The Best Fall Housing Design Trends

Fall is here and for many that might mean looking for a new house or getting ready to put a home on the market. No matter what your real estate goals are, if homes are on your mind, then you might be wondering about design features that are hot right now.

You don’t need to do a complete remodel or buy all new furniture to give your home an “of the moment” feel. Some upgrades can happen with a weekend trip to the home improvement store, or by rethinking the flow of a room and rearranging your furniture.

Real estate agents are talking about top fall home design trends with an emphasis on working from home and access to outdoor space among other amenities that can take any home to the next level, whether to appeal to buyers or to make your home more comfortable.

Fall Home Design Trends

Show Me The Home Office

As a result of Covid-19, people across the country started working from home instead of making their daily commute. While many people have gone back to the office, others may never return or have switched to a hybrid work week with a few days at home and a few days in the office.

This situation has led to one of the most popular features when selling a home in 2021 — the home office, which could be for work, studying, or online classes. A dedicated workspace can take a lot of forms, depending on the space available and how this space fits into the flow of a home.

Guest bedrooms with a daybed and desk, or a closet transformed into a quiet workspace are popular additions for an extra room. That means creating a room with a dual function which can be an office by day, and a bedroom when it’s not in use.

Kitchen or living room work nooks with desks that fold up into a wall, or can be cleared up at the end of the day with cabinet storage can also be an excellent upgrade from a day working at the kitchen or dining room table.

The key with any home office is to create an area that is well-lit (ideally with natural light), has outlets to charge computers and phones, and can be partitioned off or is in a room with a door for extra quiet during meetings, especially on video.

Since a necessary component of working from home or taking online classes could be video meetings, paying attention to your “background” — making sure you don’t have a messy bed or living room behind you, but instead a bookcase, framed art, or decorative plants, is another must.

Give Me Privacy

In part because of the need for more privacy at home (as with the home office), open floor plans are out, and partitioned areas are in. Agents are seeing spaces that were once living rooms and kitchens being divided with partitions, large credenzas, or furniture.

You might find that this can be achieved by moving a sofa so that it serves as a room partition, or by adding decorative screens. For a more involved design upgrade, you can add a pony wall, or another wall feature by consulting with a contractor or architect.

No matter how you decide to divide your space, with home workouts, meetings, and online classes now in the domain of living rooms, having the flexibility of a room that can serve many functions is one of the biggest design trends for 2021.

Getting Back to Nature

Backyards became the focal point for many homes in the last year. But as the temperature starts to dip, outdoor scenery is moving indoors, and plants and natural elements are taking center stage inside of homes too.

When it comes to greenery, some on-trend plants to consider are succulents and hanging wall gardens in every room of the house. For green that doesn’t require a lot of attention, you can opt for air plants which only need to be watered about once a week and can hang just about anywhere in your home.

Adding a little greenery can transform a room and introduce light and color without a big financial investment. Natural fibers for rugs, furniture, and light fixtures, and removing drapes to let the light come in for plants, are other ways to add a green touch to any home. Some of the most popular materials right now are rattan, linen, jute, and bamboo.

For furniture, rattan, jute, and bamboo can add airiness and give a modern touch for chairs, side tables, mirrors, stools, or even flooring. If you are looking for a design update with a minimal commitment, cotton and linen pillows added to sofas and reading chairs can change the feel of a room.

All of these items can contribute to increasing your home value on a budget.

Cozy Backyards

With more time spent outside, backyards have become extensions of people’s living rooms. That makes for one of the biggest design trends of 2021 — updated outdoor spaces. To make backyards extra comfortable, outdoor furniture can be upgraded with all-weather cushions and then made your own with coordinated pillows and decorative carpets creating a true outdoor living room.

For extra coziness, fire pits are making a strong showing in 2021, to extend outdoor living all year long. There are many options for firepits and you don’t have to go for a big investment, with a moveable above-ground design that can even go inside when the weather turns.

By adding a firepit you can also enjoy the benefits of your backyard even in fall and winter. There’s a style to fit almost any backyard, making this design upgrade one that is easily accessible to many homeowners.

Home design trends come and go, but comfort is one feature that is timeless, especially in 2021, when everyone is used to spending more time at home. With the emphasis on homes that are cozier and more productive, upgrades for 2021 may be here to stay for a while.

Homelight

 

About the author: The above article on fall home design trends was written by the Homelight team. HomeLight provides helpful advice to buyers and sellers to make smart real estate decisions.