As a new year comes around, it’s always fun to speculate on what trends - from clothes to food and especially home design - will be showing up on Pinterest and high-end magazines. While good taste never goes out of style, some interior design trends represent changes in how bigger issues such as the environment, technology and family time are perceived. This has never been truer than what can be expected in 2019.

Please continue reading for Acme Brick’s annual round-up of the hottest home design trends. 

#1 Sustainability is a Megatrend

More and more people – from young families to empty nesters – are having fun by staying at home. This process of “cocooning,” rather than dressing up and going out on the town, has led to many interesting advice websites and columns, such as this one – 32 Stay-at-Home Date Ideas.

The noise and chaos of politics, work, technology and the world in general are encouraging more and more homeowners to try to escape at home. Craft rooms, yoga rooms, meditation rooms, reading nooks and a dozen other places for self-reflection and calm are becoming a must-have in new home construction and home renovations.

For literally centuries, natural, exposed interior brick has added charm to homes and businesses around the world. Because brick is made from soil-based clay, it has a natural patina and texture that is warm, comforting and impossible to replicate. However, long-term exposure to unattended water leaks can make a brick wall or fireplace appear damaged – whether it is or not.

The much-discussed millennials, who were born between the early 1980s and the early 2000s, will soon make up the largest living generation. According to Pew Research, millennials are on the cusp of surpassing Baby Boomers (those born after World War II) as the nation’s largest living adult generation. This is based on population projections from the U.S. Census Bureau as of 2016.   

California has long been considered a trendsetter in environmental conservation, and it recently showed why. In May 2018, the state became the first state to require solar panels on nearly all new homes, the latest sign of how renewable energy is gaining ground in the U.S.

The most expensive investment any individual or family makes is typically the purchase of a home. Whether it involves buying an existing home or building a new structure, when it comes time to sign the mortgage documents, the reality of this new financial responsibility can be very sobering.

Just beneath the surface of the earth lies one of the pieces to a puzzle that has fascinated humans since prehistoric times – renewable energy. Along with solar and wind, geothermal energy has inched its way to the top of the wish lists of both dedicated environmentalists and profit-seeking entrepreneurs. Why? It is virtually inexhaustible. It is constant, 24/7, in all weather (unlike solar and wind). And, finally, when current harnessing technology is employed, it is extremely inexpensive.