With summer officially in season, the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) is excited to share some data from their acclaimed 2024 Trends Outlook Report. This annual report provides invaluable insights into the interior design industry, highlighting upcoming trends, including many centered around outdoor residential spaces.
Read on to learn more about what ASID forecasts as the trends for interior design during the summer season!
Americans are prioritizing spending time with their families. 73% of Americans rank spending time with family as one of the most important things to them personally. Other important priorities include being physically active, being outdoors and experiencing nature, and participating in creative activities. Notably, those who are younger adults aged 18 to 29, are more interested in participating in creative activities than older Americans.
In-person interactions matter. A new research study by Yale University and the University College London (UCL) found that virtual meetings resulted in lower levels of brain activity and social stimulation than in-person meetings. Post-pandemic, people are seeking connection beyond the workplace – with friends and family. Thoughtful design for indoor and outdoor spaces can better allow people to gather or come together casually to support connection, conversation and collaboration.
Wellness benefits abound as family gathering spaces are opening up to the outdoors. Kitchens are now using large window walls to connect visually with the outdoors, while living rooms are using retractable window panels to extend spaces onto patios. Beyond increasing the ease of entertaining, connecting both visually and physically with nature has been shown to reduce blood pressure and heart rates and improve engagement, attentiveness and cognitive performance.
Increasingly over the last two decades, Americans have preferred walkable urban environments to traditional suburbs. Many developers responded, capitalizing on emerging markets, rapidly expanding opportunities for more creative, research and tech clusters, and building human-scale, amenity-rich environments. Many built multi-story residential units over retail space in emerging neighborhoods like Charlotte’s South End and Chicago’s Fulton Market. In 2015, rents in suburbia began to outpace urban areas, prompting more multifamily construction in suburban areas.