8 Lighting Trends That Will Be Big in 2026
Adjustable, ambient and antique-inspired fixtures were among the lighting trends at the fall 2025 High Point Market
Lighting isn’t just functional, it’s a defining element of interior design. At the fall 2025 High Point Market in North Carolina (Oct. 25-29), designers and manufacturers showcased fresh takes on natural forms, earthy materials, artisanal craftsmanship and cutting-edge technology, all while offering expanded ways to personalize a space. These eight trends from the industry-only event suggest that lighting fixtures in 2026 will be as expressive as they are illuminating.
We also saw several pendants with adjustable heights, such as the Emeric from Four Hands, shown here. Its shade can be raised or lowered by a pulley system with a 13-foot cord and a pill-shaped counterweight.
Other fixtures at the market could be powder-coated in custom colors (as at Hubbardton Forge); mounted on ceilings as flush mounts or on walls as sconces; mixed and matched with a menu of lampshades (as at Pooky and Currey & Co.); or rotated so light could be directed up to the ceiling for soft, reflected illumination or down for tasks such as reading.
8 Decorative Lighting Trends to Know for 2025
Other fixtures at the market could be powder-coated in custom colors (as at Hubbardton Forge); mounted on ceilings as flush mounts or on walls as sconces; mixed and matched with a menu of lampshades (as at Pooky and Currey & Co.); or rotated so light could be directed up to the ceiling for soft, reflected illumination or down for tasks such as reading.
8 Decorative Lighting Trends to Know for 2025
2. ‘Tunable’ Technology
Lighting personalization is going beyond adjusting the fixture for space or style. The ability to control the light’s color temperature and brightness is also becoming the new standard, especially as the understanding of light’s impact on comfort and wellness grows. Accordingly, fixtures with discreet dimmer functions and color-changing technology — integrated “tunable” LEDs that can shift from cool daylight to warm evening tones, setting the mood and syncing with natural circadian rhythms — were easier to find at this market than at past shows. This Virtue stone sconce from Oxygen, a Quorum brand, is a luxe-looking example.
Lighting personalization is going beyond adjusting the fixture for space or style. The ability to control the light’s color temperature and brightness is also becoming the new standard, especially as the understanding of light’s impact on comfort and wellness grows. Accordingly, fixtures with discreet dimmer functions and color-changing technology — integrated “tunable” LEDs that can shift from cool daylight to warm evening tones, setting the mood and syncing with natural circadian rhythms — were easier to find at this market than at past shows. This Virtue stone sconce from Oxygen, a Quorum brand, is a luxe-looking example.
3. Emerging Life Forms
Drawing inspiration from the living world is an enduring furniture and lighting trend that evolves slightly season to season. Florals, branches and, more recently, tropical leaves and marine life such as shellfish, jellyfish and coral, have been popular at recent shows in both literal and abstracted forms. This season was no different.
One fresh take on the trend appears to be the portrayal of living things in the act of growing, blossoming and emerging. For example, Kalco’s Fern chandelier, pictured here, is made of gently curled, unfurling fronds.
Drawing inspiration from the living world is an enduring furniture and lighting trend that evolves slightly season to season. Florals, branches and, more recently, tropical leaves and marine life such as shellfish, jellyfish and coral, have been popular at recent shows in both literal and abstracted forms. This season was no different.
One fresh take on the trend appears to be the portrayal of living things in the act of growing, blossoming and emerging. For example, Kalco’s Fern chandelier, pictured here, is made of gently curled, unfurling fronds.
At Fine Art Handcrafted Lighting, the Mayu collection was inspired by cocoons and the notions of “softness, transformation and nurturing potential” that they evoke, according to the press release. Each “cocoon” contains intricate bubbles and delicate striations that reflect the handblown glass’ masterful construction. Meanwhile, Currey & Co., whose lighting collections were full of florals, shells and feathers, described the gold blossoms of its crocus-inspired Hortensia sconce as opening “toward slender bulbs as if they are growing toward the sun.”
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5 Contemporary Lighting Trends to Know in 2025
Photo by Joe Kramm
4. Soft, Ambient Illumination
Soft, indirect light — diffused or reflected — took precedence over exposed Edison-style bulbs and task lighting throughout showrooms at this fall’s market.
