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Clerkenwell Design Week 2026
10 min read
Updated 10th June 2026
Clerkenwell Delivered - It's CDW 2026: OUR EDIT.
Here is our recap on Clerkenwell Design Week 2026 one month on...
Every May, a small pocket of London becomes the centre of the design world. For Cult, Clerkenwell Design Week is unmissable. Exciting, provocative, and authentically beautiful, this is where trends get their first real airing, where design conversations that matter actually happen, and where you come away with a hundred ideas and a very long wish list.
Intertwined through the streets of Clerkenwell, the sun was shining, and we were well and truly INSPIRED. Here's what caught our eye this year.
Clerkenwell - One Month on
Clerkenwell - One Month on
Clerkenwell - One Month on
Clerkenwell - One Month on
A month out from CDW 2026 + the ideas are still percolating.
The trends that hit hardest weren't the loudest ones in the room - they were the considered ones. The quiet confidence of a warm walnut curve, the drama of a chrome pendant catching the light, the bold decision of a high gloss surface in a space that earned it. What CDW reminded us this year is that great design isn't about following a direction - it's about committing to one. Here's what's still inspiring us.
The Warm Palette Isn't Going Anywhere
From caramel mohair velvets to toffee boucle and deep earthy greens, CDW 2026 doubled down on warmth. Not the muted, safe warmth of recent seasons - something richer, more saturated, more considered. Walnut-toned woods were everywhere, grounding bolder upholstery choices and adding a softness that cool metallics alone can't deliver.
The takeaway
Warm tones and natural materials aren't a moment, they're a movement - and one that pairs beautifully with our current collection.
Material Mixing Is the Move
If there was one overarching lesson from CDW this year, it was this: the most interesting spaces don't pick a lane. Marble alongside chrome. Boucle next to high gloss. Travertine with velvet. The tension between hard and soft, matte and mirror, natural and refined - that's where the best design lives right now.
The Takeway
It's less about matching and more about curating. And it's a deeply satisfying way to shop.
The Clerkenwell 2026 Edit
Kelby 6 Seat Rectangle Dining Table
High Gloss Sage Green
CHF 408
Marin Curved Coffee Table
Mottled White Concrete
CHF 723
Franklin Office Chair
Moss Green Sustainable Mohair Velvet & Walnut
CHF 172
+ 3 more
Haven 3 Seater Sofa
Multicolour Orbis Patterned Fabric
CHF 1,268
Arden 2 Drawer Wooden Console Table
Walnut Burl Wood
CHF 450
Akira Round Coffee Table
Emperador Brown Honed Marble & Walnut
CHF 541
Lopez Accent Chair
Speckled Sustainable Stone Boucle
CHF 345
WHY CLERKENWELL?
WHY CLERKENWELL?
WHY CLERKENWELL?
WHY CLERKENWELL?
Clerkenwell - a melting pot for the design obsessives.
There's a reason architects, designers, and interior obsessives descend on EC1 every May. Clerkenwell is home to more creative businesses and architects per square mile than anywhere else on the planet - the neighbourhood is not just a backdrop for CDW, but the whole point of it.
Cult at Clerkenwell.
Now in its 15th edition, we were in the thick of it as CDW ran an exceptional programme of exhibitions, installations, talks, product launches, open showrooms, workshops and parties.
It's the kind of event where you wander into a Victorian prison corridor and find a 3D-printed light sculpture, or step inside a 900-year-old church nave to hear the conversations shaping the future of design. This year also sees new venues added to the mix, including the Museum of the Order of St John at St John's Gate.
With 600+ showroom events, 15+ curated exhibitions, striking installations, topical talks, a fringe programme and food and drink partners woven throughout, this is less a trade fair and more a full immersion for any design enthusiast.
PATTERNS + TEXTURES WE LOVED
“CDW has a habit of making you see familiar spaces in an entirely new light. This year, we were really drawn to the chromes ‑ both high shine and brushed finishes ‑ that add luxe appeal and play with light.”
Roger Clark, Product Director at Cult
CDW 2026 Cult PICKS
We hit the streets of East London and what we found was a clear mood: organic, considered, and deeply human. Natural materials were everywhere, from travertine surfaces to tactile boucles, punctuated with sleek chromes and clean modernist silhouettes. Leaning into the Analog Living were beautifully crafted wooden board games, modular sofas, and a quiet nod to the Mid-Century ethos of Form Follows Function. Less noise, more intention. A connection to relaxed living.
High Gloss
High gloss had an unmistakable presence at CDW this year - and it only reinforced what we already knew: this finish is here to stay. The recurring theme was confidence. Bold colour, mirror-like surfaces, and that signature interplay of light and shadow that makes high gloss so visually alive.
What struck us most was how designers are using it - not as a novelty, but as a considered choice. Paired with matte stones, warm timbers, and tactile upholstery, high gloss was doing what it does best: creating depth, drama, and a finish that genuinely stops you in your tracks. Proof, if it were needed, that gloss isn't just a trend. It's a design language.
Chromes
We called this one back in January as our top trend for 2026 - and CDW confirmed it emphatically. Chrome is back, but not as you knew it. The look that dominated was chrome used as punctuation: a sleek frame cutting through soft upholstery, a polished base beneath a matte surface, a modernist edge that stops a room from feeling too soft or too safe.
Our standout piece was this pendant lighting - and it perfectly captures why this trend works. Soft, opaque globes playing off high-shine chrome to create something that's as much sculpture as light source. It's that mix of hard and soft, matte and mirror, that gives the look its appeal.
Soft Curves
Soft, sculptural curves in warm walnut tones, paired with chunky boucle upholstery - it's tactile, considered, and deeply easy to love. Softness meets structure that reminds us of our Arbor Dining Chairs.
Curves were everywhere this year - not the sharp, angular modernism of previous seasons, but something rounder, more generous, more human. Combined with earthy browns, toffee tones, and the irresistible texture of boucle, the overall feeling was one of comfort without compromise.
The Clerkenwell Collection
Haven 3 Seater Sofa
Multicolour Orbis Patterned Fabric
CHF 1,268
Atmos Square Side Table
Mixed Marble & Brown Arcylic
CHF 541
Santoria 4 Seat Round Dining Table
Natural Travertine Effect Stone
CHF 450
Juliana Carver Dining Chair
Moss Green Sustainable Mohair Velvet & Chrome
CHF 163
Gio Rectangle Coffee Table
Burgundy Rosso Levanto Marble & Chrome
CHF 813
Arbor Dining Chair
Olive Green Sustainable Velvet & Walnut
CHF 154
Chaplin 3 Seater Sofa
Caramel Brown Sustainable Mohair Velvet & Walnut
CHF 904
Flore 4 Seat Round Dining Table
Cherry Red Glass & High Gloss Cherry Red
CHF 359
Alana Rectangle Full Length Mirror, 160 x 60 cm
High Gloss Clay Green
CHF 227
Burford Table Lamp
Natural Linen & High Gloss Burgundy
CHF 63
Akira Round Coffee Table
Emperador Brown Honed Marble & Walnut
CHF 541
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