Note from the editor, Diana Khoo:
My friends in the architecture and design community have been sharing insights on newish design trends that could actually work with the way people live today. Pinterest boards, inspired by the Japanese wabi-sabi philosophy — which celebrates beauty in imperfection and rustic simplicity — are increasingly featuring mismatched colour schemes, imperfect layouts and organic forms.
Take things a step further by removing the “precious” element from daily life. Keep the beautiful things, yes. Save up for and splurge on truly remarkable objets d’art, of course. But don’t let them dictate how you live, to the point that you have conniptions if one glass in your crystal set is broken at a party or you delay inviting friends over for dinner until you have assembled a full, matching set of Limoges porcelain and silverware.
Instead, keep your eyes firmly on the now. Time seems to be flying by faster than ever. The children are growing up too quickly. The ageing process, likewise, is speeding up by a few notches.
So, for 2026, the only rule is to bend and break it. Mix moody cinematic design with florals. Let chintz be the backdrop for your collection of Scandinavian knick-knacks. Modern Tropical can so get into bed with Chinoiserie. One of the easiest ways to achieve this look at home (or the office) is to embrace a medley of shapes and upholstery fabric and to pair clashing patterns, such as stripes and florals.
Make it a point to trawl flea markets and antique shops for vintage pieces to go with modern, mall-acquired purchases. It is also strangely soothing when textures and styles go head-to-head, like how clubby leather armchairs benefit from the softening touch of tasselled velvet cushions or perhaps a designer Vitra chair with a locally made rattan table.
Fashion is full of trending styles such as normcore (comfort and plainness), gorpcore (outdoorsy), menocore (mature, relaxed and luxurious) and dadcore (think Adam Sandler, Birkenstocks and baseball caps). In the world of homes and interiors, the buzz for the year is definitely cluttercore. If you’ve spied it on social media channels, you would know that is all about embracing curated chaos, using what you own as a storyboard of your life versus conspicuous acquisition and clutter that is not messy, but functional.
In case we have forgotten, the horror years of the pandemic and living in lockdown are over. And so is sterility. The world is rich, textured, nuanced, completely dynamic and multi-faceted. Our living spaces deserve to reflect that complexity.
Haven is complimentary with every copy of The Edge Malaysia (Mar 2 issue). Get the Spring 2026 edition at your nearest newsstands now.
