The flooring industry has its own dedicated fair—one that brings together wood floors, tiles, and carpets under one vast roof. Domotex, held in Hannover, has long been the focal point for this particular corner of the design world.
Like much of the design and architectural industry, flooring has been feeling the weight of recession—perhaps even more. Still, Domotex has remained a dominant platform, showcasing beautifully crafted floors from traditional wood strongholds such as Sweden, alongside carpets and artisanal workmanship from across the globe. In recent years, however, the carpet sector has partially shifted its focus, favouring fairs in the Middle East and flirting with the broader textile universe at Heimtextil. These changes ultimately led Domotex to adopt a biennial rhythm rather than an annual one.
Now, it is back—very much so.
In 2026, the atmosphere felt distinctly optimistic. The halls were busy, humming with conversation and money. It was, without question, the most crowded fair I’ve attended so far this year—and yes, I’ve already been to five.
Before diving into the content, a moment of perspective: compared to its former glory, Domotex is physically smaller. I am comparing my notes from the last edition. This year counted around 500 exhibitors, down from 1,000 in 2024. On paper, that sounds like a contraction. In reality, it didn’t feel that way at all. The halls were full, the energy tangible, and if crowdedness is any indication, a great deal of business was done.
Smaller, perhaps—but focused, lively, and confidently back in the room.
I was in conversation with Domotex last year, and they shared their idea of moving from floor to more the concept of “finishes”. So, not the actual architecture or furniture but perhaps handles, wall paint, why not windows… Another idea was to make a section for store owners. A fair like Domotex could be a meeting point for store owners to meet paint suppliers, etc, etc. A small section of that came to live this year. So when you see a brand like Farrow&Ball, this is the section that sells paint to stores. Not straight to architects or interior designers.
I was invited to do a keynote seminar on what I call “new connectivity”. And a panel to talk about the future of influencers.
Herringbone
Walking around a fair like this is quite difficult for me. It is very technical and engineerdriven. Huge focus on water resistant floor. Not sure what to do with that information… But I did see some things. Of course herringbone will continue.
There has already been talk about floor to look more diverse and “natural” and absolutely so here as well.
I could see some colouring too.
Herringbone but in a different direction.
Also herringbone plank but laid differently.
Blue for floors
Blue stood out as a new colour. Last time I talked about black floors, but I absolutely saw hints of blue in the floors.
Is it black or blue?? Well, I would say a hint of blue at least
Art floors
Maybe not completely new – but fun. I saw a lot of floor with intricate layouts. Love that. I guess not super commercial – but cool.
Metals in floors
An interesting feature that could potentially grow big. At a few suppliers I saw wood floor with brass inlays. Nice.
The square
My job is try to spot early shifts and I think perhaps the classical square could come back.
Carpets
There weren’t that many carpet exhibitors at the fair, but what I could read from what I saw, I noticed this kind of fluffy fur feeling.
thanks!