The gray and white look was everywhere the last 5-10 years. Some tours we saw nothing but gray and white in every house.

Good. Gray is dreary and cold.

LVP are really popular!

Affordable and practical. What's not to like?

Floors are getting lighter.

Your floor is going to last a long, long time and is hard to change. It just seems logical to me that going with a mid-range tone is sensible.

Pendants are getting bigger.

I have no great love of this idea, but it's also an easy thing to change. If you're going to go trendy, this is a good place to do it.

loor plans are more practical.

I think people are being more sensible about actual needs and debt. If pocket offices are disappearing, I wonder if it's because more people are working from home /need full-sized offices. We, of course, are very near retirement and are planning a pocket office ... it's all we need.

Pantries are becoming more important.

I've always loved a pantry ... and a large pantry attached to a small kitchen is a practical /inexpensive choice.

I read a few years ago that folks were beginning to like the idea of smaller and more intimate spaces, that the 'open floor plan' would be going out of favor. I have not seen any evidence of that in my area.

I don't believe it either.

To design according to trend will leave a house looking out-dated in a few years. To design according to needs and preference despite trend will leave the owner pleased for many years.

Absolutely ... though I see no problem with using trendy colors in paint (easily replaced) and other quick-to change items. Accessories, maybe.

I love dark floors though

You know they're harder to keep clean, right? Like white, dark shows every speck of dirt. If you love them, you love them -- but know what you're getting into.

More frustratingly, when you go to shop for things like flooring, there is still a lot of grey.

Well, yeah. When a trend has been "big", it dies slowly.

And now into using marbles/quartzes/other high end countertops in the pantry as well.

High-end stone in a storage room is an expensive choice.

Fun...I would love to go to a parade of homes.

Split bedroom ranches dominate...NOT surprised With all of us baby boomers getting old at the same time. Sometimes I wonder why we didnt build this type of house!

i don’t like gray and haven’t since we built our 1988 home and it looked like it was sprayed with gray, mauve, and mint green.

However my kitchen countertop has a little more gray in it than I like and I am doing my best to play it down.

floors...As Sophie always said...you can’t go wrong with medium brown hardwood.

you can’t be too rich, too thin, or have too big of a pantry.

To design according to trend will leave a house looking out-dated in a few years. To design according to needs and preference despite trend will leave the owner pleased for many years.

Best comment I've heard! Bravo!

I am happy to read most of the observations. I have mostly traditional/transitional taste, so I did find a touch of gray to be fresh for a bit but never totally embraced it. I think the dark woods, while very rich looking, have run the course and I am happy to hear about the lighter wood floors. I think they are also way more practical as that espresso color wood shows every speck of dust and crumbs.

I am also happy about bege returning- I always find beige/tan to be warmer colors.

I also am noticing so much quartz and marble as the new cool kids on the block . I still think granite is the bomb.

I keep hearing that the white kitchens have peaked and are less happening but honestly that is still all I see. Very little else.

I even to my shock am appreciating some of the champagne -gold=brass ish fixtures.

I think some of the layouts may be more regional but it's nice that things seem to be going towards more practical.

(FWIW I rarely see anything barn door.....and I can't say I feel deprived).

I

I too live in South FL and agree with Karen Rose mostly. However anything that isn't gray is done in shades of turquoise and greige. More and more engineered hardwood flooring in the high end houses and less and less tile and stone for flooring. Definitely lots of quartz and/or quartzite counters.

The big thing here is large sliders to the lanai area. Everything is still very open concept. The biggest trends are sugar cube houses and coastal caribbean contemporary looks.

Metal roofs are now the rage versus cement roofs. Every high end home still has a tub and a shower. More and more of the high end homes are putting in induction cooktops versus gas now. Ceilings on the first floor are ridiculously high. 12'-15' high.

" I read a few years ago that folks were beginning to like the idea of smaller and more intimate spaces, that the 'open floor plan' would be going out of favor. I have not seen any evidence of that in my area. "

Here, high end houses no longer have open floor plan. Kitchen is in its own private space or has two kitchens [public/private]. Trend is for High-end houses to more blend with the surroundings instead of dominate. Public spaces [fronts] appears to be shrinking, where private spaces are growing leaps and bounds. Metal balusters are out, but 7" newel posts are everywhere.

