Every few months, the internet fills up with trend forecasts. Some of it is useful. A lot of it isn't, particularly if you're furnishing a home on the Costa del Sol rather than a city apartment. Here's my honest take on what's worth paying attention to right now, and which trends are best ignored entirely.

New builds are designed to photograph well and sell quickly. Living in them comfortably is a different matter. After working across a good number of apartments in Marbella, Estepona, and the wider Costa del Sol, I keep seeing the same issues come up, and they're almost always easier to avoid than they are to fix.

Natural materials have always made sense on the Costa del Sol - terracotta rooftops, bleached stone walls, the silvery green of olive trees. The best Marbella interiors take their cue from all of that. Here's why it works, which materials are worth knowing about, and how to get the balance right.