Keeping up with the Latest Home Design Trends


Luxurious shower with three shower heads and no-barrier entry.

Author's Portrait By Kendra Dorosh

Each year, I’m intrigued by all of the blogs, social media posts and emails that flood my feed featuring the hottest trends for home design. We’ve seen it all, from floral everywhere to gray everything. Are these trends something that most designers track and incorporate into their latest work? Are we driving ourselves crazy trying to stay on top of the latest trends, or is it a necessary component of keeping a competitive edge in the market?

In an effort to learn more, we surveyed our newsletter subscribers asking the following questions.

  1. How important is keeping up with current home design trends and finding ways to incorporate them into your designs?
  2. What are the top 3 design trends you are planning to use this year?
  3. What manufacturers do you follow for the latest design trends, products, and new technology?

How important is keeping up with current home design trends and finding ways to incorporate them into your designs?

We found that 60% of respondents find it extremely important to keep up with current home design trends and find ways to incorporate them into their designs. What’s even more surprising… not a single respondent stated that keeping up with design trends is not at all important.

Survey results showing the importance of keeping up with trends in the home design industry.
Survey Question: How important is keeping up with current home design trends and finding ways to incorporate them into your designs?

What are the top 3 design trends home designers are planning to incorporate this year?

Now that we’ve established that designers find it extremely important to stay on top of the latest trends in the industry, we’ve pulled from the survey answers to provide a list of trends that designers are paying attention to this year, as well as resources that they’re using to stay informed. So what’s trending in the home design industry this year?

Info graphic showing the top 3 home design trends according to designers are patterned tile, aging in place considerations, and smart home technology.

Patterned Tile is trending this year and is taking the place of the ever-popular Subway tile. Designers are increasing the use of shaped tiles along with glass and ceramic tile features that are multi-colored. They’re also incorporating textured and dimensional pieces into their designs.

Aging in Place considerations aren’t necessarily new, but finding ways to incorporate more longevity into all areas of the home is currently top-of-mind for designers. A few examples would be larger doorways to account for wheelchair clearance, an open floor plan throughout the home, and even adding a spa in the primary suite to soothe aches & pains.

Incorporating the latest technology for smart homes and expanding the use of solar power for energy are also important considerations in the home design industry today. There’s a high demand for energy-efficient design.

Here are some other trends worthy of mention: multi-toned fixtures, tiny homes, timber frame homes, steel structures (barndominiums), styled balusters, global-inspired texture for carpet patterns, and monochromatic design.

Check out our post on 2020 Interior Design Trends. Our wonderful Content Team has also put together a Design Trends Catalog that you can download to incorporate the latest textures and materials into your next design.

What manufacturers can you follow for the latest design trends, products, and new technology?

Below you’ll find resources that designers are using to stay on top of the changes. Here are a few of the leading companies that were mentioned in the survey responses:

Chief Architect partners with many of these manufacturers, making it easy for you to incorporate their products into your designs directly from the library browser in Chief Architect.

See all of the available Chief Architect 3D Library catalogs.

Thank you to all of our survey respondents! Leave a comment below and let us know how you stay up to date with the latest trends in the home design industry.


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