Custom Home Design Trends in 2026
less perfection. More human.
An architect’s perspective on what’s shaping residential design, and what’s on its way out.
Blog / Custom Home Designs Trends in 2026
By: Matthew Giardina
Hill Country Ranch, photos by Madeline Harper Photography
Every two years or so I’m asked to write a blog about the new trends in custom home design. “Why?”, you might ask. I asked the same question. But here we are. I, writing. You, reading. Unless you’re not reading this right now, which, let’s be honest, is much more likely.
But, on the off chance that this does get read, I’ve endeavored to put together a compilation of the top six design trends in 2026. There may end up being fewer than 6 by the time I’m done. You’ll just have to keep reading to find out. It’s like the game of Clue, with the butler under the coffee table wearing a red cardigan. I’ve never played Clue before. But I do design custom homes, so maybe this blog will be better than I think.
For starters, every good lesson follows a simple structure. First, you tell them what you’re going to tell them. Then you tell them. Finally, you tell them what you told them. So, for those of you who have just settled down in your favorite chair, ready to find out what the world has in store for you in 2026, and you’ve found yourself reading this blog, I am sorry. I’m an architect, not a blogger. But here’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to tell you about warmth and softness, and about ornamentation, and about rooms that are meant to inspire face-to-face interaction between people, and about multiple kitchens in the same house.
Those of you reading closely are saying to yourselves, “He said he’d talk about six things, and then one paragraph later he only listed four things.” And you are right. However, I listed warmth and softness as one topic, but they could be considered two, so we’ll split the difference and call it four and a half. Plus, I’m going to tell you about three trends that are going out of style: white houses with black trim, car wash showers, and open-concept living. So, with four and a half new trends, minus three old trends, and throw in the fact that this blog costs you nothing but a few minutes of your life and a percentage or two of your phone’s battery life, and I’d say you’re getting a pretty good deal.
IN: warmth and softness
When my wife, business partner, and fellow architect told me that Pantone selected a cool white color called “Cloud Dancer” as their color of the year, I was like, “What?”. And she said “Pantone named ‘Cloud Dancer’ as their color of the year. It’s a bright, cool white color.” And I said, “I heard you the first time. I was just like, ‘What?’.” And she was like, “Is that all you have to say about it?” And I said, “Yeah. Unless someone asks me to write a blog about 2026 design trends, then I might come up with a few more things to say about Pantone’s terrible choice for the color of the year.” And here we are. I have a few more things to say about it, now. Things like, “Seriously?”, and “Are you kidding me?”, and “For real?”, and “You’re joking, right?”. Because if there’s one thing we’re seeing in the design world, it’s a retreat from the overbearing stark white minimalist designs that Apple has championed over the years, towards the humanistic, comfort-focused, moody, textured, imperfect, unpolished, asymmetric by chance, forget-the-coaster-cause-I-live-life-on-the-edge kind of design that you’d find being hammered out by a starving artist who does his best work with a rosary in one hand and a cigarette in the other. I think we want more warmth, more softness, more color, and less perfection in our homes because, deep down inside, we recognize that we are imperfect, too, and maybe, just maybe, 2026 is the year that we’re all tired of pretending that we’re not.
Hill Country Ranch, photos by Madeline Harper Photography
in: ornamentation
I have two sons and three young daughters, and one of the things they’ve taught me over the years is that less is not more. Less wrestling is not more fun. Less accessories are not more “booful” (beautiful). Less bedtime stories are not more sleeping children. And less coloring outside the lines is not more artistry. A similar principle applies to the trend in custom home design toward more ornamentation. A flat white stucco box just doesn’t do it for us, anymore. Not that there was anything wrong with it when it was done. Every trend has its time and place. But this year, more is more. More corbels. More trim. More pattern. More intricate details. More blending of multiple styles, colors, eras, and motifs into a single setting. More lipstick, glitter, and hair-ties. More scrapes, bruises, and mudpies. We will certainly look back on this ten years from now and say, “What were we thinking?”. But that’s a problem for ten years from now. And I don’t know about you, but I’m going to live 2026 in 2026.
