Up and Coming Custom Home Design Elements for 2023

When it comes to creating a custom home, there are a lot of design choices to consider. If you’re looking to design or renovate your home in the coming year, you may be wondering what types of styles and decor are trending and what is falling out of style. While it’s important to create a space that feels like you, keeping up with the latest in home design can help your house feel fresh and new.

Luckily, 2023 looks to be a promising year for home design, with upcoming trends incorporating clean, timeless, and personal looks. If you’re looking to renovate your home soon, here are some of the up and coming home design trends for 2023 that you need to know about.

Say Goodbye to these 2022 Design Trends

While 2022 saw several great home designs, this year has also made many homeowners reconsider some previously popular design trends. The last few years have made us all focus more on how our space serves our needs, and we expect to see more homeowners making conscious choices about the types of things they want in their homes in 2023. Some trends that are on their way out include:

Open Floor Plans

In the past few years, an increasing number of people have begun working and going to school virtually from home. Naturally, this has caused a stir in the home design community, which is adapting to meet the new needs of those of us that spend most of our time in the house.

Open floor plans, once a popular design that made the home feel larger and more open, are now being replaced with more deliberate layouts. When we spend a lot of time sharing space indoors, it can be nice to have an intimate home that creates more privacy and closeness. In 2023, expect to see layouts that focus on more intentionally designed spaces over large, open rooms. 

Whether or not to choose an open floor plan is a personal choice. The trend away from open floor plans is more likely a practical choice for most people rather than a style one, so consider what layouts work best for your lifestyle before giving up on the open floor plan forever.

Tiny Home Offices

The increased need for privacy in the home for work and school has also shifted the way we design home offices. Instead of having a small, cramped office that gets used occasionally, many people who work from home are dedicating more space to the place they spend their 9-5. This means larger offices in the home and customizing the floors, walls, shelving, etc. to truly make a comfortable, long-term workspace at home.

Modern Farmhouse Elements

Other trends that are on the way out may be more of a personal choice, but some choices include shiplap, boho decor, all-white kitchens, metals, and grey interiors. The modern farmhouse style of design, which uses many of these elements, has also decreased somewhat in popularity recently. Modern farmhouse homes gained popularity in part thanks to home renovation reality TV shows, but some homeowners no longer feel that the style connects with their personal taste.

But Modern Farmhouse is not going away entirely. Instead, the style is evolving by merging more and more modern elements and less antique looks. We can still expect to see many homeowners continuing to choose this iconic style in 2023 and beyond.

Custom Home Design: What to Expect for 2023

2023 is bringing in many fun, clean, and fresh features in home design. A big focus in the coming year will be on the kitchen, as more people are choosing to cook at home. With everyone spending more time in their homes, it’s time to consider if your home matches your personal style and taste. Many of the home design trends that are beginning to become popular are focused on creating a more inviting, personalized home. Some home design elements to expect in 2023 include:

Handmade Clay Tile Backsplashes

Clean, white subway tile has become a staple of many kitchens in recent years, but many homeowners are ready for something new. According to The New York Times, handmade Moroccan-style clay tiles are entering the scene as the next most popular backsplash option for both kitchens and bathrooms. These tiles add more visual interest than subway tiles because each tile is inherently unique.

The most popular choices for these handmade tiles include installing them as a 2×6 stacked or 4×4 square pattern. Because of their unique nature, they can be found in many different colours, allowing homeowners to customize the look according to their wishes.

Colourful, Dark, or Warm Coloured Kitchen Cabinets

All-white kitchens have had their moment, but homeowners are now looking to bring a little colour back into their lives. While we will probably never see the classic all-white cabinet look go away, many homeowners are opting for more dark and dramatic designs. Additionally, choosing dark warm colours and wood accents for the top cabinets while leaving the bottom cabinets white has also become a popular way to incorporate more colour and warmth into the kitchen without changing the entire look. 

If you want a more open kitchen, some homeowners are trading out their upper cabinets entirely for floating shelves, creating a minimalist look. This look works well in many types of kitchens, especially in layouts where the kitchen is a bit narrow, as it creates the illusion of more space. Floating shelves can be installed in a single corner or across the entire kitchen. Having open shelving allows you to display decor and your favourite dishes and cookware.

Waterfall Islands

Quartz and granite waterfall islands have seen an increase in growth in recent years, and the trend is only continuing to grow. These timeless yet modern cabinets feature an edge or multiple edges that continue to use the same stone on the top of the counter, giving it the waterfall effect as the stone cleanly “falls” right off the edge of the countertop.

Good Housekeeping predicts waterfall islands will be in the top trends for kitchens in 2023. The clean look of waterfall islands can quickly elevate any kitchen design, making your kitchen look fresh and sharp.

