The top home design trends of 2022

The top emerging home design trends based on the latest search insights from Houzz's community of homeowners offers a mix of the traditional with more West Coast American vibes thrown in.

By Vanessa Walker, Editor, Houzz Australia

| 4-8-2022 | Architecture And Design | 2 min read

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(Image source: Shutterstock.com)

Home renovation and design platform Houzz.com.au identified the top emerging home design trends based on the latest search insights from its community of homeowners, home design enthusiasts and home professionals.

The trends highlight the continued need for dedicated activity spaces, a focus on outdoor living, a rise in bathroom grooming and a deep dive into resort-style pool design. The report also shows an increase in homeowners honouring architectural origins, while smart-storage solutions are clearly important in 2022.

Dedicated activity spaces
Since the beginning of the pandemic, people have continued to make their homes the centrepoint for new avenues of activity and entertainment and it shows in the increased searches seen on Houzz this year for ‘home bar’ (up by 79%), ‘media room’ (up by 48%), ‘library’ (up by 46%), ‘rumpus room’ (up by 43%) and ‘studio’ (up by 43%).

Home bar - up 79%
Media room - up 48%
Library - up 46%
Rumpus room - up 43%
Studio - up 43%

Outdoor living
Connecting homes to the great outdoors is a trend that’s grown stronger over recent years. It appears more and more homeowners are looking to achieve the idyllic beachside lifestyle, with searches for ‘Hamptons exterior’ quadrupling and ‘coastal kitchen’ doubling in 2022 (up 331% and 116%, respectively).

Making the most of alfresco settings continues with searches on Houzz for ‘greenhouse’ (up by 2x), ‘decks’ (up by 2x) and ‘outdoor dining’ (up by 66%) surging higher over the past year.

In addition, capturing the open-air ’Palm Springs’-inspired vibe is gaining popularity and searches are up by 56% on Houzz.

Hamptons exterior - up 331%
Coastal kitchen - up 116%
Greenhouse - up 111%
Decks - up 105%
Outdoor dining - up 66%
Palm Springs - up 56%

Making a splash
Bathrooms remain one of the most popular interior rooms to be upgraded and saw spend by homeowners increase 13% from $15,000 to $17,000 year-on-year, according to the latest 2022 Houzz & Home Australia report.

Specific searches for ‘bathroom mirrors’ (up by more than 2.5x), ‘baths’ (up by 2x), ‘wet room’ (up by 64%) and ‘ensuite’ (up by more than 38%) have jumped in 2022 compared to the year prior.

Bathroom mirrors - up 151%
Bath - up 110%
Wet room - up 64%
Ensuite - up 38%

Poolside plunge
People are searching for ways to cool off in style, and pool professionals on Houzz confirm interest in swimming pool design has certainly heated up recently. Homeowners on Houzz are diving deep for inspiration with the search terms ‘pool house’ (up by 2x), ‘swimming pool’ (up by 60%), ‘swim spa’ (up by more than 52%), ‘pool cabana’ (up by 42%) and ‘plunge pool’ (up by 29%) surging higher than the previous year.

Pool house - up 107%
Swimming pool - up 60%
Swim spa - up 52%
Pool cabana - up 42%
Plunge pool - up 29%

Preserving charm and character
Preserving the original charm and character of a home appears to be top of mind among homeowners on Houzz.

Dramatic search spikes for ‘exposed brick’ (up by nearly 3x), along with ‘balustrade’ (up by more than 2x), ‘Federation’ (up by 52%) and ‘industrial’ (up by 41%) show that decorative styles and architectural features, that are unique to period-style homes, have become popular this year.

In addition, ‘Australian native gardens,’ which are well-suited to local growing conditions, saw growth on Houzz by more than 2.3x, when compared to 2021.

Exposed brick - up 199%
Australian native garden - up 132%
Balustrade - up 101%
Federation - up 52%
Industrial - up 41%

Smart storage
Custom smart-storage solutions are becoming increasingly important for homeowners, with the 2022 Houzz & Home Australia survey reporting more than a third enlisted the help of a cabinet or cabinetry home professional in the past year (32%).

Creating a well-functioning ‘butler’s pantry’ more than quadrupled in searches in the first quarter of 2022, compared with the same period in 2021 (up 311%). Home organisation is increasingly prioritised with higher searches for ‘garage storage’ (up by 90%), ‘built-in wardrobe’ (up by 77%), ‘mudroom’ (up by 64%) and ‘walk-in wardrobe’ (up by 58%).