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"Family showers" are in in a stupid way. Oh come on one house had 8'x16' shower.

Kitchen: One had samsung cooktop that bluetooth turns on hood when in use.

smarthomes/alexa are back in: 14' ft room top windows had autoshaders.

Sliding doors walls were everywhere some 100% disappearing.

Fun...I would love to go to a parade of homes.

Me too!

am also happy about bege returning- I always find beige/tan to be warmer colors.

Again, me too.

Metal roofs are now the rage versus cement roofs.

Metal roofs are functional ... a good long-range investment.

"Family showers" are in in a stupid way. Oh come on one house had 8'x16' shower.

No way! Are they washing cars in it? I don't think all the showers in our high school gym rooms total 8x16'.

"Fun...I would love to go to a parade of homes."

Not me. I get enough exposure to clichés in this Houzz.

Love your observations - we're in WI also and building right now - a lot of what you mentioned we're doing -

Gray is going away. We're having our builder do the whole-house in gray, not because I plan on keeping it gray forever, but it's a great neutral that we can live while I decide what other colors I want to bring in! We plan on living in this house for many years and are taking time on décor decisions!

Split bedroom ranches dominate the market. You've basically described our floor plan here! We spent about 2 years deciding on the right floor plan to start with - we still made a few modifications to the builder's design, but nothing major.

Pantries are becoming more important. I joke that I may live in our walk-in pantry. I'm putting outlets and countertops in there - I am probably MOST excited about the walk-in pantry than any other part of our house! So much function and organizing... and it will be pretty too.

I would also add - as we designed our home, the idea of "how will we clean that?" dictated many of our decisions!! We often decided to select something that was viewed as a downgrade to the builder because of easier maintenance and long-term wear! Trying to keep it practice and realistic! :)

Oh - and we had someone suggest a wine fridge for our kitchen island - my husband and I laughed and said we're more of a "pop fridge in the garage" kind of people! haha

>>"Family showers" are in in a stupid way. Oh come on one house had 8'x16' shower.

>No way! Are they washing cars in it? I don't think all the showers in our high school gym rooms total 8x16'.

Five fixed glass panels like 10' high, so anyone in the shower feels like standing in a store window. Two rainheads, two big multi sprayers [2 heads with diverter valves each]... 2x demand water heaters. Every single couple were joking about a "family shower"...

"Gone are rusty-looking metals, Edison bulbs, caged light fixtures, and anything that looks like it was bolted in place by Rosy the Riveter."

Holly, are these bulbs out? I am considering using this fixture at island

you can’t be too rich, too thin, or have too big of a pantry.

This made me smile. And it is true!

Some said they are still seeing a lot of white kitchens. On this year's Parade, I noticed more stained cabinetry than in the past. There were probably 4 white kitchens among the 26 homes. The rest had stained cabinets. Most of them were a dark stain, some almost black or black.

Naf_Naf - LOVE that fixture.

Naf, I love that fixture!!

Martha...I love that fixture too. I can’t wait to see your house. I’m sure it is going to be fabulous!

I haven't been to a parade of homes in a few years, but I keep a close tab on local real estate and how existing homes are being dressed and staged to sell. In the middle class Chicago suburban areas near me all gray interiors are still big especially among houses that have been recently flipped or are staged to sell. I'm still seeing a lot of white kitchens, including not so nice painted oak cabinets for sellers trying to get a white kitchen.

I am as others have noted seeing a significant lightening of floors. Which I appreciate since floors for a while were so dark they might as well be painted black. It's like a whole decade of people being adverse to any wood grain between the white and the mocha.

I have however seen lately a lot of all white interiors in high end homes, both in the urban townhouses and condos in Chicago as well as in the most expensive suburbs. This goes for both modern and traditional houses. Walls, trim, cabinets, doors...pretty much everything but the wood floors and the hardware are white.

Going to a Parade of Homes to learn about trends is like shopping at Walmart to see what's hot in the fashion industry. Both will have products that appeal to a broad swath of lower middle to middle class families. Neither will have "high end" trends, even if the houses are in the 7 figure range.

It's such a shame that the shelter magazines have gone the way of getting news from a newspaper. I still subscribe to the British "House & Garden" and every month, I'm always inspired by what I see/read in it. At age 75, it takes a lot to inspire me, these days, but it does.

