February 7, 2022

Just over a year ago, home became our workplace, our classroom and our 24/7 safe haven. Families were living and working under one roof – sometimes around one table – and we started looking at our homes a little differently.

Now research shows that moving forward, the experience of the pandemic has changed the way people view their homes. The American Institute of Architects reported a slowdown of requests for open-concept designs in 2021. It also cited that more consumers want spaces for aging in place and easier accessibility within the home. The National Kitchen & Bath Association echoes this in the 2022 Design Trends Report, which notes that designers are reporting an increase in requests for flex spaces in home designs – especially among millennials. As a result, separate spaces are gaining in popularity as Americans renovate to create rooms that work for the way families live today.

The popularity of open-combination living room/kitchen spaces shows no sign of slowing down because of Americans’ desire to entertain in the kitchen. However, the trend away from the full open-concept plan indicates families also desire more distinct spaces, nooks and niches in renovation projects as homeowners plan to stay in place for a while and are serious about spaces that function.

The Race for Space

At Liston Design Build, our experience echoes the larger industry observations. Our clients are asking to repurpose seldom-used spaces within their homes or tweaks that make larger spaces function for multiple purposes. We have been tasked time and again with carving out useful nooks for storage, office equipment, drop zones, libraries and hobbies, often within the kitchen, dining or living room. This multi-functional approach has led some of our clients to subdivide larger rooms into distinct zones for specific tasks, like work from home, homeschooling or gaming and leisure.

In the coming year, we see a middle ground emerging, where homeowners retain some of the spacious and airy feeling of an open concept in one area of their residence, while creating specific areas throughout the remaining rooms that are big on organization and purpose. Whereas these divisions had previously been accomplished mostly via furniture placement, we are now seeing architectural design and construction play a larger role.

One of our clients recently converted a seldom-used dining room into a home office by simply adding doors to close off the space. One small change was enough to give the room new life. We’ve also created intimate spaces in larger areas with wall treatments, accent lighting, architectural elements like beams and columns and furniture placement to create a “room within a room.” We’ve seen clients prioritize flexible designs for lower levels, adding extra guest bedrooms that are multi-functional as offices or homework rooms.

Is the Kitchen an Exception?

While our clients are carving out purposeful and private spaces, they still love the open kitchen as the heart of the home for gathering and entertaining. We are often asked to open kitchens to living areas, to add more counter seating for family interaction and to repurpose areas that are underutilized within the kitchen and in other areas of the home.

Knowing that these trends will stay relevant allows us to advise our clients on the best way to maximize their renovation projects. Rather than simply focusing on updating spaces for aesthetics and upgrading finishes, we can dive into how a space is used now and what might be needed in the future.

—Andrea Liston-Jones, director of design Liston Design Build, St. Charles, Mo.