Welcome back to The Seven:  New and noteworthy ideas and trends to contemplate for you, your spaces, and your life. Trends and fads both come from very real places, and biophilic design continues to reign as the most popular common denominator. Here’s what people are, or will be talking about:

 1.  2026 COTYs

An annual exercise for paint manufacturers, the COTYs (Color of the Year) each tell you what will be a big look this coming year, and why.  Good fodder for the design community; some years it hits, others are just shameless marketing hooey.

This year, words (almost) fail me.  I don’t know if it’s just the colors themselves or the one-tone, color-drenched rooms they’re shown in, but I want to ask, ‘why did they even bother?’  Nothing spicy or controversial; there’s little that’s uplifting, soothing, or vibrant-all the things you angst over paint colors for! Most read as dreary, insipid, and uninspiring. Read more here about color forecasting, and see all the 2026 COTYs.

2. Not on my BINGO card?

The return of William Morris motifs. The interest in detailed, often dense and symmetrical organic motifs, often seen in the substantial Arts and Crafts decor, has returned! From textiles to wallpaper and framed art-when paired with the simpler, lighter Mid-Century Modern aesthetic, these designs have room to breathe, while softening and warming the overall spaces.

3. Thrifting is booming!

Sound, and hot for several reasons, auctions, tag sales, and resale shops (brick and mortar and online) continue to grow their audiences daily.

Always a greener alternative, and so often support for local charities; the chaos of tariffs and the economy are big drivers of late. But it’s the sheer number of downsizers parting with their treasures of decades past that’s created the most fans.

Abundant quantities of designer duds, fine jewelry, and seriously quality furniture await thrifters, as do a trove of cool and niche items you just can’t find anywhere else.

If you’re a fan, check out Toni on Thrifting. She’s local but well-traveled and blogs with timely and in-depth reports on shops near and far, plus smart tips in general. 

4. Fish

Joey was my first fish. Purchased him for a photo shoot years ago, to add life to a stunningly beautiful but deadly cold, white on white on white BA.  I hadn’t really thought about what to do with him beyond the shoot,  but quickly became a fan. It was the start of a long-term relationship with keeping fish.

Today U.S. consumers purchase more ornamental fish than any other nation. From koi pond to design statement, to the 5-gallon tank in your kid’s room: Their presence speaks to many of us. Not literally, of course, but they’ve quietly become more and more mainstream. Whether they’re a pet, a hobby, decor, or all three!-aquariums are another way to soothe and connect us to life.

5. Citrus garlands

Q4 saw me go from zero to totally obsessed. Bright and happy, another biophilic manifestation that’ll see you through the winter. Like any hot idea on social media, you can get as simple or as complicated as you want.  From beads to cinnamon sticks, bits of herbs, or even just different citrus varieties.

You can do it with an oven, and it’s the long/low/slow bake that takes these slices from a food source to an almost stained-glass quality ornament. (Saw one video that slices were coated in sugar before baking, it gave them a glossy finish.)  Just google around, you’ll see.

6. Locking In

This quieter trend from TikTok was outed by NYT in Q4, and as above, I’m obsessed. Evolved from the online gaming community, it’s a commitment to distraction-free focus on completing a very specific task.

Not a new idea,  but the name and the camaraderie of a community give it legs: accountability and a new urgency. Suitable at any time of the year of course, but accomplishing something meaningful by years’ end is especially sweet. The hubs and I have set our sights on getting adult legal paperwork stuff out of the way-POAs, proxies, all that fun stuff.

Still half of Q4 to go in 2025. Share your lock-in goal, and I’ll let you know our results in The Seven: Q1 2026. 🙂

7. Word of the Year

Like Color of the Year, some years wowzer, other times, not so much.  If you search, you’ll see a lot of goofy contenders this year. So here’s the word that’s been resonating in my brain of late: Enough.

Defined as what’s needed or required; also a line in the sand, a pushback for change in the face of something undesirable.  So while we want enough to meet our needs, seeing conditions that prevent others from having the same is becoming increasingly unacceptable. Many are saying enough, and taking action.

“Enough” can be an aspiration or an affirmation; an assessment, an awareness, or an action. May ‘enough’ be in us in all ways, and guide us into 2026.