Integrated LED Lighting

Lighting is one of the most important design elements for creating the atmosphere of your home. Built-in LED lighting can help to set the tone without fuss. Add practical LED lighting options such as around your vanity mirror for getting ready in the morning, or motion-activated lights for nighttime in stairways, hallways, and common areas. Integrated LED lighting can help give extra light and ambience when needed without changing the look of your space when they’re turned off.

If you consider yourself tech-savvy, choosing smart home LED lights will allow you the option to program them to turn on or off during certain times of the day, so you can stay on top of the lighting in your entire home automatically, or with the tap of a button on your smartphone.

Ceiling Beam Features

It’s easy to overlook your ceiling when there’s nothing interesting to say about it, but it doesn’t have to stay that way. A newly emerging trend for tall ceilings is exposed beams, which work in a variety of interior design styles and give your room more visual interest. If your room doesn’t have these beams already, they can be installed to instantly change the look of entire rooms.

There are several configurations these beams can be in, allowing you to choose from multiple options depending on your preference. The beams can be left as bear or stained wood, or painted to match the ceiling, adding texture to your space without noticeable colour changes. 

Dog Wash Stations

Possibly the newest and most creative of the design trends to look forward to in 2023 is dog wash stations. These built-in spaces make washing your furry friends a snap. Often added to mudrooms and garages, dog wash stations are like a shower, but built for your pets! Make washing your dogs easy by giving them a platform at your level with a handheld shower head, perfect for anything from a quick rinse off of muddy paws to deep cleaning baths.

Your furry friend will love getting the spa treatment right at home, and you’ll love making sure your dog is clean before he or she enters the rest of your home. If you consider yourself a pet parent, a dog wash station is the next must-have in your home. In addition to being practical, a dog wash station can also raise the value of your home. Zillow found that homes that included a pet shower or dog wash in their listing description sold for 5.1% more than similar homes.

Top 5 Decorative Pieces for Your Home

Decorating your space can become overwhelming, especially when you don’t know where to start. Here are five pieces to consider to help get you started on your decorating journey.

1. Decorative vases: Keeping flowers in your home can give it a clean, put-together look. Consider adding decorative vases into your space and filling them with faux or fresh flowers. Bonus: change out the flowers to match the seasons to make decorating a snap.
2. Photo frames: Nothing tells your family’s story better than displaying your favourite memories around your home. Give your home a personal feel by adding picture frames on the walls and tables with your favourite photos in them wherever you like.
3. Accent chairs: When a room calls for extra seating, never overlook the importance of a good accent chair. These chairs can help to tie together a theme in a given room or stand out as a statement piece.
4. Candles: Not only can candles add a wonderful fragrance to your home when lit, but they also look great too. Candles come in a wide variety of sizes and types, so there is always one that will match your space. The ambience that candles give off when lit is another added bonus!
5. Side tables: Perhaps one of the more overlooked pieces of furniture, the side table has a lot more to offer than it might seem. Not only does this essential piece of furniture gives you space to rest your drink, book, or TV remote, but it also helps to give your space a cohesive look.

5 Tips for Giving Your Home a Fresher Look for the Upcoming Year

Not ready to renovate your home? Here are some tips on how you can give it a fresher look without breaking the bank.

1. Add a fresh coat of paint: When you want to freshen up a space quickly, nothing works faster than swapping out your wall colour or adding a new coat of paint. Change the paint colour of an entire room or add an accent wall to instantly give any room the refresh it needs. Popular colours for 2023 include soft, earthy neutrals, muted greens, and rich blues.
2. Change out your rugs: Old rugs can make a room look sad, especially when they are worn and stained. Consider adding a new rug with a new design or colour to mix things up.
3. Swap around decor pieces: If you haven’t changed out your decor pieces in years, now is a good time to make the change. Consider purchasing new decor pieces, or simply move around the decor you already have to give your space a new look.
4. Replace your window treatments: If you don’t feel like painting your walls but want them to look different, replace your curtains with something new. This will add visual interest to the wall the windows are located on, making it feel as if you made a more drastic change than you did.
5. Install a new garage door: If making major changes to the exterior of your home feels daunting, start small! Consider swapping out your garage door to change the colour and style. This can give the outside of your home an entirely different feel depending on what you choose.

Conclusion

While 2022 saw many great home design trends, 2023 has even more to bring to the table. If you’re ready to begin building your dream home, you’ve come to the right place. Cressman Homes designers specialize in building custom homes to create the luxurious lifestyle you crave. Our experts are ready and waiting to work with you to incorporate your favourite 2023 home design elements into your new home.

Cressman Homes is a family-run business that has been crafting homes in British Columbia, Alberta & Saskatchewan for over 30 years. We now serve the Fraser Valley, Lower Mainland, and British Columbia Interior by providing exceptional custom-built and tailorable, luxury-designed homes.

If you’re ready to see what Cressman Homes has to offer for your space, contact us to schedule a consultation and let us know how we can make your custom home dreams a reality.