IN: spaces meant for people, not screens
I’m not a big fan of TVs. We have a TV in our house, and we turn it on once a week, on Friday night, because that’s our “movie-night”. We let our kids pick a movie that we all watch together, then we turn it off and go to bed. One of our daughters broke our TV by hitting it with a baseball bat a couple years ago, and we waited a solid year before we replaced it. Then, a few months ago, our youngest son broke our new TV by throwing an action-figure at it, and we have yet to buy a new one. Our kids don’t have computers, video games, tablets, or phones. What do we do, then, when we’re all at home, you might ask. We read a lot of books, we do a lot of arts and crafts projects, we do puzzles like nobody’s business, we play lots of board games, we cook, we draw, we wrestle, we break things – obviously – and we make a lot of messes. My dad always says that “art is the process of making a mess and then cleaning it up.”, and based on that definition, there’s a lot of art going on in our house.
Based on the trend we’re seeing in custom home designs, I don’t think my family is alone in our desire to spend time face-to-face with one another. More and more we are being asked to design homes with rooms with a purpose, and less and less does that purpose have anything to do with a screen. Media rooms have all but vanished from the lists of spaces people are requesting in their homes. Instead, we’re being asked to design sitting rooms for four chairs to be gathered around nothing at all, so that people can sit and interact with each other. We’re being asked to design music rooms, where people can play the piano, or guitar, or their record player. People want us to include Board Game Rooms for their board games, Reading Rooms for their reading, Prayer Rooms for their praying, and Formal Living Rooms for their formal living. Yeah, you heard that right. Formal Living Rooms, like the one in your grandmother’s house that all the grandkids were scared to go into because it was always devoid of people and full of grandma’s old nick-nacks that looked really easy to break. Those are making a comeback this year. Not the fragile nick-nacks, but the Formal Living Rooms. Depending on the interior designer you talk to, though, fragile nick-nacks might be back in style, too, but I’m already giving you seven and a half design trends to mull over today, so let’s keep that one in our back pocket for now.
Hill Country Ranch, photos by Madeline Harper Photography
in: One house…wait for it… two kitchens…
As if one kitchen wasn’t hard enough to clean. I have a feeling this is one of the trends that will cause the most head-scratching in the future. People are going to look back on this trend of putting two fully-functioning kitchens back-to-back in the same home and say “What were they thinking?”. With that being said, I’m a big proponent of two kitchens, and I wish I had two kitchens in my house. They’re just so useful. First off, the ‘show-kitchen’, as we like to call the kitchen that is more front-facing of the two, is not really intended to be used for cooking, so it won’t be getting dirty on the daily. The ‘dirty kitchen’, on the other hand, is the one that is supposed to get dirty. Hence the name ‘dirty kitchen’. Now, in my opinion, there’s one key homeowner trait that makes a double-kitchen home make sense, and that is your propensity for entertaining. If you host lots of parties at your house, or you’re always having friends and family over for dinner, two kitchens are like magic. Think about it. You do all the cooking in the hidden kitchen, while your show-kitchen looks immaculate, and everyone is like “Where did all this food come from?!”, and you’re like “We made it ourselves.”, and they’re like, “Are you some kind of gods?!”, and you chuckle and pretend like it was no big deal and that life just naturally comes easier to you, meanwhile you’ve got pots and pans stacked to the ceiling and bacon grease all over the floor just one room over.
Hill Country Ranch, photos by Madeline Harper Photography
Out: white houses with black trim
It had its day, and what a glorious day it was, but the sun has set on it, and nobody likes the party guest that refuses to leave even when you’re standing in your pajamas yawning at their jokes and vacuuming under their feet. And if you’re having a hard time letting go, just remember, trends run in a loop! Give it thirty years and white houses with black trim will be all the rage again, and you can stare at that stark contrast to your heart’s content. In the meantime, the white house with black trim ship has sailed.
Hill Country Ranch, photos by Madeline Harper Photography
Out: car-wash showers
I’m not talking about showers for cars. I’m talking about showers for people, that are big enough for cars, and have doors on each side of them, so you can walk in one side and out the other. We’ve designed many of these in the past, and don’t get me wrong, I think they’re great. I took a shower in one during a vacation, once, and loved it. I’m not saying there’s a problem with car wash showers. I’m just saying, if you’re looking to build your custom home today, and you want to know what trends to follow, the car wash shower isn’t one of them.
