It’s a new year—and that means it’s time to think about new trends in home renovation and decor. Keeping up with trends not only keeps your home fresh and beautiful, but it also helps maintain the home’s value. Those of you who are renting out vacation homes will need to get those homes up to date so that you can maximize your bookings.

So what’s hot this year? Here’s a look at what to expect!

1. Open Concept Homes are Here to Stay

Homes with open floor plans have been a major trend for a number of years—and there are many good reasons why. Open concepts make interiors feel more spacious, and they let natural light flow throughout the home rather than confining it to individual rooms.

When the kitchen, dining space, and living areas are combined, it promotes a sense of togetherness. You can see what the kids are doing in the living room, even while you’re doing dishes or making dinner. Open concepts also come with a lot of versatility. It’s easier to host larger groups spread out across a combined kitchen, living, and dining area rather than confining everyone to the dining space alone.

Glendale Charm – Phoenix, Arizona

2. Renovate the Great Outdoors

There are a couple of things that are urging people to do more with outdoor spaces. One is the need to feel more connected to nature. The other reason behind this trend is the pandemic. People are staying home more, and rather than vacationing in crowded places, they’re looking for secluded, outdoorsy spots for rest and relaxation.

Thus, a renovation to your outdoor spaces may be in order. Think of this trend as a way to create a living room outside. The essentials include a solid surface like a gorgeous deck or patio, comfortable furniture designed around relaxation, and shade, either through trees, awnings, or another covering. Outdoor showers are growing in popularity, especially among vacation destinations, and for larger venues or homeowners that enjoy cooking and entertaining outside, and outdoor kitchen is a worthwhile investment.

Garden Escape – Santa Barbara, California

Casa del Encanto – Loreto, Mexico

3. A-Frame Homes are Happening

This is a centuries-old home style that is gaining traction once again. Why? For one thing, they look amazing! But beyond the unique looks, A-frames are typically quite inexpensive to build compared to more standard home styles. It’s possible to create a few hundred square feet of interior space for a fraction of the cost of a traditional home. For that cost, the triangular design makes these homes incredibly structurally stable.

These homes also lend themselves well to fantastic locales, which makes them ideal for vacationing. If you’re considering a cabin in the woods, A-frames work well tucked in among the trees. They’re also great for wet and snowy areas since the steeply sloped roof sheds moisture, snow, and ice dams easily.

4. It’s Time to Talk about Texture

While it might be a broad category, texture itself is becoming a big trend. It’s not so much that there are certain types of textures that are standing out among others, but rather that our way of thinking about how we decorate is starting to change. In the past, it was common to think in terms of color palettes when choosing walls, floors, and furnishings.

Now, you are invited to consider not only color palettes, but the types of textures you can introduce as well. With texture, it’s easy to create lively, interesting interior designs while keeping color schemes relatively neutral. The secret is in blending a variety of different textures to create a varied look.

What textures should you try? The sky is the limit, from brick and stone to soft fur rugs, rattan, wicker, and more. The secret to success involves choosing a theme, then building a look using materials that both contrast and complement each other. For a naturalistic space, try pairing things like smooth wood with rough stone. In rustic homes, the look of rough wood is easily softened with plush fabrics. Cozy spaces call for fur-trimmed accents, satiny smooth finishes, and maybe even chunky but comfortable knitted or crocheted textiles.

5. Embrace Scandinavian Style

What is Scandinavian style? It goes beyond Ikea and embraces design principles from the three Scandinavian countries: Sweden, Norway, and Denmark. While this style has been around in the United States since the 1950s, it has really taken off over the past couple of years.

This style places a focus on minimalism, using clean and simple lines to create beautiful spaces. It’s also in large part about functionality. Ample storage, often cleverly disguised within bed frames, sofas, or stools, means clutter is at a minimum.

Scandinavian style shares a few things in common with mid-century modern styling. One of the big differences between these two styles is that while both emphasize natural elements like wood and stone, Scandinavian style keeps things bright and airy while mid-century modern style can be darker and more muted. For instance, in a Scandinavian home, you might find white walls paired with a light bamboo or pine floor whereas mid-century modern would use darker wood and wall tones.

6. Essential Home Technology Trends

Over the past several years, we’ve seen the rise of quite a few different home technology trends. That includes things like Google Nest thermostats, smart home automation, and more. This year, the big tech upgrade to make will be the home’s power outlets. So much of modern life revolves around mobile devices—and it’s time that modern homes are equipped to accommodate them. Laptops, phones, and tablets all need USB ports for charging, which is why electrical outlets featuring USB and even USB-C are becoming much more prominent.

smart screen with smart home and modern living room

7. Sliding Doors and Floor-to-Ceiling Windows are Highly Prized

One buzzword you’ll hear a lot in housing circles is the “indoor-outdoor connection.” This refers to a growing trend in which modern homeowners seek to stay connected with nature by finding ways to bring elements of nature into the home. One of the easiest—and trendiest—ways to do this? Through sliding doors and floor-to-ceiling windows.

Lots of glass builds on the indoor-outdoor connection in two key ways. First, and most obvious, they provide you with an unobstructed view. This is a must for any home with a beautiful view—especially vacation homes. Incidentally, you’ll often find that the A-frame homes mentioned above feature windows from the lowest floor all the way to the peak so that the occupants can look out over the woods, lakeside view, or whatever else surrounds the home.

Big, beautiful windows also build on the indoor-outdoor connection by letting natural sunlight inside. This makes interiors feel fresher, airier, and more spacious. In fact, you’ll find that this is the reason why large windows pair so well with some of the other trends mentioned here. For instance, in an open concept home, large windows along one side of the living space allow light to flood through the entire living space. Pair that with a Scandinavian interior design featuring minimalism and plenty of light, reflective shades, and the result is an interior space that feels enormous and refreshingly clean.

Chateau at Deer Valley – Park City, Utah

Miner’s Hideout – Park City, Utah

8. Spice Things Up with Retro Funk

Since so much of modern style relies on minimalist design, designers are finding ways to elevate interior spaces with a little extra personality. Rather than filling rooms with tchotchkes like one might have done in yesteryear, this is usually accomplished through the use of one or two bold statement pieces. Examples include:

Cool retro dining tables around a sleek table.
The addition of an interesting chandelier above a kitchen island or bar.
A funky chair that stands out among living room furnishings.
Unusual paintings or wall art to draw attention to a particular part of the room.

The key with this trend is to avoid overdoing it. It’s all about adding life, color, and texture with one or two well-chosen pieces that draw focus. Think of it like finding your best angle for a selfie. Add a cool retro piece to places where you want to draw the eye.

Where renovation and decor trends are concerned, there is a lot to look forward to in 2022! This year promises transformative ideas designed to unite indoor and outdoor spaces into a complete—and completely refreshing—experience. With that, you can also look forward to technology upgrades as well as new ways to improve functionality throughout the home.

Staging environment