What’s In and Out for Homes in 2026, According to Buyer Behavior

Some of my highest-read blog posts have been my home decorating posts. That tells me that home decor is a subject many people are interested in. I think it's more curiosity than a blueprint for what a person should immediately follow to make sure their place is decorated in the current style. It's like fashion, designers create new looks for the current year, and it's fun to watch and see, but most of it doesn't fit with the average person's lifestyle.

However, home decor is something people can pick and choose when considering an update or a remodel. So these decorating posts are what today's interior designers are telling us is in or out of home decor fashion. It's up to us whether we want to make changes and what those changes would be.

The reality is, if you followed every or most of these suggestions, at some point in time, they will become outdated. I remember remodeling two bathrooms in a prior home right before selling it. My teenage son loved what was done and asked, "Why did you wait so long to do this?" I told him that if we had done it too long ago, we wouldn't be able to say it was recently remodeled. It was new and updated, and helped our home sell.

The good news for him was that before we moved into the next home, we immediately updated the bathrooms. But we did wait for other things until we were ready to sell that one. And this time, I loved the new flooring so much that I wished we had done it sooner.

The Design Shift Nobody Expected

For many years now, if you walked into a newly renovated home, you knew exactly what you'd find: gray walls, white trim, maybe some black metal accents if the owners were feeling adventurous. Everything matched. Everything was clean. Everything looked like it belonged in a furniture catalog rather than someone's actual life. That trend has lasted so long that I think it is finally getting boring.

Buyers have completely shifted what they're looking for, and it's showing up everywhere — in listing descriptions, design reports, social media, and most importantly, in which homes are actually selling and at what price. The change is so clear that you can track it in the data. But here's the thing: it's not just one new trend replacing the old one. It's a whole different way of thinking about what a home should be.

The old approach was about creating a blank canvas. Strip everything back. Make it neutral. Let buyers project themselves onto it. That made sense when homes sat on the market for months. Now? Buyers want to feel something when they walk through the door. They want to see intention. They want to see a space that looks like somewhere people actually live — not somewhere that's waiting to be lived in.

Color Is Back — And It's Nothing Like Beige

The all-gray interior is officially done. Not fading. Done. I know - it feels clean, and for some, it might still feel trendy. I've been writing posts for the past few years stating this as fact, but we still see it.

Over the last year, one of the biggest shifts in how homes are being described has been the explosion of "color drenching" — basically, picking one warm color and committing to it on the walls, the ceiling, and the trim all at once. It's immersive. It's intentional. And listing descriptions using this language have jumped by 149% in just one year. Personally, I prefer white or light ceilings. I think I tried painting a room and the ceiling the same color, and I didn't like it. So to each their own. You don't have to follow every so-called trend.

The colors showing up? Warm beiges, caramels, terra cotta, soft sage greens, soft navy. Think less "Pinterest neutral" and more "Mediterranean villa that's been sun-soaked for thirty years." There's a lot of '70s influence in these palettes — that era knew how to do warm tones without making everything orange.

Why does this matter? Because color creates feeling, and feeling is what drives the decision to buy. A gray room is easy to photograph. A warm, cohesive room makes people want to sit down. For someone thinking about selling, this is actually good news. You don't need a gut renovation. A single paint color in the right tone can completely change how a space photographs and how it feels the second someone walks through the door. That matters more than most people realize.

With that said, I see so many buyers talk about having to repaint, no matter if the walls are neutral or colorful. Say you pick a sage green, which I like for some things - mainly decor. I would want to paint the walls a different color. I don't want an entire room to be sage green. And I really don't want to have to paint as soon as I move into a home. I'd really have to like everything else about that house to have it at the top of my list.

Character Is the New Luxury

Buyers are actively hunting for homes with personality now, and they're finding it in some specific places.

Art Deco is having a genuine moment — not the Vegas version, but the thoughtful one. Chevron patterns, brass accents, jewel tones, curved edges, arched doorways, scalloped details. The kind of thing that makes a space feel like someone cared about it. Searches for Art Deco interiors are up 22% year over year, and listing mentions of "artisan craftsmanship" have jumped 21%. Vintage accents? Up 17%.

