INSIDE D E S I G N
ACAR CORNER Issues in the real estate industry
5 New Construction Trends to Watch This Year Submitted by Jeannet Wright Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Professional Realty
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esidential design often serves as an early indicator of broader shifts in how people want to experience spaces. Features that first appear in custom homes frequently influence expectations for multifamily communities, hospitality spaces, offices and other commercial environments.
During recent home tours and new-construction showcases, several recurring design themes have emerged. For developers, property owners and facility professionals, these influences are worth watching. Here are the five residential trends gaining momentum in 2026.
The dominant fireplace material this year is light, dry-stack limestone – Lueder or Indiana cut – running from hearth to ridge line on cathedral walls, usually paired with a chunky white-oak mantel. An individual who walks into a 2018 build and sees a tiled fireplace surrounded by white shiplap is going to read it as dated faster than the comps suggest. CLEAR CHOICE Replacing windows is one of the highest-cost cosmetic changes a property
2. Black-framed windows, top to bottom
owners can make, and we’re now in a market where buyers are starting to deduct it on resale.
Black metal mullion windows are showing up in starter homes and custom builds alike – gym walls, primary bedrooms, dining rooms, you name it. Replacing windows is one of the highest-cost cosmetic changes a property owners can make, and we’re now in a market where buyers are starting to deduct it on resale.
is becoming frequently paired with real (or convincingly faux) structural beams. The “ceiling as fifth wall” trend has graduated out of kitchens and is now showing up in primary bedrooms and screened porches. When an end user says a room “feels custom” in 2026, eight times out of 10, they’re reacting to something happening above their heads.
painted perimeter cabinets in warm white, soft greige or deep matte. Some homes are pushing further into walnut and sapele, a slight warming up from pure oak. An all-white kitchen with gray quartz is not a deal-breaker, but it’s no longer the safe, neutral default it was in 2020.
3. Wood-clad ceilings and real exposed beams
4. White oak cabinets and two-tone kitchens
Almost every basement now has a built-in, fully loaded wet bar. And walkin pantries went from utilitarian to “second kitchen,” with its own range,
Tongue-and-groove white oak planking on tray and cathedral ceilings 52
Stained or rift-cut white oak wood on islands and pantries is being paired with
5. Wet bars and show pantries on display
Properties | July 2026
Photo by Brandon Doyle
1. Floor-to-ceiling stacked stone fireplaces