Fabric, faux vellum, perforated metal, translucent stone, and frosted or textured glass obscured bulbs and LED panels — diffusing light and creating intimate, atmospheric looks. The Cornell wall sconce and Ellsworth pendant from Augusta Hoffman’s new collection for Hudson Valley Lighting, for example, have pleated silk shades that create a warm, romantic glow.
4. Soft, Ambient Illumination
Soft, indirect light — diffused or reflected — took precedence over exposed Edison-style bulbs and task lighting throughout showrooms at this fall’s market.
Fabric, faux vellum, perforated metal, translucent stone, and frosted or textured glass obscured bulbs and LED panels — diffusing light and creating intimate, atmospheric looks. The Cornell wall sconce and Ellsworth pendant from Augusta Hoffman’s new collection for Hudson Valley Lighting, for example, have pleated silk shades that create a warm, romantic glow.
The largest of Hubbardton Forge’s new Shield floor lamps, shown here, stands nearly 6 feet tall. Available in three sizes and a range of finishes, the sculptural design features two curved forged-steel plates and a hidden dimmable LED that reflects light off the concave backplate to create a glow that’s both dramatic and soft.
4 Decorative Lighting Trends for 2025
4 Decorative Lighting Trends for 2025
5. Antique and Vintage-Inspired Styles
Lighting designers constantly mine the past for inspiration. At recent shows, including this fall’s, the influences of 1920s and 1930s Art Deco and midcentury designs have been particularly prevalent, as have antique-looking dark brass and bronze finishes and smoky or milky glass. This season, we also saw several standout pieces that evoked earlier periods such as Arts and Crafts, Beaux Arts and Art Nouveau — eras that are also increasingly referenced in furniture and textile designs.
At Arteriors, the simple rectilinear forms, natural materials, motifs and hand craftsmanship of the Arts and Crafts movement — which emerged in the mid-19th century — influenced the Lillian pendant. The fixture has a shade of faux vellum ivory set within a frame of textured English bronze-plated iron.
Lighting designers constantly mine the past for inspiration. At recent shows, including this fall’s, the influences of 1920s and 1930s Art Deco and midcentury designs have been particularly prevalent, as have antique-looking dark brass and bronze finishes and smoky or milky glass. This season, we also saw several standout pieces that evoked earlier periods such as Arts and Crafts, Beaux Arts and Art Nouveau — eras that are also increasingly referenced in furniture and textile designs.
At Arteriors, the simple rectilinear forms, natural materials, motifs and hand craftsmanship of the Arts and Crafts movement — which emerged in the mid-19th century — influenced the Lillian pendant. The fixture has a shade of faux vellum ivory set within a frame of textured English bronze-plated iron.
Photo by Joe Kramm
Another fixture designed by Augusta Hoffman for Hudson Valley Lighting is the Gerhard pendant, which is also available as a semiflush mount and a two-tier chandelier. The pleated linen shades, supported by a curved frame in an aged brass finish, have an abstract botanical shape inspired by the organic elegance of the Art Nouveau period popular around the turn of the 20th century.
Another fixture designed by Augusta Hoffman for Hudson Valley Lighting is the Gerhard pendant, which is also available as a semiflush mount and a two-tier chandelier. The pleated linen shades, supported by a curved frame in an aged brass finish, have an abstract botanical shape inspired by the organic elegance of the Art Nouveau period popular around the turn of the 20th century.
The new Jenkins chandelier, which has a commanding and classically influenced look, is from the third collection in Eichholtz’s ongoing collaboration with the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Available in two sizes, the bronze-and-white-glass bowl pendant is said to be inspired by the original lighting in the museum’s Beaux Arts-style Great Hall, which opened in 1902.
6. Lantern-Like Silhouettes
Because early lantern lighting predated electricity, both traditional and contemporary takes on the form could be considered antique-inspired. But the increasing ubiquity and diversity of lantern silhouettes in lighting collections — which coincides with a return of traditional furniture styles — make it worth its own callout.
The previously pictured Ellsworth pendant by Augusta Hoffman for Hudson Valley Lighting is a sophisticated new take on the trend. A bit more casual but equally charming is the rechargeable Kindle lantern — one of several lantern-inspired fixtures from Lauren Liess’ new collection for Troy Lighting.
Because early lantern lighting predated electricity, both traditional and contemporary takes on the form could be considered antique-inspired. But the increasing ubiquity and diversity of lantern silhouettes in lighting collections — which coincides with a return of traditional furniture styles — make it worth its own callout.