Holly, are these bulbs out? I am considering using this fixture at island

Double check that those bulbs will give off enough light. Most don't.

No chasing trends here. I just really like looking at what is new with houses. We are not currently looking, remodeling, or selling. My own house is very untrendy with "orange" wood everywhere.

Although even those who aren't "chasing trends" can be subject to them when that is all that is offered.

I don't go to the Parade to chase trends. I have gotten a couple of clever ideas from other houses. And it's interesting to see what trends from the shelter magazines actually trickle down into general use. They don't all. For instance, I doubt that many people will be brave enough to use the current deep green for whole rooms or kitchen cabinets here in Middle America.

Also, what's getting used a lot in the Parade tends to be what people start asking for from vendors, and that, in turn, drives the local market for what's most readily available.

Most high end shelter magazines showcase things beyond the reach of the average suburban homeowner. Although "Get the look for less!" articles abound in more mainstream publications like BH&G. So I always find it interesting to see what can eventually translate.

Right now, nothing has yet come along that packs the mass appeal of the whole "modern farmhouse" thing. I'm not sure anything really will, immediately. So I'm curious to see if that leads to a bit of variety in the local scene or if Instagram chooses a new decor star soon.

"Don’t you remember middle school when you went out with your friends and you all wore slightly different versions of the exact same outfit??? Graduate!"

Lol! Yes, the actions and perceived opinions of others is a driving force in many decisions from childhood onwards, unfortunate in almost all cases.

As for the Edison bulbs, as CPArtist said, people are finally figuring out that they don't give very good light.

Wish we had a parade of homes, sounds fun.

I am putting in what I want and what suits myself and my husband in our older years. Obviously putting a plum island in the kitchen is not a trtrend

I am putting in what I want and what suits myself and my husband in our older years.

I do get some ideas from pictures and am putting in lighter wood floors.

More important to go with what work for you and your family. I'd rather have my average home that functions well than a movie theater and basketball court!

I agree regarding the downside of Edison bulbs. While the Edison bulbs are a newer touch, I have mostly heard that the lighting is disappointing.

Well...I'm with Holly on this subject. That is, it can be useful and informative to tour a lot of the Parade of Homes events, particularly if they include or consist completely of architect designed homes. Unfortunately, there are few of these sorts of events across the country.

But what is really pointless, IMO, is going to Parade of Homes events for the purpose of looking for trends. Why? Because the definition of trends tends to be "...what's hip or popular at a certain point in time, i.e., a certain style in fashion or entertainment..." In other words, the color of the month is a trend which lasts 30 days before it's out of date and replaced with something else with a life span of 30 days.

Why would one want "trends" for their custom home?

In my view, timelessness, i.e., things that never go out of style and are enjoyable and appealing over time is the goal in the architectural and interior design of a home.

Of course, it all depends on how one views the design and construction of a home. I'm sure there are those who view this in the same way as picking out a new blouse or shirt to wear for a few weeks and then discard.

I'm just not one of those.

It's just like anything else - some things become "trendy" because they are timeless. Like white subway tile backsplash. Trendy now, yes - but a fair bet that in 15-20 years someone won't walk into your home and go "OMG subway tile is SO 2020's!!" Other things are trendy for other reasons - like sliding barn doors. The wonderful thing is that we all get to pick what we like! Just like selecting your clothes - you don't follow every trend, you dress to fit your shape and what looks good on you. If you happen to look good in a particular trend for a season or two - go for it, have fun! But you don't dump your entire wardrobe every season and only wear what's trendy. With a home - you can design it to meet your tastes and if you want to dabble in a couple of trendy options here or there - go for it! It's the differences that make homes (and people) special!

Yep...it's your home and you should do what you want to do.

I would say that trying to pick timeless things is a good goal, but based on history it's going to be nearly impossible to attain with everything.

Take the example above, even though subway tile is currently considered timeless, there was roughly a period from 1940 to 2000 when no one was using them. We consider them classic because they recall an earlier time, but that doesn't mean that things won't shift and they fall out of fashion for a long time again. Unless you are intentionally and faithfully recreating a look from a past decade (or century) or doing something completely out there, there is no escaping a design that will be dated, in the sense that people will be able to generally tell when it was done.

