2026 Home Design Trends: What's In, What's Out, and What Buyers Are Responding To After a decade of cool grays, crisp whites, and spaces that looked more like showrooms than homes, buyers have changed what they're looking for. Call it quiet luxury — the idea that richness comes from depth, craft, and intention rather than flash and excess. It's not maximalism. It's a shift toward spaces that feel like somewhere you'd actually want to live. That shift is showing up in buyer data, listing descriptions, and design reports across the board. Here's what it looks like in practice — and what it means if you're thinking about selling your home. What's In Color Is Back — And It's Warmer Than You Think Photo by Bummer Lamb Design & Fine Furnishings The all-gray interior isn't just tired. Buyers have moved on. The biggest shift in Zillow listing descriptions over the last year has been a surge in "color drenching" — coating walls,...
Is Buying a Home Together Right for Your Family? Here's How to Think It Through For a long time, multigenerational living had a reputation problem. It was the option families turned to when something had gone wrong — a job loss, a divorce, a health crisis. Moving back in with your parents, or having your parents move in with you, meant something hadn't worked out. That story has changed pretty significantly. Today, families are choosing this arrangement on purpose — not as a fallback, but as a deliberate decision to share costs, stay connected, and build something that actually works for how their lives are structured right now. According to NAR, 14% of buyers recently purchased a multigenerational home, and the year before that hit 17%. 1 These aren't people making the best of a bad situation. They're rethinking what "home" needs to do. If this is something you're considering — or something a family member has brought up — here's what'...