The previously pictured Ellsworth pendant by Augusta Hoffman for Hudson Valley Lighting is a sophisticated new take on the trend. A bit more casual but equally charming is the rechargeable Kindle lantern — one of several lantern-inspired fixtures from Lauren Liess’ new collection for Troy Lighting.
Tamara Day’s Loire lanterns for Quorum, available in brushed brass or matte black with brushed brass accents, have a more traditional look. Their oversize frames have a classic center stem and are topped with a scalloped crown, a clover finial and ornate fretwork.
8 Furniture Trends to Look Out for in 2026
8 Furniture Trends to Look Out for in 2026
7. Watery Glass
Earthy, handworked materials such as stitched leather, woven grasses, veined stone, handmade pottery and distressed metal have been important elements of lighting collections at High Point Market for the last several years. But perhaps no natural material has been manipulated in as many ways as glass. Seeded, bubbled, striated, sandblasted, stretched, stained, smoked, clouded and fluted, it continues to add artistry and dimension to fixtures, often in combination with other artisanal elements.
At the fall market, the new horizon for glass seemed to be using it to create the illusion of raindrops, melting ice and flowing water. Currey & Co.’s new Morning Grove chandelier, for example, has long, slender crystal drops that look like icicles hanging from a circle of woven wrought-iron twigs.
Earthy, handworked materials such as stitched leather, woven grasses, veined stone, handmade pottery and distressed metal have been important elements of lighting collections at High Point Market for the last several years. But perhaps no natural material has been manipulated in as many ways as glass. Seeded, bubbled, striated, sandblasted, stretched, stained, smoked, clouded and fluted, it continues to add artistry and dimension to fixtures, often in combination with other artisanal elements.
At the fall market, the new horizon for glass seemed to be using it to create the illusion of raindrops, melting ice and flowing water. Currey & Co.’s new Morning Grove chandelier, for example, has long, slender crystal drops that look like icicles hanging from a circle of woven wrought-iron twigs.
This sconce from Oxygen’s Veer collection, inspired by the cascading sheets of water at Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater, is an example of the melted-looking glass that appeared on pendants, chandeliers and sconces in showroom after showroom. Hubbardton Forge’s Riverbed collection was another captivating example. The mottled surface catches and scatters light in subtle ways, turning fixtures into art even when off.
8. Integrated Lighting
Increasingly, some of the more striking lighting ideas at High Point can be found outside lighting showrooms. In furniture collections, embedded LED strips and built-in sockets mean lighting fixtures become the furniture piece or mirror.
Illuminated bathroom mirrors and display cabinet interiors aren’t particularly new, but the latest integrated designs differ by making lighting part of the artistry of the piece. This electrified Mae mirror by Made Goods, introduced this season, was especially original. Other examples included a slatted wood headboard illuminated from within in Hooker Furniture’s new Margaritaville collection, as well as storage pieces with lighting built into their interiors, built into their backs to create a soft glow on the wall behind them, or both.
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Increasingly, some of the more striking lighting ideas at High Point can be found outside lighting showrooms. In furniture collections, embedded LED strips and built-in sockets mean lighting fixtures become the furniture piece or mirror.
Illuminated bathroom mirrors and display cabinet interiors aren’t particularly new, but the latest integrated designs differ by making lighting part of the artistry of the piece. This electrified Mae mirror by Made Goods, introduced this season, was especially original. Other examples included a slatted wood headboard illuminated from within in Hooker Furniture’s new Margaritaville collection, as well as storage pieces with lighting built into their interiors, built into their backs to create a soft glow on the wall behind them, or both.
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Browse photos for ideas
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1. Adjustable and Modular Designs
Personalization is a long-running trend in interior design that refers not just to customizable finishes but also to modular elements and adjustable configurations. Lighting seemed a little slower to climb aboard the personalization train, but it went full steam ahead this season.
Case in point: multipoint swag chandeliers. These jewelry-like fixtures have a single canopy and either multiple individual pendants or a flexible strand of lights that can be swagged or draped and attached to the ceiling. We saw a few examples at the last two markets, but at this show their presence was expanded in many of the showrooms. This Corda sconce, part of a new collaboration between design firm Moniomi and Corbett Lighting, suggests they’re migrating onto walls.
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