10 Home Remodel Trends We’re Seeing in 2021

The year 2020 has forced us to think differently about many things: how we work, how we study, and how we maintain and nurture our relationships. But most of all, however, after being forced to stay at home all day every day, it has forced everyone to rethink the layout, design, and functionality of their homes and living spaces.

2021 is seeing a steep rise in homeowner’s plans to renovate and remodel in order to adapt to our evolving lifestyles. If you’re just at the starting line of this journey, here are some home remodel trends to expect more of in 2021 for inspiration.

Neutral Colors as Base and Brighter Colors to Inspire

2021 has been and continues to be a colorful leap towards more self-expression and away from Kim Kardashian-esque interior monotony. Pantone has published this year’s color palettes for fashion and home interior to reveal bright and warm hues playing a significant role in establishing character —  which home remodelers should be considering more and more as we develop stronger and closer relationships with our living spaces.

While you shouldn’t shy away from going brighter this year, take note that natural and earthy hues are core elements for a design that is comfortable and comforting. Incorporating shades like Burnt Coral (a softer more mellow coral), Willow (a khaki that hugs), and Green Ash (a soft and cooling minty touch) into fixed pieces or movable decor will help keep things lively in a space that represents safety and calm. 

neutral and cool tones bedroom

More Metal, Please

Metal pieces are popular in this year’s decor, design, and appliance choices. Whether they are art pieces, faucets, and knobs, sconce lighting, or incorporated into your furniture, metal tends to break its own stigma and add a dash of warmth when paired with natural tones and textures.

metal and natural accents in living room

Simple and Functional Thrives

Although extended homestay makes minimalism and a very clean interior design harder to maintain and be inspired by, keeping design functional and simple will continue to be valued. A functional design will be key in establishing the efficiency of varying daily tasks and a stress-free environment.

This means more smart solutions for storage, especially in rooms where more time is spent. With the whole family home more often, adding storage to kitchen islands and discrete stow-aways in the living room can help keep chaos at bay.

smart storage in reading corner

Make Space for the Workspace

Creating a home office or office nook is going to be one of the most common add-ons this year and key determiners of productivity and organization. If you’re looking into home office ideas and considering a more official set-up, it would be optimal to hire an experienced contractor to tell you about the options available to sew in a work zone into your home harmoniously. While they implement, you can worry about looking for pretty home office furniture. Though you can DIY a decent desk, it's worth having a professional on the project to prioritize smooth integration of office space into existing architecture

office space in white kitchen

Goodbye Open Floor Plans, Hello Privacy

There is a rediscovered appreciation for privacy and quiet these days; it’s right there along with a love towards sweatpants.

While adding a room to an existing floor plan isn’t something for everyone, a significant chunk of home changes in 2021 will be the addition of partitions, hanging screens, and sliding doors. These separators allow for the flexibility to metamorphose spaces based on function at different times of the day. The future represents a greater need for spaces that can, during a video call, filter out children screaming or vacuuming.

sliding doors separating living room

The Merging of Indoor and Outdoor Living Spaces

Creating a space to be able to go outside, get some fresh air, have dinner, or work from will be high on everyone’s to-do list for 2021. Even if putting in a new patio or installing sliding glass doors around a potential veranda isn’t in your budget, you can undertake smaller, more feasible changes to achieve that healthy transition — or at least the illusion of it.

An example of an easy home project that can facilitate a nature detox for your eyes is to bring the outdoors inside with plants or even a majestic tree. Biophilic home design will also be on the rise with the same goal: more exposure to nature without having to go “out”.

living wall

Patio extensions and sliding glass doors to transform a living room into a veranda will be more ambitious but very popular projects as well.

indoor outdoor dining room

Inviting and Relaxing Bathroom

As spas, salons, and self-care outside of the home continue to be risky the convenience, comfort, and functionality of bathrooms are rising in importance. Some bathroom remodel ideas that people will gravitate to in the coming months are: large format wall tiles, floating vanities, back-lit mirrors, flat-bottom tubs, heated flooring, and warm colors.

blue tiled modern bathroom

Larger Kitchens and Added Dining Space

While pre-covid-19 routines were quite different, more time spent at home has meant more shared meals. More meals at home naturally mean more cooking at home, so we can expect many who have the space to be expanding their kitchens as well as dining areas.

minimalist kitchen with wooden table

For many, kitchens have also started to serve as home offices, so separating spaces according to function is also an added bonus to consider. Multi-zone kitchens will be very popular and sought after this year.

Enter the Kitchen Statement Piece

While all-white kitchens and a staple marble backsplash seem like an unbreakable trend, many designers insist on considering the comeback of more color or intricacy in stone choice. Breccias, onyxes, and even veinier marbles, in particular, seem to be making an entrance, and not only into kitchens.

moody kitchen with natural stone

The higher end of the market has begun straying from solemn whites and synthetic agglomerates which have dominated the design scene recently. Instead, people are beginning to re-embrace the exotic and fearless, bringing in color and character through natural, rare stones and patterns. If you’re considering tile though, and because hygiene and convenience are also a top priority, Harold K. Hardesty, co-founder of The House Wire advises to “STAY AWAY FROM MOSAIC TILE”. With smaller tiles come more cracks and pockets just waiting for mold and mildew to develop. “Keep your family’s lungs healthy by going with flat surfaces or larger tiles.”

You Don’t Just Want an Escape, You Need One

Just as we look inside our homes with changed eyes, the new year is a great opportunity to turn an eye to the possibilities our outdoor spaces offer. More spacious backyards hold the promise of a new multipurpose structure to escape to for privacy, productivity, or rejuvenation. Therefore, backyard cottages, sheds, and other accessory dwelling units will be on the rise on remodeling dockets.

accessory dwelling unit

Personalization 

Most of our home visits have been confined to our screens, further heightening our voyeuristic journeys through Instagram and Pinterest to discover...a lot of the same. Lately, it seemed everyone was Instagramming from homes that look templated: they’re often similar in color scheme and vibes — namely a lack of color and subdued.

While recent years had many opting for what was trending, we have entered a new era of the home remodel and decor decision-making that will have people wanting to break free. 2021 design trends reveal less strictness in style choice and a tendency to mix styles, for example, by combining the structure of industrial with the comfort and warmth of traditional. This also leaves more room to add personalized or statement pieces like rugs and pillows. As people are spending more time at home, more thought is going into what items and decisions make it home — which is important when addressing how you want to feel in your home.

personalized eclectic living room

This will give rise to original pieces with history and we’ll see decreasing popularity in lite, DIY Ikea picks. Although affordable and stylish will always be attractive, with more people at home for longer, wear and tear becomes a reality worth factoring in. When you have the opportunity to choose something perhaps a little pricier but sturdy and sustainable, you’re likely to pay more attention to whether that couch, bookshelf, or coffee table is durable and speaks to your individuality.

There are plenty of ideas that can both refresh our lives and help us adjust to the world around us. To help wrap your head around all the little or not-so-little changes you want to see in your home in the new year, find a contractor to help you get organized and get started.