While the most important aspect of design is you being comfortable and happy with the design elements you choose for your home, it is always fun to explore what trends are up and coming. This is especially true if you don’t have any ideas for what you do or don’t like. The entire team at Gerard Construction loves to look at new ideas and trends for the homes you are custom designing to the homes we are building out ourselves to put on the market. We can’t help but feel excited about what is coming around in the next year.

Sustainability and Environmental Design

Design is continuing to lean away from particle board, out of the box elements and really focusing on long lasting furniture, design elements, and sustainability. Homeowners are willing to wait to invest in a piece of furniture or a building material that will provide them with decades of use, rather than replacing every few years and adding to landfills. Additionally, finding renewable materials that are environmentally friendly is a huge focus for a lot of design, as is where and how those materials are sourced. We are seeing more and more inquiries about where we obtain products from and who we contract with.

Less is More

There is a lot more minimalism as homeowners want to declutter and get to the basics of what they need. This can even be seen in bringing natural elements inside, focusing on living spaces outside, and the rise in a potentially minimalist look with marble being a popular choice for countertops. The focus is much more on what is happening in the room, like dining or sleeping, and much less on filling the room with items and extra stuff.

Splashes of Color

While minimalism may be in, splashes of color are making themselves known too. Expect to see a few colors borrowed from the ‘70s like “terra cotta, sage, and mustard” according to HGTV. Bringing in natural elements also means vibrant greens of live plants will mark many homes in the next year. These colors may be seen on furniture, walls, cabinets, textiles, or accent pieces.

Changing Needs

The pandemic taught our society a lot and shifted the focus greatly on all aspects of life. This includes working from home spaces, even when offices have reopened, or kids have returned to school. One of the residual design elements we saw in 2021 that is going strong into 2022 is having designated, even if very small, workspaces and places for kids to do schoolwork. We think this trend will be here to stay for some time as offices and schools fluctuate their in-person schedule, and as we see more individuals exercising precautions in staying home when sick. If you need to include this in your design, consider how many people need the space, how much time is designated for the space, and what the overall purpose of each person might be. Some jobs may only require an outlet, solid wi-fi, and space for a laptop. Others may be best with storage space and working space. Students of different ages will have their own needs as well.

If you want to explore some of these design elements for your home, the one you are building or the one that needs a redesign, contact our Gerard Construction team today. We find inspiration in these trends, in our own designs, and in many elements we find throughout talking to our clients about what they want.