's because what we're really after is spaces that hold us, and make us feel safe and cocooned.

It's more of an intangible feeling — and one that can't be faked like making a room feel bigger or brighter. However, there are specific interior design trends right now that have the power to create this emotion.

It's in the color you pick, and how you apply it, the furniture, and how it interacts with the way you use the room, and the sort of emotion your choice of materials brings forth. So, what's trending in bedrooms in 2026? Below, design writer Rory Robertson has curated 8 bedroom projects that capture the mood of the moment, and the trends in design they represent.

1. Dramatic Drenching

In this Róisín Lafferty designed apartment, the bedroom is one of the most striking spaces. (Image credit: Ben Anders. Design: Róisín Lafferty for Artemest)

2026 is a bit of a funny time for color drenching — yes, it's been a huge color trend for a few years now, but we are seeing schemes with more contrast arrive this year, as trends in how we decorate evolve.

However, if there's one space that still deserves the color-drenching treatment in 2026, it's the bedroom. It reduces visual noise, creates that cosseting effect, and still has subtle interest, as this project by Róisín Lafferty of the design, for Artemest’s Embassy Gardens penthouse, goes to prove, with ceilings, furniture, furnishings, and even the bed linen receiving the same tonal color treatment in this space.

"Our client wanted the bedroom to feel intimate, cocooning, and slightly unexpected," says Róisín. "Drenching is about allowing a single hue to shape the atmosphere of a space completely. When a room is enveloped in one tonal family like this, it becomes wonderfully serene."

2. Wrap Around Headboards

A slight lip to a headboard overachieves in creating a sense of enclosed intimacy when you're in bed. (Image credit: Kensington Leverne. Design: Studio Ashby)

A wrap-around headboard that curves at the sides and encloses a bedside table heightens the sense of privacy and luxury, making you feel cocooned as you sleep. It’s also a great opportunity to play with color, pattern, and materials, adding warmth and texture to the room, as this design by Sophie Ashby showcases.

3. Lacquered Finishes

Peter Mikic's red bedroom might be one color, but it's full of contrasting textures. (Image credit: Douglas Friedman. Design: Peter Mikic)

If we're saying color drenching is in as a bedroom trend in 2026, where we want to introduce more of a sense of contrast is through texture, bringing depth and life to a scheme by making sure not everything is so matte.

Be it a lacquered wall or a keenly situated glossy-looking furniture piece, a high shine finish is a particularly illuminating design trick in a dark and moody bedroom where an element of reflection feels key. "For this bedroom, we selected a deep red scheme that threads through the space in layered ways, from the fitted geometric carpet to the fabric wall paneling," says interior designer Peter Mikic. "Brass accents take on a central role: the unlacquered brass bed frame introduces a sculptural weight that breaks up the warmth of the palette."

4. Lounging Chairs

The Divergent chair and stool, pictured, are designed by Marta Delgado. (Image credit: Astrid Templier. Design: Elicyon Studio)

One of the tricks to making a bedroom feel cozier is in designing it as a space that's not just about functional sleep. If there’s enough space in the room, consider adding a statement chaise or bench — it offers a level of comfort and repose even just to the eye, whether you choose to sit in it, or it ends up becoming a laundry chair.

"Introducing a chaise or small seating nook gives the bedroom another way to unwind – a calm, secondary zone that extends the room’s natural sense of rest," says Holly Beazley, Elicyon’s creative director. "It introduces a gentle sociable moment, whether shared conversation or a quiet read before bed."

5. Bespoke Beds

This room feels the benefits of both color drenching and a bold hit of contrast, too. (Image credit: Elliott Fuerniss. Design: Susannah Holmberg)

Whether it’s truly bespoke to your measurements or just has the look of being made for the space, a sprawling built-in bed brings serious luxe factor to bedroom design. For this project in Salt Lake City, UT, says interior designer Susannah Holmberg, the client "wanted the whole house to feel integrated and of one cohesive design." In the bedroom, "we wanted to exaggerate the palette but go deeper to create a true sleep sanctuary."

It's a design that incorporates a lot of the bedroom trends we've already delved into — beds that envelop and the integration of seating within the room, among them.

6. Room Dividers

(Image credit: Jacob Snavely. Design: Hilary Matt)

Where a bedroom needs to double up as a versatile space, a well-chosen room divider can add to, not detract from, the design, as keep the more 'functional' needs of your bedroom out of sight and mind when you want to relax.

"The client wanted a dedicated workspace within their bedroom, so we set out to create a partition that was both beautiful and functional," says New York interior designer Hilary Matt of this project. "The design needed to define the area without overwhelming the room, and it also had to be easily moved aside whenever the space needed to open up."

7. Integrated Headboards

Reducing the materiality of the bedroom helps create a calm palette. (Image credit: Mark Anthony Fox. Design: Banda)

We’ve explored wraparound headboards as a bedroom trend already, but integrating a floating bedside table into the design can be a smart-looking, space-saving measure.

Of this bespoke burl walnut design by Banda, CEO Edo Mapelli Mozzi says, "the intention was to introduce an architectural element that would frame the room with a quiet sense of proportion and calm. By extending the headboard to incorporate the bedside surfaces, [it becomes] a unified, cocooning feature that feels both considered and serene, anchoring the scale of the principal suite."

Lighting can also be incorporated into the design for a more streamlined look overall.

8. Quiet Pattern

(Image credit: De Rosee Sa)

"In a bedroom, you don’t want to be overwhelmed by really strong colors or large-scale prints on fabrics, but the danger of going too bland is that it can look non-committal," says Claire Sá, director at De Rosee Sa, of this project for 60 Curzon. "A touch of color and a blend of different patterns can add interest. Play with scale, pairing a slightly larger pattern with a smaller one. You might not choose three florals, but instead something more graphic with something floral and perhaps a stripe, all in different scales."


These bedroom trends, as it turns out, cater to a very specific set of needs — something a little different than you'll see in the living room trends of the moment, for example, but they're all concepts that leave themselves wide open to interpretation, depending on your personal style inclinations.

If you need more inspiration for how to action your ideas for your bedroom, or any other room, sign up to Livingetc's newsletter and get it delivered straight to your inbox.

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