6 Emerging Home Trends to Watch

With more time spent on activities in the home, flexible design is becoming increasingly important to homeowners. Also, homeowners are looking for ways to bring more outdoor elements inside. These are among the latest home trends, according to Houzz, a home design and remodeling resource.

Houzz researchers identified the top emerging home design trends based on search insights from homeowners and home professionals at its site. Here’s an overview of the six emerging trends Houzz identified in its report, “2021 Houzz Emerging Home Design Trends.(link is external)”

1. Dedicated activity spaces

Homes are being used for a greater number of activities as well as for entertainment. As such, Houzz identified growing interest for art studios, an increase of nearly 10 times over the past year, as well as home bars and wine cellars, home theaters, gyms, and offices.

2. The outdoors head indoors

More homeowners are seeking to connect their indoor spaces to the outside with more ties to greenery and nature. Site searches for artificial plants and trees as well as indoor pots and planters are up significantly over the past year, according to Houzz.

Also, the color green is offering that nod to nature, with a significant uptick in searches for green kitchen cabinets, bathroom tile, accent chairs, and bedrooms. One in five homeowners recently surveyed are opening up their kitchen spaces more to the outdoors, such as with slide-away panels.

3. Living room updates

As more people sheltered in, they gave their living rooms a refresh. Searches for living rooms are up 52% compared to a year ago. Accent pillows and home accents have seen the biggest increase, along with abstract paintings, display shelves, and slip or chair covers.

4. Flexible design

Homeowners are seeking flexibility in how they use their space. As such, TV armoires with pocket doors, queen-sized Murphy beds, and nesting side tables, which all can increase the uses for a room, have jumped in popularity. Swivel accent chairs and daybed sets are also being used to create flexible rooms. (Read more: Designing the Perfect Pop-Up Office)

5. Luxury fabrics, materials, and colors

The Houzz survey identified that fabrics, materials, and colors are going “glam” with more searches for velvet, gold, and crystal.

6. Swimming pools in all shapes and sizes

Interest in swimming pools has surged during the pandemic. Searches for swimming pools and pool houses more than doubled in the second quarter of 2021 compared to a year earlier, according to Houzz. Homeowners are showing an interest in a variety of pool styles, shapes, and designs. For example, searches for pools with water features are up the most, as well as a rectangle, lap, infinity, plunge, and geometric pools.