The world has changed a LOT this year.
(Thanks, COVID...)
But as we get closer to the end of this extra long year we call 2020, there are still so many great things to look forward to! A few of those being the design trends of the future...
The Wall Street Journal recently surveyed hundreds of architects, interior designers and decorators to predict the next big residential trends. And they even found that these trends are expected to last the remainder of the decade, if not for decades to come!
"When we asked interior designers and architects to look into the future, we knew the impact of coronavirus would be a factor," Allison Duncan writes for the WSJ. "But some of the trends the pros named were already influencing design before Covid-19—the virus merely pushed them to a tipping point."
Here's more of what they found:
We will crave nature
- Our plugged-in culture has left us thirsting for homes that welcome the sky, the sun, a breeze, said Seattle interior designer Charlie Hellstern. We’ll see “windows that open, Juliet balconies and tiny terraces,” she said.
And we'll reject open-plans
- The open-concept layout, already losing luster pre-pandemic, is stifling us as we all work and learn from home. “Defined spaces that distinguish between work and play create a cadence to our days,” said Dallas designer Kellie Sirna.
Suburbs will get urbane
- “Millennials who’ve been loving city life now want a house,” said Charles Hilton, an architect in Greenwich, Conn. Chicago designer Wendy Labrum also speculated “a possible return to the McMansion our generation historically shunned.”
We’ll also yearn for Zen
- Home gyms will evolve, and “wellness rooms” will include yoga and barre studios, steam rooms, and even infrared saunas. “People will want it all at home and beautiful to boot,” said Chicago interior designer Aimee Wertepny.
Sofas will lose weight
- “You’re not imagining it—furniture has gotten bigger and it peaked in the 2010s,” said Caitie Smithe, an in-house designer for Chicago furniture shop Walter E. Smithe III.
We'll wash hands... a lot
- Our new virus consciousness will generate vestibules that include sinks, plus storage for shoes and packages. Said Houston designer Marie Flanigan, “As keeping germs from entering the house becomes a priority, I fore-see layouts [that] accommodate a tricked-out mudroom at the home’s highest-traffic entry point.”
Generations will mingle
- A recent construction project tasked Los Angeles architect Chet Callahan with housing three generations of families under one roof, a trend he believes reflects the high cost of independent living and an increased desire for closeness.
Design will soften
- Rigid rectilinear design will further recede. “Think beyond curved sofas and rounded-back chairs to curved countertops, walls and millwork,” said Vancouver, British Columbia, designer Gillian Segal. “The psychology of shapes shows us that hard edges repre-sent order and discipline, round and organic shapes evoke harmony and warmth.”
We’ll shop ‘woke’
- Homeowners will increasingly invest in heirloom-quality rather than throwaway pieces. “There is more mindfulness behind decisions that were previously about fast fixes,” said New York designer Vicky Charles.
Work-from-home will dominate
- Home-office requests have become standard, said Marion Philpotts Miller, an interior designer in Honolulu, but “not always for the traditional desk with formidable leather chair.”
Check out more details on the Wall Street Journal.