If London’s design crowd felt a collective shift in the atmosphere the other week, it wasn't just the sporadic British drizzle, it was Clerkenwell Design Week 2026.
EC1’s historic brick facades, hidden courtyards, and former Victorian prisons were utterly transformed into a living, breathing laboratory for how we’re going to live, work, and gather next.
The mood this year? Unapologetically human. In a world increasingly dominated by the digital ether, the design community responded with an injection of raw tactility, confident colour, and spaces crafted for real, physical connection. Here is The Plum Edit’s round up of what mattered, who stole the show, and the design shifts you need to know now.
The conversations echo far beyond the showrooms, this year Clerkenwell highlighted the three pillars defining the immediate future of interiors.
Firstly, materials with meaning. Tactility is the new luxury. It’s no longer enough for a surface to look pristine from afar; it has to invite the hand. A prime example was Mater showcasing their Matek® material, a gorgeous, circular surface engineered from coffee shell waste, wood waste, and industrial plastic.
Secondly, the al fresco workplace. The boundary between the indoors and outdoors has officially dissolved. Workplace design has expanded to terraces and public squares.
HAY occupied The Sans with an outdoor display featuring a fresh Cantilever addition to their iconic Palissade collection, proving that outdoor furniture can be just as refined and architecturally rigorous as anything inside.
Thirdly, the human antidote to AI. As artificial intelligence streamlines our tasks, the physical office is pivoting heavily toward connection, culture, and trust. The best-designed spaces this year weren’t trying to accommodate machines; they were meticulously engineered to help humans collaborate, think, and feel.
The undisputed darling of the design whisperers was the takeover at 30-31 Clerkenwell Green. The Wax Building residents, Cozmo and Tamart, who breathed new life into a gorgeous, previously unseen former pub.
Cozmo debuted Squarish, a brilliantly versatile table collection by Danish duo Ernst Bartholin Jensen, alongside their Hug seating range. It felt fresh, collaborative, and exactly where you'd want to hold a morning creative meeting.
Tamart also introduced their new interchangeable seats for the Highgate Chair and Bar Stool, one of the brand’s most considered design innovations that can be changed by the user without tools or specialist intervention.
Tucked away in the serene enclave of St James’s Church as part of The British Collection, B-corps Another Country and Goldfinger staged a quiet revolution in office furniture.
They unveiled the Work Series Three desk system and a stunning, bespoke bookcase crafted from treecycled elm. The ultimate luxury touch? Each piece is stamped with the exact GPS coordinates of where the tree originally stood in Cambridgeshire. It’s provenance with a purpose.
It was clear that this year colour is no longer being treated as a tiny accent; it’s being used as architectural shorthand.
Deadgood entirely refreshed their showroom with a playful, hyper-confident palette, notably showcasing their Lotti and Lollipop chairs, proof that professional spaces don't have to be devoid of personality. Meanwhile, Herman Miller answered our collective need for deep focus with Bound, a masterclass in providing privacy within open, shared environments.
CDW 2026 proved that the future of design isn't sleek, sterile, or automated. It is warm, circular, texturally rich, and deeply rooted in the spaces where we actually connect.
Image credits: Ethimo, Mater, Tamart, Deadgood, HAY
