Trending in 2019

At WHA, we’re always tracking design trends. Whether we’re working on design guidelines for developers, color palettes for buildings or interior design, our clients rely on us to be their visionary experts. As we venture into the new year, here’s a look at what’s trending in 2019.

We continue to see an extreme urbanization, with the density for all housing types increasing. The current modern design movement we’re experiencing in architecture and interior design, with its clean lines and minimalist tendencies, melds with this urban trend. Neighborhood designs blending contemporary, transitional, and traditional architectural styles are a winning combination.

Whether natural or natural-looking, the most popular materials reference earth-origins including stone, wood and metal used in ways that echo back to honesty in materials.  Forward thinking manufacturers are introducing products that look and feel authentic. The application of exterior materials and colors is restrained with textural mixes of materials enlivening monochromatic or multi-colored palettes.

New technology is changing our industry.  3D-printing and modular building are improving the quality, cost, and speed of construction.  Artificial Intelligence and digital assistants, like Amazon’s Alexa, are adding new dimensions to today’s homes.  Virtual reality is transforming the design and home sales process with many buyers preferring the convenience of virtual models and online transactions versus person-to-person contact.

Despite our inclination to interact with each other online, we find consumers seeking real-life experiences and authentic connections.  New master-planned communities have responded by offering a lifestyle with enticing gathering spaces to garden, dine, or just hangout. Contact with nature is a design imperative to counter rising density and improve quality of life making indoor/outdoor living a must for new home design provided by rooftop decks, balconies, and retractable sliding doors.

In the color realm, black and white continue to reign and their mid-tone, gray, remains a neutral staple. Tuxedo kitchens are still the rage.  Black-on-black windows are wildly popular and more readily available.  Beyond this popular monochromatic palette, there is a color craving sated by an evolving counterculture – deliberate mixes of unconventional vibrant colors that are fearless, artsy, and fun.

Blue’s popularity is growing reflecting our renewed interest in science and space and our natural proclivity for digital light, which physiologically stimulates us.  Red is also trending as a pigmented color and as a color of light which aids in the production of melatonin to enhance sleep – the antidote for blue light and the opposite of red pigment.

Although we create palettes around the entire color wheel, we have announced our first WHA Color of the Year selection – Boundless Blue.  Blue’s universal association with the qualities of peace, unity, truth, and trust will lead our way as we push the boundaries of design on our quest for what else will be trending in 2019 and beyond.