Out: open-concept living
There was a period of time, several years ago, when everyone decided that big, wide-open spaces inside of homes would be amazing, and everyone went crazy tearing down load-bearing walls in one house after another, without stopping long enough to sit down in house with an open-concept layout and realize that it’s incredibly uncomfortable to live in and exceptionally difficult to furnish. The reason I know this is that our firm was hired by client after client to un-open their home’s layout, because they couldn’t function in a space that had no definition from one room to the next. It’s like living in a warehouse. So, now we are back to dividing rooms again. Maybe not to the degree they were divided in the past, but people generally prefer some semblance of separation between the different spaces within their homes.
Hill Country Ranch, photos by Madeline Harper Photography
IN CONCLUSION
Here’s the part of this blog where I tell you what I told you.
If you’ve gotten this far in the blog you probably realize that I was running on empty for a steady clip, just trying to claw my way to the finish line. And here we are. I think that’s the third or forth time in this blog I’ve used some form of the phrase “here we are”. I wonder what that says about me. Maybe it’s that I am acutely aware of my position in life. Or maybe it says that my vocabulary and breadth of suitable idioms is lacking. Either way, here we are. By now you should know about warmth and softness in both colors and materials. You should know everything there is to know about ornamentation. Or, at least remember reading that word once or twice in the blog. You should also be aware of rooms that are meant for people, not for screens, and you should be desperately wanting a second kitchen in your home. You may have mixed feelings on my viewpoint of the white house with black trim trend, and after reading this you may feel the need to clear your head as you walk through your car wash shower, and lounge in your open-concept living room. Whatever you’re doing next, I want you to know that I had much bigger hopes and dreams for this blog, and I am sorry that it turned out this way. Maybe in two more years I’ll be asked to write another blog about design trends, and if so, I’ll know the person who asked me never read this blog.
Should I Move or Remodel?
MOVE OR REMODEL? LET’S UNPACK IT.
Explore the pros, cons, and true costs behind moving versus remodeling, so your home supports the life you’re building.
Blog / Should I Move or Remodel?
By: Chelsea Jordan
When my husband and I were buying our house, one of the million questions we asked our realtor was, “Do people usually move or remodel?” Without hesitation, she said, “People here tend to move.”
That answer stuck with me. Was it simply a realtor’s tactic, after all, moving creates repeat business, or was it really true that homeowners in Houston prefer to move rather than remodel? The more I dug into it, the more I realized the answer wasn’t as straightforward as I initially thought.
Housing Markets:
I started my architectural career in London, where real estate prices are sky-high and closing costs alone could make you cry. For most young professionals, moving into a bigger place simply wasn’t an option, so the only choice was to stay, remodel, and embrace the quirks (yes, even creaky floorboards and converted attics).
When I moved to Houston in 2020, the market felt completely different. Homes were more affordable, properties were turning over quickly, and buyers were competing for sellers’ attention. Fast-forward a few years, and with interest rates hovering above 6% for the third year in a row, the pace of sales has slowed, and remodeling has become an increasingly appealing option again.
Why People Move?
For many families, the decision to move comes down to three things:
Space: They’ve outgrown their home and need more bedrooms or living areas.
Layout: The existing floor plan no longer suits their lifestyle.
Location: They want a better school district, shorter commute, or a different neighborhood.
Sometimes, the cost of adding square footage or making major changes outweighs simply moving to a larger home. And for some people, avoiding the dust and disruption of a remodel can feel like a perk.
Why People Remodel?
On the flip side, remodeling lets you stay rooted in a neighborhood you love while creating a home that finally works for you. Adding that long-awaited primary suite, opening up a kitchen, or upgrading finishes can be more affordable than moving once you factor in all the hidden costs of selling.
At Moment Architects, we’ve helped clients navigate remodels of every scale, from small refreshes to full-home overhauls. Many clients even take the opportunity to vacation or stay with family while construction is underway, returning home to a brand-new space without ever stepping into the dust.
The Price Comparison:
Let’s put numbers to it. Say your home is worth $500,000. Selling could mean losing roughly 10% of that value once you factor in pre-sale repairs, agent fees, and closing costs, that’s around $50,000 gone before you even step into your next house. A typical move for an additional bedroom will cost an additional 10-20%, which translates into an additional $50,000-100,000, plus closing costs, you’re looking at a spending of $100,000-$150,000.
