Preview 2021 Luxury Home Design Trends & Get Inspired for Your Custom Home Selections Process
Building a custom home with Hibbs Homes means you can be as hands-on with your new home's design and construction process as you choose. Maybe you've been planning your dream house for decades, like the clients we built the award-winning "2019 Custom Home of the Year" for, or maybe you prefer to rely on our highly experienced design/build team to determine what will work the best for your home and lifestyle. No matter where you're starting from when designing your home, understanding the latest home design trends can help you from the initial design phase through the interior selections process.
As we round the 2020 building year, our clients and designers are looking ahead at the homes we are building in the year to come, and the design trends starting to take shape. To get your home design process off on the right foot, we are sharing our top five custom home design trends for 2021.
Rustic Elegance
Living like you're on vacation every day is easy when your home's design echoes an authentic mountain resort. As more people are looking towards nature for inspiration, the modern rustic design aesthetic is taking hold in home design and at major decor retailers.
"More and more of our clients in both St. Louis and Northern Utah are interested in rustic elegance design. We actually started trending in that direction a few years ago with spec homes we built. I love the look, and our clients love the fact it can be done very affordably if your staff knows the tricks of the trade like we do," says our owner and general contractor, Kim Hibbs.
This updated version of rustic mountain living pairs natural materials, layered textures, and clean lines to lend casual elegance and versatility to your home. Earthy finishes featuring live edge timber and rough-hewn stone pair with mixed metals can give the cozy feel of a modern ski chalet or complement a more modern, minimalistic look.
Anna Entringer from the Hibbs Homes design team said, "I always love how natural finishes ground the space and create a sense of calm. Living in these concrete jungles, it's so necessary to have that green component to allow our minds to relax and recover."
Better By Design Homes
Building a home that has healthier indoor air quality and is more energy-efficient gives you time to focus on other important things in life. Functional and purposeful designs that include floor to ceiling windows to let in as much light as possible and bridge your home to the outdoors are on-trend for 2021. We are also seeing a shift towards more natural materials, which means cabinets, flooring, and paint brands made without VOCs are also becoming more popular.
Open concept kitchen/dining/living areas will remain important so that families have spaces to spend time together, but more home designs now include flex rooms and purposeful office spaces with closing doors to accommodate working and learning from home.
There are a few other benefits of better-built homes, as Kim explains, "In order to achieve a home with better indoor air quality and greater efficiency, we focus on better wall assembly, and upgraded windows, insulation, and HVAC systems. I often get unexpected texts or emails from our clients letting me know they love the comfort and efficiency of their new home."
Modern Mixed Materials
Today's modern home design trend mixes materials to offer an industrialized take on the nature-centric designs popularized in the 1930-1960s by architects such as Frank Llyod Wright. From the ceiling to the floor, beautiful wood grains and barely-there stains are gaining in popularity. Natural, lightwoods like walnut, teak, and birch paired with contrasting materials create an edgy, on-trend look for interiors. Laminates, mixed metals, polished concrete, and smoked glass - all antimicrobial materials - are gaining popularity in modern kitchen and bathroom designs.
Home interiors are trending toward the "less is more" school of design, with architectural elements and views into the outdoors becoming the room's focal point instead of furniture and other decor items. It's how the room is designed, not what's in it, that is taking center stage, which is why homeowners and designers are focusing more on the artful use of materials to create a striking room design.
Bold Colors for Kitchens
Another 2021 trend revived from mid-century modern home design is bold, vibrant colors on walls, millwork, and cabinets. While clean white cabinets will always be a classic, colors like dark olive, dusty teal, and other bold colors with mineral tones make their way onto cabinets and appliances.
These bolder colors are the new neutrals that anchor a room's design palette, replacing the previous trend towards deep greys. Classic home design elements like crown-molding or fluted door and window encasements are becoming statements in a room via bold colors like black or navy that make them stand apart. However, just as rich and beautiful of an effect is created when both the millwork and the wall are painted with the same, dark color.
Architectural Detail
With more focus on the architectural details in 2021 home design trends, we will see more intricate and elevated designs in homes. A major on-trend element puts a modern twist on wainscotting with millwork in intricate and geometric patterns like honeycomb, diamond, or rhomboids to create an accent wall that is a work of art in its own right.
Painted in a crisp, clean white lends a millwork accent wall a more classic look, like this one pictured. Choose navy, olive, or black to give your room a more daring, edgy twist. Similarly, vertical paneling and board and batten that reaches to the ceiling creates a more subdued statement wall while adding richness and texture to a room, but a splash of paint gives the room an updated, modern feel.
Over the last year, we have seen some major shifts in priorities as the pandemic has changed the way our clients approach building their new homes. You can read more about the lasting impact the pandemic is having on home design, or contact our new home construction experts to learn more about designing your dream home.