NeoCon 2026: Our Honest Take on the Future of the Workspace
Our team with connections we met along the way enjoying dinner on our first night at NeoCon.
We’re back from Chicago… here’s the inside scoop
We’re freshly back from NeoCon 2026, and we’re bursting with ideas about how to implement the trends and developments we saw to improve day-to-day experiences for our clients. Since everyone can’t breeze through the Mart in Chicago, we’re bringing the Mart to you. Here’s the inside look at what needs to be remembered, what we could’ve done without, and what it means for your team and your company.
What we absolutely loved
The overwhelming theme was that workplaces are becoming more human-centered without sacrificing performance. Design is here to answer the question: how can we serve not just the task, but the team itself, from their workflow to their mental and physical health to their daily enjoyment of walking through the door? These trends we noticed were by far our favorite industry movements.
“Making the office look less like an office, while making it work even better.”
The most innovative items we saw…
Sustainable Vinyl That Breaks Down in Landfills
When it comes to commercial fabrics, it’s easy to say you value sustainability, but it’s another element altogether when a measurable positive impact can be made. CF Stinson broke the mold by showcasing vinyl that behaves like traditional vinyl during its useful life, but begins breaking down when exposed to enzymes commonly used in landfills, winning the Silver award for it. This is a gamechanger for healthcare furniture, as hospitals, treatment centers, and private practices can participate in preserving the environment while meeting compliance standards with easy-clean materials like vinyl.
Lightweight Yet Durable Furniture
It’s a constant mission to create furniture that balances style, usability, and durability for the modern workplace. One of our favorite small but mighty additions was this mobile pedastal. Easy for storing right under your desk without taking up any leg space, this pedastal offers storage while providing a touchdown space, as it can hold a grown adult for basic seating. With 40 pounds cut from the design and it still holding up, fully functional and durable, we had to include it as one of our favorite innovations of the trip.
If you’re thinking: are these just pretty designs, or will they really work for me? Our answer…
The answer is yes, it will work. The industry’s movement is definitely about more than aesthetics. It’s about how beauty and function merge together to improve workspaces.
One of our biggest observations from NeoCon is that manufacturers are getting much better at balancing form and function.
Some examples of how this will affect the day-to-day of the average office are:
Creating privacy without building walls — saving time and money on office renovations, improving team relationships, and combatting isolation from high walls and cubicle-focused layouts
Acoustic solutions integrated directly into furniture and architecture — this was a huge one. Acoustics can provide sound management in an open office, divide space, and elevate your aesthetic all with one item.
Touchdown spaces and collaboration zones that actually feel usable — these aren’t just brightly-colored but useless add-ons. NeoCon designs dove deep into the psychological impact of placement and function behind touchdown spaces and what makes them most durable and helpful in the long-term.
These designs are solving real workplace challenges like:
Hybrid work
Privacy needs
Collaboration
Acoustics
Employee comfort
What’s going out of style
Endless Drab Gray
Perhaps the clearest trend was the decline of gray-on-gray workplaces. Rather than assuming dark, traditionally “serious” colors are a workspace requirement, it’s becoming more regular to outfit your space with warm tones, bright colors, and fresh designs.
In its place:
Earth tones
Sangria reds
Cappuccino browns
Greens
Warm neutrals
Natural wood finishes
Gray isn't disappearing entirely, but it's no longer the default.
Traditional Cubicles
While they’ll always be associated with office, cubicles were few and far between this year.
That doesn’t mean that cubicles don’t have their proper place — some work requires focus that shouldn’t be interrupted, and an open office layout isn’t best for everyone. There’s no one-size fits all. But as more and more companies lean toward needing focus and collaboration, touchdown spaces and dedicated work, and accomodating for hybrid positions, there’s a reason flexibility is pushing cubicles out of the picture.
Think like this: dedicated focus spaces and dedicated open spaces. Not excluding either, but finding the right space for both.
Check out some of our favorite applications of what IS in style below:
Overall takeaway
The most compelling factor wasn't a specific chair or desk.
For us, it was the industry's continued shift toward creating workplaces that feel more comfortable, more flexible, and more human. The goal is to achieve workflows that serve the task and the person, and that’s happening here. And it’s pretty exciting and encouraging for where the workspace is headed in 2026 and beyond.
Ready to bring these trends into your space?
Let’s talk about what’s possible for your team.