Remodeling, on the other hand, directs your money straight into improvements that add value and function to your home. We see a typical remodel ranging from $150 - $400 per square foot. A whole house remodel can add at least 5% to the future sale price of your home. Of course, not every remodel makes financial sense, which is why we guide clients through cost-benefit comparisons early in the design phase.
The Real Question:
So, should you move or remodel? The answer isn’t a simple yes or no. The real question is:
What isn’t working in your current home?
Can it be solved through design?
And if so, at what cost compared to moving?
Sometimes moving really is the right choice, especially if the issue is tied to location or site constraints that no remodel can fix. But when the house itself is the challenge, a thoughtful remodel can give you the best of both worlds: a home you love, in the neighborhood and schools you don’t want to leave.
How Moment Architects Can Help?
At Moment Architects, we help homeowners weigh both sides of this decision. Through feasibility studies, design concepts, and budget guidance, we give you the clarity to decide whether staying or moving is the smarter move for you. And if remodeling is the answer, we’re with you every step of the way, turning frustration into possibility and helping you create a house that finally feels like home.
Because at the end of the day, whether you move or remodel, the goal is the same: to live in a place that truly supports your life.
be HUMBLE
Our First Core Value
We started Moment Architects because we recognized two things: first, architecture is a service industry; and second, most architects treat their clients as if the client is the one doing the serving.
This is a problem in our industry, and it is for this reason that our first core value is “be humble”.
What does it mean to be humble?
To understand what something means it is often helpful to first understand what it does not mean. Being humble is not the same as belittling oneself. Humility is not found in thinking yourself inadequate, worthless, or insignificant.
C.S. Lewis says that “Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it is thinking of yourself less.”
Humility is Truth
Saint Thomas Aquinas said, “Humility is Truth.” It is living out the deepest truth of things. It is easy to misunderstand humility as an unwillingness to acknowledge our own unique talents. As if a man who excels at tennis can only be humble if he never admits how good he is at tennis. In the light of the statement by St. Thomas, though, this is not humility at all. If a man is truly good at tennis, it would be truthful to admit he is good. Not to boast about it, but to admit it.
True humility, though, goes to the deepest truth. The deepest truth is that the man is good at tennis because God gave him a unique gift, or combination of gifts, that allowed him to excel. Therefore, the humblest thing the man could say about his talent is to admit how good he is, and give the praise to God for his unique ability.
Humility is a virtue
Humility is a virtue, and every virtue has an opposite vice. The vice opposite the virtue of humility is Pride. We can understand a little more about humility, then, by learning more about pride.
What is pride?
Pride is the sin of idolizing oneself; of behaving and believing that I am above reproach, that no one, including God, has any business telling me what to do. Pride, in its emptiest form, is not necessarily a denial of God, but a denial of God’s authority. A denial of God’s right to tell us what we should and should not do.
Humility, being the opposite of pride, can therefore also be described as an attitude of openness to being corrected. Humility is the willingness to admit that I don’t know everything, and even those things I think I know, I could be wrong about.
Less of Me…
Further than that, though, to embody a spirit of humility is to treat every person we encounter as if we are his or her servants. Going back to the quote from C.S. Lewis, if humility is thinking of yourself less, we can deduce that if we’re thinking of ourselves less, we are then thinking of others more. The more we think of others, the easier it is to anticipate their needs, and to provide what they need before they even ask for it. This is the level of humble service we should strive for, to anticipate the needs of others.
What does humility look like in our workplace?
For us, being humble in the workplace starts with recognizing that our unique talents are gifts from God, given to be used for the good of others. Therefore, when we do anything for work, we should ask ourselves, “Who am I serving, myself, or my client?”
The homes we design will one day return to the dust from which they came, because like it or not, the physical products of our work, what is seen, is transitory, and no amount of kick-out flashing or continuous insulation will ever change that. But the choices we make, the way we love and serve, what is unseen, will have eternal significance.
Saint Paul said, “Whatever you do, do from the heart, as for the Lord and not for others” Colossians 3:23, and I believe this to mean that when we serve others, we are in fact serving our Lord.
Put Our Service to the test
So we invite our clients to put our service to the test, and at the end of the age, when the newest design trends are out of fashion, and the latest advancements in building science are proven to cause more problems than they solve, I hope the final remnant of our work will be the sound of the words we all long to hear, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.” Matthew 25:21