Modern Farmhouse Style Goes Mainstream
Despite rumors of its demise, modern farmhouse style (including modern farmhouse) accounted for an incredible 32% of all plans sold through Houseplans and our related sites, far ahead of other styles. That’s actually an increase from 2023, when farmhouses made up 30% of sales. The style remains irresistible because it’s incredibly versatile – you can scale it down while keeping its charm intact. Farmhouse plans often showcase spacious wraparound porches that create abundant outdoor living space and inviting curb appeal. People love this style because it feels both traditional and fresh at the same time. If you’re a farmhouse style aficionado wondering whether shiplap is so ten-years-ago, you’ll be happy to hear that the design style has officially entered the “timeless” category. The key to pulling off modern farmhouse in 2025 is focusing on clean lines while keeping those cozy, authentic touches that make a house feel like home.
Barndominiums Rise to Top Four
Barndominium style is moving up the ranks, ascending to the fourth spot on our most popular home design style list (up from seventh place in 2023). These barn-inspired homes are capturing attention for good reason – they’re budget-friendly without sacrificing style. Since budgets are always the top priority when building a home, the barndominium build can be easier on the budget. With many of these plans having a simple rectangular, one-level floor plan these homes can be a breeze to build for the builder and the homeowner. With no fancy corners or angles, the cost to build these can be significantly less. Don’t think you’re sacrificing aesthetics though. This popular style is designed with many windows, wonderful outdoor spaces to unwind, relax, or entertain, and open floor plans. The beauty of barndominiums lies in their honest simplicity and connection to rural American heritage while offering thoroughly modern living spaces.
Accessory Dwelling Units Transform Properties
ADUs are experiencing explosive growth as housing solutions become more creative. Although duplex house plans only make up about 2% of overall sales, that’s an increase from 1.5% in 2023. Given the need for missing middle housing, we expect to see duplex plans gain even more momentum in 2025. These secondary housing units aren’t just for housing family members anymore. ADU homes have been on the rise as a solution to affordable housing shortages and as multi-generational living becomes more popular to accommodate aging family members. ADUs can offer the convenience and comfort of independent living quarters if your primary home doesn’t have the space. Our collection features efficient layouts ranging from 400 to 1,200 square feet, perfect for multi-generational living, rental income, or an independent guest house. With rising housing costs, these versatile ADU plans offer an intelligent solution for expanding your property’s living space and value while maintaining separate, dignified dwellings for all residents. They’re like having your cake and eating it too – extra income potential with maintained privacy.
Duplex Plans Gain Serious Momentum
The duplex trend is picking up steam as smart homeowners realize the financial benefits. It makes sense that duplexes are having a moment. You can live in one unit while you rent out the other (where allowed). Or house extended family where they can remain close but everyone gets some privacy. And since land is expensive, this is a more efficient use of it. The most popular duplex plan by far (and the second-most-popular design of the year!) is this farmhouse-style duplex plan with three bedrooms on each side. What’s brilliant about this approach is that you’re essentially getting a built-in income stream while maximizing your land use. It’s like having a rental property without the hassle of managing a separate location. Plus, with housing costs continuing to climb, duplexes offer a practical solution for multi-generational families who want to stay close but maintain independence.
Smart Home Integration Becomes Standard
In 2025, Matter, the new universal smart home standard, will continue to gain traction, ensuring better compatibility between smart home devices regardless of brand. This means you’ll be able to control all your smart devices—lighting, security, climate, and entertainment—from one unified system without compatibility issues. The days of juggling multiple apps for different devices are ending. Voice assistants like Josh, Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and Apple’s Siri, are getting even smarter in 2025. With advancements in artificial intelligence, these systems will better understand context, predict user needs, and seamlessly integrate with smart displays, speakers, and home automation hubs. Expect personalized automation routines that adapt to your lifestyle, making tasks like adjusting lighting, playing music, or managing your thermostat even more intuitive. These automated systems aren’t just gadgets—they’re game-changers. By using real-time data, they optimize energy use effortlessly, giving you comfort and control while keeping waste to a minimum. The future home learns your habits and anticipates your needs before you even realize them.
Energy Efficiency Takes Center Stage
Eco-conscious living is a major driver of house plan trends in 2025, with sustainability and energy efficiency taking center stage. Homeowners are seeking ways to reduce their carbon footprint, lower utility bills, and create environmentally responsible homes. This has led to a surge in demand for solar panels, green building materials, and passive home designs. By integrating smart home systems with renewable energy sources like solar panels, homeowners can now track their energy production and usage in real time, slashing waste and cutting costs—all while reducing reliance on non-renewable resources. This architectural approach maximizes natural heating and cooling, cutting energy consumption significantly. Advanced window technology and well-insulated walls prevent heat loss and improve indoor comfort. It’s not just about being environmentally responsible anymore – it’s about creating homes that practically pay for themselves through energy savings.
Wet Rooms Make a Splash
Houzz Bathroom Trends Study states that “Among upgraded bathrooms this year, 13% are wet rooms.” But perhaps 2025 will see it become even more widespread in house plans. It’s when the tub is actually inside the shower, which is usually super-sized. This European-inspired design concept is gaining traction because it maximizes space while creating a spa-like experience at home. The beauty of wet rooms lies in their seamless design – no shower doors, no barriers, just flowing water and luxurious bathing. They’re particularly popular in smaller bathrooms where every square foot counts, but they also make stunning statements in master suites. The key is proper waterproofing and drainage, but when done right, wet rooms feel like having a private spa in your own home.