Here's what's important to understand: this doesn't require gutting your kitchen or hiring an architect. A curved kitchen island. Rounded furniture. Detailed trim work. Arched doorways. One or two moments of character in a space will do the heavy lifting. You're not redesigning the whole house. You're adding moments that break up the monotony.

The same thing is happening with surfaces. Stone backsplashes used to be background elements - something you chose to disappear. Now they're focal points. Full-height backsplashes in quartzite, marble, or travertine with soft veining create depth and texture that photographs beautifully and makes a space feel richer.

Texture in general is having a moment. Plaster walls. Limewash finishes. Surfaces that shift and change depending on the light. Three-dimensional materials. This is the opposite of slick — it's about depth and craftsmanship.

Even metals are getting more intentional. Instead of matching everything — all brushed nickel or all chrome — homes are mixing metals intentionally. Brushed brass with matte black with nickel. It looks collected over time rather than sourced from one catalog page. It looks chosen.

Kitchens Are Becoming Personal

The all-white kitchen is officially retired. I like the look, and I had white kitchen cabinets in a previous home. But my favorite kitchen had knotty pine cabinets that made you feel like you were in a log cabin out in the woods. I was sad to see that the new owner painted those gorgeous cabinets a yucky blue.

What's replacing the white isn't another uniform trend — it's the absence of a default. Warm neutrals. Earth tones. Wood-grain cabinetry. The transitional style (which sits somewhere between modern and traditional) has become the dominant look, while the farmhouse kitchen is fading fast.

But the bigger shift underneath all of this is personalization. Buyers want a kitchen that feels thoughtfully designed. Not safe. Not designed by a template. A kitchen with character. Maybe it's a walk-in pantry. Maybe it's an unexpected cabinet color. Maybe it's a stone backsplash that runs from floor to ceiling. These details are what make a kitchen feel like it belongs to someone, and that's exactly what buyers are looking for.

When you're selling, this matters because it means a generic kitchen reads as a missed opportunity now. If you've got a thoughtful kitchen — one that has some personality — stage it that way. Describe it that way. Don't play it safe.

Open Concept Got Complicated

A few years ago, open floor plans were the answer to everything. Tear down the walls. Make it one giant space. Sell the flow.

Buyers still like open floor plans. But they don't want an undifferentiated box anymore. They want connection and separation at the same time, which sounds contradictory but actually isn't.

What's rising is the semi-closed floor plan — spaces that flow together but have subtle architectural definition. You can see from the kitchen into the living room, but there's something — maybe a half wall, maybe columns, maybe just a step up — that tells you these are different spaces with different purposes.

The biggest reason for this shift is work. A lot of people work from home now. Privacy isn't a luxury when your home is also your office — it's necessary. Dedicated home offices are consistently the most requested feature this year, and mentions of "reading nooks" and quiet personal spaces have jumped 48%. People want somewhere to retreat to. They want a space that has a function beyond being pretty.

So if you're selling and you have a defined dining room, a separate office, or distinct living zones, don't apologize for them. Market those spaces intentionally. Buyers are looking for purpose now, not just square footage.

I showed a home once where the owners opened up everything but the bathrooms and bedrooms. It was a huge room with the kitchen in one "space", dining area in another, and the living area in another. This was beyond what would be expected as open living. I guess it could be described as a great room, but it was so large with so much furniture that it was confusing when you walked in. It felt more like a store showroom than a home to live in.

When we were looking for our current home, we saw some contenders. But we didn't like the homes where many of the walls were open at the top. This was in all the rooms except the bedrooms and bathrooms. There was really no privacy.

Homes That Actually Make You Feel Good

There's a design trend called "wellness design" that's worth understanding because it's influencing how buyers evaluate homes in ways that don't always make it into the obvious categories.

The idea is simple: a home's layout and materials should actively support how you feel when you're in it. Not just how it looks in photos. How it makes you feel when you wake up in the morning. How it makes you feel when you're trying to wind down before bed.

Listing language around wellness is up 33% year over year, and mentions of spa-inspired bathrooms have climbed 22%. But it's expanded well beyond the primary bathroom. Biophilic design - bringing in natural light, organic materials, plants, and views of the outdoors — is showing up everywhere because it addresses a real need. People want to feel better in their homes.

