Furniture Color Report - SICAM 2026
The Color of Furniture Now: Notes from SICAM 2026
Furniture color in 2026 is warm, matte and quiet: beige replaces white, earth tones lead the colored range, and the only loud color left is one carefully placed accent.
We walked SICAM in Pordenone (20–23 October 2026), photographed more than 140 views of decor, panel and surface stands, and mapped the palettes of 90 of them. This is what designers and architects will be asked to specify next. Edge, panel and fitting colors follow the same few directions, so it pays to choose them together.
Six color stories
1. Beige is the new white
Soft beige, linen and greige are replacing stark white as the backdrop, on 38% of the stands we mapped. Panel makers show it as beige solids next to warm woods. Use it for: wardrobes, kitchen fronts, anywhere white used to be the default
2. Baked earth
The most common colored family (44%). Terracotta, rust, clay, sand and blush, in matte finishes and often on arched or rounded forms. Warm, handmade, and at home next to wood. Use it for: feature fronts, reception desks, bedroom and children's furniture.
3. Linear woods
Wood stays (43%), but the grain is calmer: straight, refined oak and walnut in pale, kraft and dark tones. Slats and fluting were the texture of the fair, on one stand in five. Use it for: the 30% of your scheme, such as shelving, doors and panelling.
4. The dark stage
Graphite, charcoal, aubergine and deep navy, always matte (38%). Dark surfaces work as a backdrop that lets wood, brass and color glow, and dark plus wood was the second most common pairing.
Use it for: frames, carcasses, bars, media walls.
5. Botanic greens
Sage, olive, forest green and deep teal, with one dusty blue, on 27% of stands, more than one in four. They are the clearest alternative to the brown-and-beige mood, usually as a single supporting color.
Use it for: one cabinet run, one wall, the inside of open shelving.
6. One bright note
Mustard, burnt orange, signal red and deep cordovan appear on 21% of stands and almost never as a base. The rule we saw most often: one bright note per scheme.Use it for: drawer interiors, edges, a single door, a stool.
The numbers behind the mood
Earth and wood lead, with dark and quiet neutrals close behind. The bright accents trail, which is the point: they work because they are rare.
Pairings matter more than single colors. Three combinations carried the fair: baked earth with wood (17 stands), dark with wood (15) and baked earth with a quiet neutral (15).
Finish and edge
A beige in gloss and a beige in matte are different colors, and the fair was overwhelmingly matte. As panels get quieter and more tonal, a mismatched edge shows more. A matched or deliberately contrasting edge color is part of the design, not an afterthought.
Every color in this article needs an edgeband that matches it or contrasts with it on purpose. That is what we make at TECE.
How to specify it: 60 / 30 / 10
The schemes that worked best followed one proportion: a base color for about 60% of the visible surface, a supporting material (usually wood or a dark) for 30%, and one note for 10%.
1. Start with the neutral, not the accent. Pick the beige, greige or linen first.
2. Pair earth with wood, or dark with wood. These were the most common and most resolved pairings.
3. Ration the bright note. One color, in one place, at about 10%.
Method
We photographed the halls at SICAM, identified 90 distinct stands from more than 140 photos, and tagged each by color family by hand. A stand can carry up to three families. Counts are directional, not a market census, and swatch values are approximate because of hall lighting. Event details: Wood & Panel