Also looking at history, whatever you build or decorate, chances are the people in 20-30 years (or you yourself) are going to hate it, and the people in 50-60 years will think it's retro and cool. The best that one can do is pick things that have been common to multiple design periods, meaning if they go out they will likely come back, and keep your designs as consistent in style and logical and functional as possible, and don't do anything trendy in a way that's impossible to remove later.

Go to parade of homes. See what builders are putting into their idea of a high end house. Avoid doing anything similar.

I would say that trying to pick timeless things is a good goal, but based on history it's going to be nearly impossible to attain with everything.

Take the example above, even though subway tile is currently considered timeless, there was roughly a period from 1940 to 2000 when no one was using them. We consider them classic because they recall an earlier time, but that doesn't mean that things won't shift and they fall out of fashion for a long time again. Unless you are intentionally and faithfully recreating a look from a past decade (or century) or doing something completely out there, there is no escaping a design that will be dated, in the sense that people will be able to generally tell when it was done.

Also looking at history, whatever you build or decorate, chances are the people in 20-30 years (or you yourself) are going to hate it, and the people in 50-60 years will think it's retro and cool. The best that one can do is pick things that have been common to multiple design periods, meaning if they go out they will likely come back, and keep your designs as consistent in style and logical and functional as possible, and don't do anything trendy in a way that's impossible to remove later.

Something which is consistent with the architectural style of the house stands a larger chance of being timeless and ensuring maximum enjoyment, as well as resale value.

Of course, if the house has no architectural style, or lifetime enjoyment and resale value have little to no priority, anything will work for the original owner. Even purple and yellow walls.

I am overjoyed if gray is going away. Such a depressing color tone! I want and encourage warmth in my home.

Barn doors... I like them in the appropriate places. They would have worked wonderfully in my log home, but the electric where they put it (without following what I'd asked for) eliminated that. I'm fine without them, too, but there's nothing wrong with barn doors in the appropriate places and in the appropriate building style.

(I will take a thousand barn doors over cold depressive gray paint.)

I will probably be dead (or close to it) in 30 years so I guess I need not worry. lol

Don’t get the hate for grey. I love grey as a wall color. Painted a few of our rooms grey 10-12 years ago and planning lots of light grey in our new house. I like it a lot better than Browns or worst of all beige!

I'm with you marjen!

I was surprised at the popularity of grey. Personally I dig it, but certainly can see how it can come across as cold. I feel like it makes a great base layer, though, so it really matters what else is happening in the room. Way better than beige, any day.

Thats one of the things I like better about grey. I think you can accent with any color. Blue, red, blues, greens, orange. most of those don’t really go with brown or beige.

Zalco- that’s what we thought we were doing by rejecting gray in favor of warmer neutrals, choosing a stained wood kitchen, etc.. And then the darned trend cycle shifted again. It won’t change what we do since we chose what we love, but still annoying.

I know! I was trying to be out of fashion, but apparently I've failed.

Grey and beige are both useful neutrals. Of course beige can go with other colors, as long as you choose the right shades:

Both neutrals are equally versatile. Where you run into trouble is when the beige used goes very pink or very yellow. But greys are rather the same way when they run too purple or too green.

Those are all beautiful rooms, Holly. I think part of the problem with both beige and gray as trendy colors is how they are used. When you see a gray room without any contrast, color or texture, it's too much. The same goes for relentlessly beige and tan rooms I have seen, filled with brown leather sofas and not an once of color to relive the tedium. People who are not as attuned to interiors as say designers or decorating amateurs see a Joanna Gains gray interior, but they miss all the other parts that make the room work. The color is easy to pick out for everyone, the details, which make the design work blend into the background for those who dod not look at interiors a lot, or critically.

I'm more of a color girl, I suppose. :-) I don't care for all grey or all beige rooms, either. (I did love your recent posts on English decorating, although I'm not quite brave enough to go that far, either).

I do think that Parade Homes are often on the bland side, even when they're owned by someone, in an effort to let Parade-goers "see" themselves in the house.

I was happy to read about stained wood - my kitchen is stained wood and warm tones and I feel out of step. I decided not to go to my local kitchen walk tomorrow because I think it will just make me feel bad about my own kitchen! (I love my neighborhood and house and but it's too big for me now and I hope to put it on the market next year, so I'm sensitive about what potential buyers will want. I know -- price accordingly!)