The State of Interior Spaces 2027

The State of Interior Spaces 2027 finds an industry in the middle of its most significant transformation in a generation. Remote and hybrid work have permanently altered demand for both residential and commercial space. Artificial intelligence has moved from a novelty in visualisation tools to a working part of specification, procurement and facilities management. And a new generation of clients — younger, more design-literate, more climate-conscious — is asking different questions of the spaces they commission.

Synthesising published research, industry data and trade reporting across the twelve countries FOIS Intelligence tracks, this report maps five forces we believe will define the next three years: the normalisation of AI-assisted design workflows, the mainstreaming of circular and low-carbon materials, the blurring of residential and workplace typologies, the rise of health-driven design standards, and the growing influence of emerging markets — particularly across Africa and Southeast Asia — on global material and aesthetic trends.

This is not a report about trends for their own sake. It is an attempt to give designers, developers, manufacturers and policymakers a shared, evidence-based starting point for the conversations FOIS exists to convene.

This edition synthesises published market research, industry data and trade reporting from the twelve countries FOIS Intelligence tracks, supplemented by structured conversations with FOIS Community members. Findings are reviewed by the FOIS Research Council before publication.