Wellness Design Prioritizes Health
In 2025 and beyond, our homes, offices, and public spaces will all take a turn toward the healing powers of thoughtful, wellness design. Get ready to see more natural light, greenery, soothing colours, and layouts designed to calm and restore. Wellness design prioritises healthy indoor air quality. This can be achieved through thoughtful material selection – non-toxic, low-VOC paints, sustainable materials and antimicrobial surfaces like copper. Air-purifying plants can also help. In 2025, biophilic design will continue to take precedence in interior design, focusing on bringing the outdoors in, to create spaces that foster a deeper connection with nature. This trend embraces natural materials like stone, wood, and woven fibers, along with organic shapes and curving lines, which will be featured in everything from architecture to furniture to decor. Large windows will maximize natural light, while indoor plants, living green walls, and subtle touches of greenery throughout the home will further enhance this connection to the natural world. Your home becomes a healing sanctuary that actively supports your physical and mental wellbeing.
Open Concept Evolution Continues
The open-concept floor plan has been one of the most popular design trends for years, and in 2025, it will continue to dominate the market. However, the trend is evolving beyond just knocking down walls. The days of loft-like living are over, at least according to Padluck. “Overall, we’re seeing more defined floor plans as a movement away from open concepts,” he explains. “Formal dining rooms are rarely required, so now the table finds a place in a large room for gathering with the kitchen dedicated to its own, separate space.” Today, many of my clients—especially younger ones—are eager to create homes with architectural distinction, blending openness with unique design elements. The sweet spot to find between closed and open floor plans is a beautiful space, provided it meets the needs of the homeowners. It offers the best of both worlds: the flow and connectivity of an open layout, balanced with architectural character and defined spaces that add depth and interest to a home. It’s about smart openness rather than complete openness.
Natural Modern Architecture Emerges
“More and more, we are seeing requests for modern design with more glass, steel, wood, and stone,” Seth Ballard of DC-based Ballard + Menusa Architecture says. “I would label it natural modern as opposed to the standard modernist movement or even contemporary style.” Larger windows, more raw materials, and the use of nature-inspired colors all accentuate the desire for people to be more connected to their surroundings in an increasingly digital world. This style represents a reaction against sterile modernism. Architectural styles lean toward minimalist yet sophisticated designs, with an emphasis on clean lines, open layouts, large windows, and natural materials. The goal is to create homes that feel open and airy, promote a strong connection with nature, and integrate modern home automation technologies for a seamless living experience. Natural modern is about bringing warmth back to contemporary design without sacrificing the clean aesthetics that make modern homes so appealing.
Aging-in-Place Features Go Mainstream
Designing homes for aging in place is no longer reserved for mature homeowners. Today, families of all ages are prioritizing features that ensure long-term accessibility. Aging-in-place was a relatively new concept back then, but today, it’s a standard consideration in every design, regardless of whether a client is in their twenties, eighties, or anywhere in between. Thinking ahead and incorporating thoughtful, functional design elements benefits everyone, making a home more adaptable to whatever life may bring. Wellness architecture and design planning for aging seniors includes a wide range of considerations from ensuring effective circulation with plenty of walkable pathways to well-designed public spaces and rest rooms to ease of accessibility with wider hallways and doorways comfortably accommodating people with physical disabilities; from open floor plans and single-level units to high exposure to natural daylight, zero-entry showers and easy-to-read induction cooktops. It’s not about making homes look institutional – it’s about creating beautiful spaces that work for everyone, regardless of age or ability.
Statement Appliances Transform Kitchens
According to Alexa Drees Walker, director of design centers at Drees Homes, purely utilitarian appliances are out and top-of-the-line, statement-making appliances are in. “The modern day appliance must enhance the overall design of the kitchen—functionality is not enough,” she says. Whether it’s a stunning range that creates a show-stopping focal point or smaller countertop appliances featuring sleek lines and a retro-inspired color scheme, statement appliances are the way to elevate your kitchen design this year. Gone are the days when appliances just needed to work – now they need to wow. Think bold colors, unique finishes, and designs that become conversation pieces. Professional-grade ranges in unexpected colors, refrigerators with custom panels, and even colorful small appliances are turning kitchens into showcases of personal style. These appliances don’t just cook food – they serve as functional art pieces that reflect the homeowner’s personality and elevate the entire space.
Warmth Replaces Cool Minimalism
By far the word we hear the most from designers lately when it comes to interior trends is “warmth.” Warm tones, warm woods, warm and welcoming spaces — homeowners are craving warmth. You see this manifest in a shift from cool whites and grays to warm off-whites, tans, beiges and creams. Earthy tones and organic colors are popular as well. These palettes help create inviting and cozy environments. Adding “warmth” into an interior has become a popular buzzword in home design, marking a shift away from cool whites and grays. Color trends are moving more into off-whites, creams, beiges, tans and browns. “Paired with warm neutral palettes, earthy tones and organic colors, we’re seeing wood elements used as ceiling beams, trim, millwork, wall paneling, posts and cabinetry to add architectural warmth to spaces throughout the home.” Color management company Pantone Color Institute picked a chocolatey brown called Mocha Mousse for its Color of the Year. Paired with warm neutral palettes, earthy tones and organic colors, we’re also seeing wood elements used as ceiling beams, trim, millwork, wall paneling, posts and cabinetry to add architectural warmth to spaces throughout the home. After years of stark minimalism, people are craving homes that feel like warm hugs.
What’s fascinating is how these trends reflect our collective desire for homes that truly serve us – not just as shelter, but as sanctuaries that support our health, finances, and evolving lifestyles. From the practical appeal of ADUs to the emotional comfort of warm, wellness-focused spaces, 2025’s house plans are all about creating environments that enhance our daily lives while preparing for whatever the future might bring. What would you have guessed would be the most surprising trend on this list?
Renowned for her warm and inviting aesthetic, Joanna Gainsley has revolutionized modern farmhouse design. In The Cozy Home Guide, she shares practical tips on how to make any space feel like a sanctuary.