As well-documented in previous Drill Downs, the housing market is in flux. So it’s no surprise to see homeowners embrace the disruption, expressing themselves inside and outside of their homes. Marketers take note: your consumers are trying to tell you something.

The grass is greener, especially when you rip it out for a $5,000 rebate

Designer Lexie Glass and architect Evan Hursley are accustomed to creating plans and managing projects.

So when they learned that the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power’s turf replacement program would rebate them more than $5000 to convert their grass into a low-water landscape with California-friendly plants, they were excited to spearhead a DIY project for themselves.

Glass and Hursley planted 250 mostly one-gallon plants, 80% of which are native to California, while the others are drought-tolerant plants from countries with similar climates. More here: (Source)

The S/M Take: 

Homeownership isn’t getting more affordable at the moment. Some homebuyers are looking for potential instead of perfect. And incentives like no-grass rebates in LA show that “affordability” isn’t limited to the sticker price of the home.

With that in mind, curb appeal depends on who you’re trying to appeal to. For a long time, manicured lawns and landscaping framed beauty shots for home improvement and building brands. It might be time to reexamine what real authenticity looks like in our marketing.

Minimalism is out, intentional clutter is in

The "more is more" philosophy is all about intentionally layering colors, patterns and textures. The rise of Messy Girl Aesthetic follows the resurgence of '90s fashion and home trends, with many comparing the chaotic home style to iconic characters like Friends' Phoebe Buffay and Sex and the City's Carrie Bradshaw.

Think curated clutter, like eclectic trinkets scattered around a room, a colorful gallery wall or one too many crochet pillows on the bed.

"People want to express individuality more than ever," says Verkerk. More here: (Source)

The S/M Take: 

Greige be gone. More and more homeowners are letting their personality peek through. Polish has its place, but interior designers are prioritizing expression and imperfection.

Don’t let the name fool you. While it’s referred to as the “Messy Girl Aesthetic,” there isn’t anything messy about this approach. It’s intentional and a path to standing out in a sea of social media sameness. Just look how Delta Faucet brands like Brizo and Newport Brass pave that path by opening up a wide array of metals for mixing, matching, and “messiness.”

If your brand lives in this space, embrace more color, layers, and textures. Your messaging can be clean and clear, but the way you express it might have to get a little louder.

The Scullery makes a comeback

Common in 19th century aristocracy as an area for doing chores like washing dishes and laundering clothes, a scullery can be thought of as a zone where the more hard-earned tasks of running a home take place. A scullery was often adjacent to a main kitchen, keeping that area clear of the scrubbing, dunking and general water-logged quality of the room.

Recently, the term has reemerged as a prep kitchen — without any of the complicated class implications.

Rachel Robinson, architect and founding partner of Dunham Robinson, says that the trend of finding extra square footage for this prep space makes sense given how many tasks modern kitchens oversee. “Today’s kitchens almost invariably do double duty,” she says. “They’re workhorses for daily cooking while often serving as the heart of the home. And that’s a lot to ask of one space.” More here: (Source)

The S/M Take: 

There are a variety of kitchen renos homeowners could do to boost value; in fact, these 5 are proven winners. But the prep kitchen resurgence shows that driving up home value isn’t always the driving decisionmaker. Sometimes, it’s as simple as wanting to bolster the space they live in. 

The resurrection of sculleries gives people more room in the kitchen, where folks inevitably gather. And it takes the load off of designers when taking on a kitchen. They can be more intentional with it as a space to congregate instead of having to check too many boxes for food prep and cleanup. 

This creates a slightly shifted canvas for interior designers and we can’t wait to see what they do with it — when we get invited over for dinner, of course.