The Plan Collection announces its annual home design predictions and trends report that reveals millennial preferences, inflation’s economic realities and social media sharable spaces will influence 2023’s direction. While house design will be cozier, more relaxed and aesthetically pleasing, with inflation approaching 10 percent and higher in some categories, spending on large projects might be out of reach. Expect homeowners and designers to get the most bang for their buck by pursuing smaller projects with bigger impact in the coming year.
“Home design will experience meaningful change in 2023, with some design trends driven by inventive, new ideas inspiring millennials — a generation representing over 40 percent of home buyers and social media driven— while others will be influenced by the practical reality imposed on budgets by higher interest rates and inflation,” says Laurel Vernazza, home design expert at The Plan Collection.
With insights gained from trusted architects, builders, realtors, contractors, and other housing industry experts, The Plan Collection reveals its top home design and building trends for 2023.
Inflation/Economy-Driven Design and Home Buying Trends
● Tiny Spaces with Big Impact - Since interest rates are increasing and homeowners are staying put, owners are reimagining overlooked alcoves, nooks and corners to be redesigned into compact, colorful and inviting spaces. An unremarkable space below the stairs gets revamped with a collection of framed photographs, distinctive art, fabulous lighting and a vintage cabinet or a dead-end hallway transforms into a tranquil meditation space or cozy reading corner.
● Affordability – Goodbye Modern Farmhouse, Hello Bungalow - The modern bungalow gets increased attention from millennials and empty nesters who want to downsize affordablybut with style. One-story modern bungalow designs are typically less expensive offering curb appeal, high ceilings, contemporary open floor plans, larger bathrooms and a 21st-century exterior.
● Staying Put with Floating Sinks and Vanities - Homeowners with fixed-rate mortgages may rethink trading up to a larger home in 2023 and revisit home remodeling instead. Expect kitchen and bath solutions that are attractive and affordable while creating a larger sense of space to be especially popular. In the bath, floating sinks will be the center of attention, especially in small bathrooms and powder rooms. Floating sinks/vanities can make a small space feel larger and enhance the room with their clean lines and sleek look.
Design/Decor Trends - Social Media Shareability
● Aesthetic Look for Social Media Sharable Photos/Videos - The aesthetic look is favored by millennials and Generation Z for Instagram, TikTok-worthy posts as the design isvisually appealing and reveals unique personality and features trendy ideas. This look can also be budget-friendly with creative design choices.
● Accent Walls Refined to “Zoom-Ready” Spaces - Accent walls hastily created by many working from home during the pandemic branch out beyond the bookshelf or virtual background. Accent walls express more personality with materials like stone, brick, tile, wood and modern wallpaper.
● Mother Nature’s Colors - Nature-inspired shades of green, blue and lilac inspire visions of meadows filled with wildflowers, all surrounded by green trees and a clear blue sky. Whether on the wall, a pillow or on furnishings — these pops of color are a welcome addition to the whites, greys, and blacks so often used throughout the home.
● Herringbone Patterns - Homeowners embrace the herringbone pattern on wood and tile walls, doorways and doors.
● Natural Wood - Natural wood is not just for floors. Exterior wood trim, garage doors and framed entryways give homes a warm and welcoming feel. Stunning interior accents include wood beams, impressive wood highlights for vaulted ceilings or patterned accent walls.
New Construction/Home Updates
● Prep Pantry – New Must-Have In Kitchen Design – Designers add prep pantries, the successor to butler pantries, to new homes — a separate prep area usually located off the kitchen/dining area. With so much kitchen entertaining, unsightly items are kept from view in the prep pantry.
● Friend’s Entry and the Well-Appointed Mudroom - With many open floor plans, the traditional front door entry hall has been significantly reduced in size or eliminated altogether. The result? A cluttered mess in the living space when family and friends visit. Enter the friend’s entry as the solution. A throwback from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the friend’s entry offers an additional door into the home leading to transitional space between the outdoors and the main living areas. Today, homeowners are reinventing the mudroom into this very space.
o Attractive exterior doors, beautiful cabinetry, hardwood floors or stunning tile, and even chandeliers grace today’s mudroom turned friend’s entry.