Kmart’s new August living range reveals the fashion trend set to dominate homewares this spring and summer
It captivated the runway and found its way into our wardrobes; now the polka dot trend is taking over our homes. The pattern is one of a few key styles Kmart is expecting to be popular in interiors this spring and summer, and was showcased among its new products at the launch of its August living collection for 2026.
Polka dot linen cotton quilt covers, which costs $65 to $80 depending on size, in chocolate and blue, off-white and chocolate and fig and pink colours is already a hit with shoppers, and now you can add more of the look with the $14 polka dot pop up laundry hamper, $12 polka dot linen look storage boxes and the $14 polka dot lined rope basket.
The polka dot look will be in homes across Australia in the next few months after the fashion trend emerged as the next big interiors look. Rachael Gavin
That’s not the end of the spots – with the $5 four pack of green and pink polka dot napkins and white and a chocolate polka dot tablecloth, you can have it across your interiors or just in the kitchen or bedroom.
Siri Thanissorn, Kmart Living Home Design Manager, told nine.com.au at the launch event in Sydney that polka dot works as a complete look, or it can be paired with other colours and patterns for something bolder.
“Polka dot as a trend, as a print started in fashion, and then it comes into home [decor] pretty quickly, and we act on it pretty quickly,” she said.
“I think it’s a beautiful trend. It has a similar feel to the stripes and the check, where it’s been around for a long time, but it’s being reinvented, for a good reason because it’s so versatile. Like stripes, like check, you can pair it with anything. Polka dot lives in that same family.
“You can create the beautiful timeless aesthetic by keeping it really simple; pair it with plain colour, or you can play into that maximalism style by adding a bold floral, you can add colourful checks or stripes, they all work. I think those aesthetics are going to live on for a while because they really give your home that optimistic feel, just that vibrancy.”
A perfect example of letting the polka dot print be the hero of a room is the styling of the bedroom look with the off-white and chocolate linen cotton quilt cover from the August living range launch event.
The quilt has the chocolate side showing with a little of the off-white side folded over in front of the pillows, which are also in the polka dot print with alternating off-white and chocolate pillowcases.
On either side of the bed are $65 Miles two-drawer bedside tables in walnut with the $35 Gia table lamps and the $13 spiced glow ribbed glass candle on one side and the $13 walnut-look décor tray on the other. The off-white and chocolate polka dots laundry hamper and storage products then sit alongside that.
Stripes and polka dots can work together if you stick within the same colour palette. Rachael Gavin
To incorporate polka dots with other patterns, take inspiration from this table setting, which has the $10 pink stripe tablecloth as the base with white plates and bowls, green servingware and the $19 16-piece green and pink stripe cutlery set, and, for the polka dot element, the pink and green napkins on each place setting.
Stripes are still big this spring and summer. In addition to the tablecloth and cutlery, there is also a pink and green stripe quilt cover set.
Thanissorn said the pink and green used in this stripe look are reflective of our collective desire for happy and comforting hues during a challenging time for society.
“Bright colours are not going away. That optimistic trend is coming through so strong… I notice that a lot of this sort of trend happens when we go through a bit of a change in our social environment, whether it’s political or whether it’s cost of living, it’s almost like that ‘lipstick effect’, where people gravitate towards brightness and fun just to make their day a little better.
“Green is not going away, it’s so popular, it talks to the wellness trend. And pink, there’s always a place for pink in anyone’s home. So it’s a perfect colour palette and the stripes are still going to be really dominant.”
Kmart is the first of the major retailers to launch a spring/summer homewares and furniture range, and it will be exciting to see which trends are adopted by other brands or if other styles emerge.
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