Upstate NY Custom Home Building Blog

At the beginning of every year, you'll start hearing about the latest trends in home building design and décor. If you're thinking about building a custom home this year, it's a good time to pick up ideas and consider options before you get too far into the planning of your new home. With that in mind, let's take a look at some custom home trends for 2020.

Two Out of Three Designers Disagree

One fun part of considering upcoming design trends is observing how design experts disagree about what’s in and what’s out for the coming year. As we’ve checked out the opinions for this article, we’ve run into some conflicting views, but we’ll pass along what seems to be the consensus opinions.

There seem to be two main areas that surface regularly when considering home trends. One focuses more on design and functionality. Those are what we might consider long-range lifestyle trends because they are reflections of what people consider important when it comes to how they live. The other area has more to do with décor and is more concerned with fabrics, patterns, and colors. It’s a reflection of peoples’ sense of style.

Lifestyle Home Trends

• Open Space Plans aren't anything new, but they continue to be a trend for new homes. One advantage of this type of design/floor plan is that it creates a bigger visual feel. Even a somewhat smaller footprint can still feel spacious. Another benefit to open plans is that they allow much more natural light into the home (in and of itself a trend). People also use their kitchen, family room, and dining area at the same time for entertaining. It’s a bit of a change in lifestyle from years ago. With that being said, not everyone likes the open concept. Some people prefer a separate dining room for more quiet and formal entertaining.

• Smart Homes have been around for several years as well. A few years ago, however, people were more caught up in the newness of the technology. As smart home technology has matured (and improved) homeowners are looking less at the "gee-whiz" factor and more at how certain technologies actually improve comfort and convenience. Whole-home technology that encompasses the ability to control thermostats, lighting, window coverings, and even home security are becoming built-in features rather than add-ons.

• The Sounds of Silence are becoming more desirable in new homes. Homeowners are learning to cherish the quietness that their new homes can offer. That’s true for both protecting the family from intrusive noise from outside the home—and for controlling noise within the house.

• Hiding the Microwave is a trend that is catching on. Positioning the microwave over the cooktop of your stove is a throw-back to the old combination stove/oven/microwave appliances from years ago. Today the trend is to locate the microwave at a lower level (preferably hidden) where it's still easily accessible but doesn't draw the eye.

Décor & Interior Design Trends

• Mix & Match Cabinets continue to grow in popularity. Increasing numbers of homeowners are embracing the concept of having kitchen cabinets that match. Some designers have been forecasting the demise of the “white kitchen” for some time, but that seems to be a trend that’s hanging on. However, that doesn’t mean your cabinets have to be all white. The photo you see her from a remodel we recently did shows how mixing a bold-colored kitchen island with white cabinets can provide a stunning look.

• Granite Countertops may be losing their grip as the “go-to” material for kitchen counters (at least that’s the opinion of Lonni Paul of Lonni Paul Design). The new trend is toward Quartz as an alternative. However, new reports have been surfacing about the health hazards Quartz dust has on workers who cut it for kitchen installation, so keep that in mind before making your decision.

• What’s the Color of the Year? Every year there is much ado made about what the “color of the year” is going to be. Pantone recently announced that their Color of the Year for 2020 is Classic Blue (You can see a swatch of this featured here). While Pantone doesn’t create paints for home use, you can expect to see this pop up as an accent color in a lot of different areas. You may find it more helpful to check out what the major paint companies are touting as their colors for interior house paints. There is always some difference between the manufacturers—and some of them tend to show a broader palette of colors rather than focus on one color. Here’s a Better Homes & Gardens summary of what the major paint companies (Benjamin Moore, Valspar, Sherwin-Williams, HGTV Home, Behr, and PPG) are putting forward as their choices for 2020.

Remember: It’s Your Home

Perhaps the most important thing to keep in mind as you follow the custom home trends for this year is that it’s your custom home and you should focus on the things that make you comfortable—whether it’s the layout or the décor. That, after all, is what “custom” is all about!