Terracotta Interior Trend 2026: Warming Winter Spaces

Let’s warm up our interiors as we progress through winter with one of the trending colours revived from another era.

Both a material and a colour, the opportunities to introduce terracotta into your home are vast, whether it’s a flat paint colour inspired by the fired earth tone of a terracotta amphora or a velvet fabric with the vibrancy of marmalade orange.

We haven’t really seen it trend since back in the ‘90s when the start of budget home makeover programmes over-hyped it, and eventually it fell foul of the vagaries of trends when all-white minimalism took its place. Now it’s back but there’s something about the re-emergence of a trend that its revival is a little different, reflecting evolved tastes and consumer expectations.

Why Warm Earthy Colours Are Back

It's only 10 years since interiors were dominated by grey, before we slowly started to veer into warmer neutrals and eventually rediscovered plum, burgundy, mocha brown, ochres and sage greens. Even pink has taken on the more sophisticated look of freshly plastered walls.

Warmth underpins all of these, paving the way for earthy shades to make a comeback, but if your habit is to decorate with neutrals – which always provide a blank canvas for introducing colour through accessories and upholstery - and you’d like to explore colour without leaning so far into it that you soon regret your choice, the new take on terracotta is next level to milky whites and warm beige.

Daisy Beige Fabric Fixed Back 3 Seater Sofa

Introducing Terracotta Through Cushions and Rugs

With anything new, start small and potentially portable so whatever you introduce to your interior can be easily moved if you decide terracotta is not the look for you. Here the home stylist’s best friend is the cushion.

Try a softer take on the colour bringing warmth to a neutral interior with the Terra cushion (€34). Be slightly more adventurous with the linen Cobalt edged in blue (€34) for a classic colour combination of the ‘90s, or buy a rug while you’re still experiencing the shock to the system of stepping out of a warm bed and having your feet land on a cold wooden floor. The Nomad jacquard large rug (€129) has a vintage Afghan motif contemporised with orange accents.

The Renuu Vintage Terra Faro rug (from €129) returns us to the earthiness of a true terracotta shade, accented with steely blue to a traditional Persian-style design. The overall effect is rich and warming for a living space or even a hall where footfall is heavy and the colourway forgiving.

Renuu Vintage Faro Terra Rug 120cm x 170cm

Terracotta Lighting and Ceramic Accents

Opt for the actual material that is inspiring the colour with the Dot ceramic table lamp (€69), its earthen base finished off with a beige cylindrical shade and its compact design making it perfect for a side table or a bedside night stand.

Statement Furniture in Terracotta Tones

If you’re already fully committed to the terracotta look, the Scott sofa (two-seater €999) in all its mid-century timeless elegance is one to check. Go full-on orange against cream walls for impact, and in the bedroom, Scott’s orange velvet bedframe (king €599) offers luxury and a touch of boudoir drama.

Take the impact down a notch if you’d prefer something more subtle. The Scott Dune sofa has a more mellow tone, being earthy, warm and inviting. It’s also amenable to working with a greater variety of accent colours.

Scott Dune Velvet 3 Seater Sofa

Tan Leather and Timeless Earthy Materials

Stretching the idea of terracotta into the material world, consider tan leather as an in-betweener linking brown and orange. Over time it takes on a vintage patina that goes with every type of décor and never goes out of fashion.

Take a look, too, at the Ruben range of leather occasional pieces. The rectangular bench (€299) offers multi-function as a seat for kiddies’ concentrating on important colouring-in projects on the coffee table, or positioned across the foot of a bed; even as a footstool for two people lounging on the sofa. Leather’s bonus benefit is how it will also withstand the rigours of day-to-day life, being easy to clean and generally more robust than fabric.

Ruben also comes in a square ottoman which doubles up nicely as a coffee table, and it can be extra-versatile placed snugly beside a sofa as an occasional table. The smaller version (€199) will earn its keep in a more compact home where furniture needs to double-job. The larger Ruben (€299) as a coffee table has ample surface for a tray of styled objects, magazines and remote controls, and when there’s company for an evening, a low-level stool for two.