Five home design trends to watch in 2025

Hundreds of manufacturers put their newest innovations and product launches on display for a big annual event in Las Vegas this week, showing off emerging design trends shaping consumers’ new homes and remodels.

Design & Construction Week combines two major industry conferences: the International Builders’ Show and the Kitchen and Bath Industry Show. Together, the event is touted as the largest gathering of residential construction professionals. Designers and builders flooded the Las Vegas Convention Center’s four halls to get a first look at products, attend education sessions and tour homes.

Here are five notable highlights spotted Tuesday:

The International Builders’ Show flagship exhibit is called The New American Home. Sun West Custom Homes built this year’s 9,047-square-foot custom single-family model in Henderson, Nevada, in the gated luxury community Ascaya. It includes four bedrooms, five bathrooms and a one-bed, one-bath attached casita.

The purpose of the home is to make a statement on construction and design while educating builders. The design of the house, listed for $15.5 million, was guided by views of Las Vegas and the surrounding landscape.

It features a warmer overall palette compared to years past with several types of woods used throughout, according to Sun West Custom Homes Project Manager Tom Ulick.

“This is modern with a traditional touch,” he said. “We tie craftsmanship, artistry, the wood tones, and everybody that goes in the house says they’re comfortable.”

The New American Home is also built as an example of improved energy efficiency. This year’s home received a -54 Home Energy Rating System rating. The lower the number, the more energy efficient the home is, and the average HERS score is 57. A negative number means the house will produce more energy than it consumes.

The home achieves its score through the use of construction materials that minimize energy loss, including insulated windows and doors, as well as solar panels and a high-performance heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system.

The home was also recognized for its indoor air quality through an Indoor airPlus certification. Other accolades include an Emerald certification from the National Green Building Standard, and an Energy Star certification administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Affordability was a big talking point at the show with the presence of four models of manufactured homes.

Cavco and Champion Homes each erected two small factory-built homes in the conference's parking lot, aiming to reeducating the industry and homebuyers on what manufactured homes can be. Touring homebuilders jammed the four homes on Tuesday.

“It opens people’s minds to what we can do because they’re not what a lot of people think of factory-built homes,” said Cavco CEO Bill Boor.

Cavco's models, ranging between 480 and 550 square feet, included retractable windows that span walls, rooftop space and a large deck. Champion featured a duplex model with an open layout and a modern 1,426-square-foot home with three bedrooms. Both companies said pricing begins at $150 per square foot.

“I’ve done this for over 30 years, and I would say in the last five or six years, I’ve seen friends and family that have called and say, ‘We want to come look at your homes,’” Mike Young, Champion's general manager, said. “I think we’re gaining respect, if you will.”

Where fixtures were all about color last year, this year, the vibrancy was pulled back slightly, and even dramatically in some cases. Major bathroom brands Kohler and Toto both offered black toilets, for example.

Kohler paired its black Veil statement toilet in a display with a black dress it said served as an inspiration. The dress was a nod to the growing influence of fashion in home design.

While Toto prominently displayed its all-black toilet, the Japanese brand also debuted green, orange, red, and blue sinks that represent the four seasons. It released a new matte texture for sinks and toilets, available in four natural hues of black, beige, gray, and white.

“I call it hinting before I call it a trend, and black is hinting again,” said Christopher J. Grubb, a designer with Arch-Interiors Design Group. “It’s a hard commitment; most of the time, people think it’s hard to clean.”

Empava released an industry first: a combo hot and cold plunge bathtub. It’s a response to an increased interest in personal wellness, according to Jennifer Ramirez, a media marketing specialist with the appliance brand.

“Recently, we’ve noticed a really big trend in European wellness trends,” said Ramirez. “One thing we noticed is that there were gaps within that, for example, the cold plunges. You have to buy an inflatable tub and inflate then deflate. … We took all those inconveniences and made them into one single unit.”

The tub goes from 37 degrees Fahrenheit up to 113. The units each have filters so the water never needs to be drained, said Ramirez. The unit is priced tentatively at $8,000.

Kohler’s new ice bath pushes that price up to $15,000 for its tub. It can be placed indoors or outdoors and includes a timer to guide breathwork. The cold plunge was created in partnership with the founder of a spa in New York called Remedy Place.

It’s an accepted fact some large kitchen appliances slightly stick out from the wall. For a refrigerator, this allows the door to fully open without the hinges obstructed — but a few manufacturers are working on methods that allow for a more flush look.

Signature Kitchen Suite debuted its zero-threshold refrigerator and dishwasher at the show. It’s a more sleek look that’s enabled by a new insulation that allows for thinner doors, according to the brand. It helps for tight, compact spaces, allowing homeowners to maximize what they have.

GE’s design-forward Cafe brand offered an integrated French door refrigerator, which uses articulating hinges that allow the doors to fully open while remaining flush with the cabinetry.