Spaces for gathering, enhanced with natural elements, is a 2024 wellness trend.
The American Society of Interior Designers, a leading professional association for this industry, just released its complete 2024 Trends Outlook Report, which is chock full of wellness design points, as expected.
I emailed questions to ASID’s executive director, Khoi Vo, for an overview perspective, and to member designers across the country to weigh in on how the report’s wellness features are showing up in their projects. They are:
- San Francisco-based Primo Orpilla
- Corey Davey in Dallas
- Savannah-based Lily Brown
- Shundra Harris in Houston.
Their written responses follow.
Overview
“The most significant trend impacting single-family residential design right now is wellness,” Vo declared. The ASID executive has seen this trend increase in recent years beyond chef’s kitchens and spa bathrooms to all areas of the home.
Though still a tiny slice of the homeowner segment, Generation Z is having a powerful impact on this trend, Vo noted, partly because they’re joining the workforce and because they’re so active online. Gen Z’s emphasis on connectedness, personal expression and technology are showing up in the influences that shape design for everyone.
Sustainability is also driving home choices, Vo wrote. “Homeowners are becoming increasingly aware of how their decisions impact not only their health, but the planet.” Durability and low maintenance are key sustainability considerations, the ASID executive added. Technology supports sustainability too, and wellness.
Solo Living on the Rise
“With solo-living on the rise, Americans are seeking connectedness to loved ones and their communities. Through gathering spaces within the home, considerations of family pets in design, and amusement and ‘eatertainment,’ designers can use their practice to further their clients’ connections in 2024.” – Trend Report
This is true for Brown’s clients, the designer shared. “We are seeing a lot of thought go into ‘gathering’ spaces, particularly kitchens and outdoor living areas.” This is showing up in pizza ovens in outdoor kitchens, billiard rooms and game tables. “People in general do not want to have to go out to enjoy an excellent meal or for entertainment, they want these opportunities within their homes,” she surmised.
Harris is also seeing the trend, both in her own home and design practice. “Drawing from my personal experience of living solo in recent times, I've integrated flexible spaces within designs that cater to various needs, including providing a space for social gatherings with friends when desired.” This focus has also transformed enclosed spaces into more interconnected ones, enhancing connection between rooms and residents. The designer also prioritizes connection to outdoor living spaces, she added.
Nature Connections
“Kitchens are now using large window walls to connect visually with the outdoors, while living rooms are using retractable window panels to extend spaces onto patios. Beyond increasing the ease of entertaining, connecting both visually and physically with nature has been shown to reduce blood pressure and heart rates and improve engagement, attentiveness and cognitive performance.” – Trend Report
While seeing nature connections throughout his client’s homes, Orpilla makes particular note of work from home spaces: “People tend to prefer remote work because it allows them to work in familiar conditions that are not found in stuffy, traditional workspaces. So, incorporating elements of nature, using operable sliding doors and large windows for natural lighting helps create extra space with a touch of biophilia to increase productivity when working from home.”
“In one of our projects, we removed a wall and replaced it with a collapsible glass panel wall,” Davey commented. The client preferred the nature connection to the fireplace on the removed wall. “We've also been seeing a trend in visual connections with showers and nature as well,” the Dallas designer added. He shared about replacing a tiled shower wall with glass for a connection to nature just beyond it, “adding a biophilic element of wellness to the bathroom,” he explained. Window treatments and coverings ensure privacy for these newly-connected-with-nature spaces.
Aging in Place
“According to the National Institute on Aging, many people want to stay in their own home and maintain independence for as long as possible, and they will need help to retrofit their homes. ‘Innovative solutions that enable the elderly to remain in their own homes for longer, rather than taking up space in hospitals, hospices and nursing homes’ are increasingly important as a significant number of the population ages.” – Trend Report
When designing for older homeowners, which make up 50% of his clientele, Davey wrote, “We’ve learned that creating spaces without barriers is important. Removing curbs from showers and creating minimal transitions between flooring, along with excellent quality lighting are all things to consider when working on these projects.”
Half of Brown’s clientele is also older than 60, she shared. “We are seeing more elevators incorporated into homes and wheelchair clearances being considered. Also, most of our clients are actively prioritizing their health and [we’ve] seen more requests for incorporating gyms in their homes,” the designer added.
Sustainability and Wellness
“Sustainability is especially prevalent in 2024 as we tackle extreme weather events with most Americans believing that climate change is harming people in the U.S. and likely to get worse.” – Trend Report
Orpilla commented, “We’re noticing that wellness and sustainability go hand in hand. For example, circadian lighting systems — by mimicking the natural daylight pattern in the indoor environment — not only affects the well-being of occupants but also prevents the unnecessary use of light and can reduce energy consumption.”
One of the best ways to enhance sustainability is to specify timeless and durable furnishings, Brown observed. “If a room is too trendy or the furniture is of lower quality, neither will withstand the test of time.” She also emphasizes materials that are natural and nontoxic. “The use of these organic, natural materials helps to not only incorporate sustainability into the home, but also biophilia which can help with our clients’ well-being,”
Resilience Emphasis
“Sustainability is especially prevalent in 2024 as we tackle extreme weather events with most Americans believing that climate change is harming people in the U.S. and likely to get worse.” – Trend Report
“In Dallas, we lived through a terrible freeze a couple of winters ago, which was devastating to a lot of the population,” Davey recalled. “This really opened our clients’ eyes to the possibility and reality of natural disasters, like flooding or tornadoes, and their lasting impact. So, we’re seeing that making smart and educated selections in finishes and designs really is now at the forefront of people's minds.”
Across the state in Houston, Harris is also focused on resilience. “Give the frequent occurrence of flooding in our region, including events categorized as 100-year and 500-year floods, we’ve been actively involved in assisting clients with remodeling their homes post-disaster,” the designer shared. Her approach includes specifying water-resistant surfaces and resilient construction materials. “However,” she added, “our most significant impact has been in educating clients about safeguarding their cherished belongings and family heirlooms in the face of potential loss. We’ve conducted research into shelter-in-place strategies, requirements for safe rooms, and developed comprehensive disaster supply checklists and recovery kits to better prepare our clients for extreme weather events.”
Blending Work and Play Spaces
“As the lines between work and play fade, designers need to be well-versed in cross-specialty design, blending the sectors of design through the incorporation of ‘eatertainment’ spaces in residences, informal living rooms in corporate offices, team workspace and conference rooms in hotels, and more.” – Trend Report
Orpilla offered this perspective: “The increase of remote work introduced the “resimercial” (residential and commercial) space often seen in the home – so we’re now seeing this blend of offices mimicking the home and the need for an office structure within the home.” The challenge to overcome is making it possible for clients to easily disconnect from the workday after hours within their homes, he pointed out.
“We have long been accustomed to designing home offices and dedicated workspaces, but with a recent shift in a hybrid lifestyle, there has been an uptick in clients wanting more flexible spaces within the home,” Brown noted. “Whether it's incorporating more entertainment spaces that double as a study or gathering space blurring the lines between live-work-play is more prevalent than ever.”
Conclusion
“Increasingly consumers are recognizing the interdependence of wellness and sustainability,” ASID’s Vo commented. “As designers think holistically about creating environments that support better human health, many are increasingly recognizing the interconnectedness of individual health, community health, and environmental stewardship.”
