The year that was 2020 without a doubt had a huge impact on people, influencing how we work, socialize, shop, eat, and think. As a direct result of the collective experience Americans have had this past year, residential renovation designs have shifted. As the country settles into a new normal, here are the most popular 2021 home renovation trends we’re seeing:
Perhaps the biggest change we saw last year was a massive uptick in the percentage of people working from home. Pre-2020, the percentage of those Americans who worked from home hovered around 20%; now it’s climbed to nearly 60%.
While some companies are aiming to have their workforce back in office 3 or more days per week, a substantial number of people will continue to work from home most of the time.
Now that homeowners are seeing that they will be working from home indefinitely, the accessory dwelling unit (ADU) trend is booming! An ADU is a freestanding, small unit, most often constructed in the backyard. A vast improvement over cramped home offices, ADUs allow workers to feel like there is a clear divide between their homes and their workspaces.
Additionally, ADUs offer home-bound workers what they’ve craved most during work hours: privacy and a chance to work uninterrupted by the activity in the main house.
Because they have such small footprints, homeowners are going all out on ADU construction, choosing luxury materials, often in monochromatic color schemes to keep the eye from clocking how petite their bite-sized new office really is.
Right behind ADUs, is the trend of homeowners adding on to their home’s main structure. While open floor plans have been all the rage over the last decade, families who spent a year at home together have discovered that vast open spaces don’t lend themselves to privacy—especially during work and school hours.
While they’re not usually breaking up their open spaces entirely, homeowners are taking this opportunity to refine their open floorplans, adding tucked-away home offices and study spaces.
These spaces are usually designed to feel cozy and warm; carpeting, deep-toned hardwood and manufactured wood flooring, and luxurious, comfortable furniture are common choices.
Most homeowners spent a significant amount of time sanitizing their kitchens, bathrooms, and all high-touch surfaces over the last 18 months. As a direct result, they now want to make the switch to touchless faucets, soap dispensers, and light switches, and swap out their highly-textured floors and countertops for smooth, easy-to-sanitize surfaces.
We recommend that architects, construction companies, and decorators proactively arrive to meetings prepared with recommendations for attractive, easy-to-clean materials.
As countertops and floors have trended toward the smooth side, homeowners have satisfied their desire for texture by installing a pop of geometric texture or pattern on one wall of a room.
This is a great opportunity to present your customers with colorful, exciting mosaic ceramic tiles, natural stone, or high-shine glass tiles. People may be happy to switch to easy-clean surfaces, but these texture walls are ideal for preventing them from getting bored with their home’s interior.
With an emphasis in the building products industry, Exalt Samples provides hands-on marketing solutions to a wide range of customers here in the Dallas/Fort Worth area and around the US.
