New Zillow research highlights the five biggest home design trends for 2025, based on their growing popularity among buyers and the increased mentions in for-sale listings on Zillow.
Based on its findings, the trends expected to rule the coming year blend sustainable and climate-resilient technology with nostalgic and wellness-inspired design.
Technology has enabled homeowners to live more sustainably and more affordably, which is a growing priority for prospective buyers. Energy-efficient and climate-resilient home features are quickly gaining popularity as homeowners look to keep costs down, including insurance costs. At the same time, a home is not just a checklist of practical features, it’s a feeling. Homeowners and buyers today are looking to the past to create a sense of warmth, character and comfort in even the most high-tech environments.
Read on for five design trends Zillow is highlighting based on user data.
5 Emerging Design Trends
Electric Features
Whole-home batteries are the fastest-growing feature in for-sale listings, surging by 62% over the past year. These batteries store excess energy from solar panels and act as a generator during power outages or when the sun isn’t shining.
Solar panels appear 18% more often in property listings on Zillow—as are the search terms “sustainable” and “green.” If any of your clients are thinking of adding solar panels as an upgrade, encourage them to shop around for financing. Minnesota’s attorney general, Keith Ellison, is currently going after predatory lenders in that sphere who are offering very low interest rates while hiding exorbitant fees from borrowers.
Better yet, find some trustworthy lenders in your market and share that information with homeowners considering the investment.
Other highly desirable electric features include:
- Electric vehicle (EV) chargers—mentioned in 34% more listings compared to last year.
- Electric ranges and induction cooktops—mentioned in 5% more listings
Cozy Vibes
The term “cozy vibes” speaks to a particular aesthetic that appeals to buyers looking for smaller, cozier spaces—including dens and dining rooms—rather than open floor plans. Judging by homebuyer search terms, the word “cozy” has lost much of its stigma as a euphemism for “tiny.”
The word “cozy” appears 35% more in for-sale listings than a year ago, possibly as a reaction to floorplans where the only private spaces are bedrooms and bathrooms.
Old-World Comeback
The modern, minimalist aesthetic is not for everyone. And according to Zillow’s research on design trends, 2025 is going hard on nostalgia and vintage vibes.
Think floral patterns, tapestries, antique furniture and decor, and chintz. And yes, I had to look that last one up. Nostalgia mentions have gone up 14% in for-sale listings, while mentions of “vintage” have gone up 9%.
Mentions of home libraries and bibliophilic decor are up 22%. And the Victorian-era scullery—a second kitchen or back kitchen—is appearing in 8% more listings compared to a year ago.
Climate Resiliency
With climate-related disasters becoming more common and driving up the cost of homeowners insurance, it makes sense that 86% of today’s homebuyers consider “climate-resilient” features important when searching for their next home.
Obviously, the following features don’t make a home impervious to climate disasters. But they can certainly help to reduce the potential for damage.
Among those mentioned more frequently in for-sale home listings:
- Flood barriers: up 22% in mentions
- Seismic retrofitting: up 20%
- Water catchment systems: up 19%
- Drought-resistant turf yards: up 14%
Spa-Inspired Wet Rooms
Wet rooms, most often seen in high-end hotels, combine the shower and bathtub into one waterproof “room” without the typical shower curb or enclosure. Wet rooms are included in 19% more listings on Zillow compared to a year ago, mainly due to a growing emphasis on wellness design. Buyers are growing more aware of how their home’s design impacts their mental and physical well-being—hence the reason the word “wellness” appears in 16% more Zillow listings compared to last year.
As we begin the second half of the final quarter of 2024, it’s become clear more home shoppers are prioritizing sustainable innovation and timeless comfort. Zillow’s highlighted trends show more buyers leaning toward design that faces the future without turning its back on the past.
By making homeowners and sellers in your market aware of these design trends, you can help them focus on updates that will make their homes more appealing to future buyers and renters.