Circadian lighting (light that shifts as the day progresses) is part of this. Dedicated quiet spaces are part of it. A reading corner. A window seat. A nook that actually gets used.

This used to be luxury stuff. Now it's showing up in mainstream listings because people are prioritizing how their home makes them feel, not just how it presents to guests. That's a meaningful shift.

Resilience and Efficiency Are Now Default Expectations

Climate reality is showing up in buyer data in a way that's impossible to ignore. Features like flood protection, fire-resistant landscaping, and whole-home battery systems are all climbing fast. Eighty-six percent of buyers now say it's very important that a home be "climate-proof." Listings mentioning zero-energy-ready homes have surged 70%. Whole-home batteries are up 40%. EV charging mentions are up 25%.

This isn't environmental righteousness. This is financial. Buyers are evaluating solar readiness, EV chargers, and efficient HVAC systems the same way they evaluate a kitchen renovation — as a financial consideration. Utility costs, insurability, and long-term resilience matter.

If you're selling and you have any of these features, document them clearly in your listing. Buyers are actively reading for this language. Homes that address it stand out. Of course, if you list your Scottsdale home for sale with me, you wouldn't even have to ask. Sellers love the write-ups I create for their listings in the MLS.

What You Should Absolutely Not Do

Design trends tell you what's in. They also tell you what's out — and what you should address before you list.

All-gray everything. It's sterile now. Clinical. Dated. The shift away from cool gray and stark white as default palettes is real and it's complete.

Overdone farmhouse. The heavy version with shiplap for the sake of shiplap and barn doors on every opening has peaked. If you have farmhouse elements, lean into the warmer, more grounded approach using authentic materials rather than surface-level styling.

Single-purpose bonus rooms. Man caves. Wine rooms. Home theaters that do nothing else. Buyers want flexibility. Rooms that can't be repurposed read as liabilities now, not amenities.

Two-story foyers. They look striking, but the data is clear: 32% of buyers will reject a home with a two-story foyer outright. Only 13% consider it a must-have. The energy inefficiency, heat imbalance, and lost usable square footage aren't worth the entrance moment anymore.

Matched-finish everything. Coordinating every fixture and cabinet pull to a single metal finish reads as 2015 renovation now. Intentionally layered metals feel collected over time.

Open shelving as a kitchen default. What looked fresh five years ago now reads as high-maintenance and visually cluttered. The enthusiasm for it has cooled significantly.

Safe greige tile. Surfaces are meant to make a statement now. Full-height backsplashes. Dramatic stone. Layered finishes. The disappearing neutral is no longer the standard expectation. But keep in mind, tile with striking designs will appear outdated in a much shorter timeframe than more classic choices.

Maximalism for resale. Rich, layered, highly personal spaces are beautiful to live in. They're difficult to sell. Buyers need to see themselves in a space. Heavy personalization and bold collections make that harder.

What Actually Requires Work — And What Doesn't

Here's the practical part: not everything on this list requires a contractor.

A $500 to $2,000 refresh can meaningfully shift how a home is perceived. Paint in a warm current tone. New light fixtures. Hardware swapped from chrome to brushed brass or matte black. A limewash accent wall in a key space. These are cosmetic moves. They change how a home feels. That feeling drives buyer interest from the first look.

Most buyers form a strong impression before they ever step inside. They're scrolling through photos on their phone or walking past the house on the street. That visual presentation - how warm the space feels, how intentional it looks, how much texture and character it has - affects how fast it moves and what kind of offers it generates.

Buyers are deciding in seconds. The goal is to design for the feeling they get at that first impression, not for the trend you were following three years ago.

What Actually Changes

If you're preparing your home to sell, the question isn't "Should I follow every trend?" It's "Which changes matter in my specific market, at my specific price point, in my specific neighborhood?" And the reality is that every buyer has their own design likes and dislikes, and you won't be able to please everyone.

That conversation is worth having with someone who understands your local market. Because getting it right — picking the updates that move the needle for your home specifically, can make a real difference in how your home sells and what it sells for.

The design world has moved on from showroom minimalism. Your home needs to feel like somewhere people actually want to live. The good news? Getting there doesn't require as much work as you might think.

Tags

• home design (1)
• home decor (1)
• interior design (1)