Every year, the conversations we have with clients tell us more about where home design is heading than any industry report. And in 2026, those conversations are pointing to a continued shift in how we think about our home.

Layouts have moved away from open plan for its own sake and toward homes with genuine zones, purpose-built rooms, and spaces that reflect how people actually live. The materials and finishes being requested are natural textures, deeper tones and warm palettes. Storage and joinery are being designed as features, not afterthoughts.

Running through all of it is something more fundamental: people are designing homes for themselves and their families, for the long term, not for resale.

Here’s what we’re seeing on the ground at Chross Homes in 2026.

 

Home & Interior Design Trends

Intentional Zones Within Homes

The all-open-plan home had a long run. But we’re seeing a clear shift away from it, and it’s not about closing things up, it’s about designing with more intention.

We want our homes to flow, but with more intentional zoning. Rather than one large shared space that tries to do everything, homes are now being designed with distinct areas that serve different purposes. A scullery that keeps the kitchen mess hidden. A kids’ zone that keeps the noise contained. A living space that genuinely feels separate from the entry.

Multi-functional spaces are central to this, rooms that can evolve as family needs change rather than locking you into a layout that works for one phase of life and not another. And through all of it, embracing the indoor/outdoor lifestyle with modern open living spaces remains a key focus in WA home design. That connection to the outdoors is part of who we are here, it just needs to be done more thoughtfully than it has been.

The bigger picture shift is away from standard project builder layouts toward unique and personal homes designed around how people live. That’s something we feel strongly about at Chross.

Your Home Office Deserves a Real Room

Since COVID, working from home caused a fundamental shift in how people live and want to live in their spaces, and unlike some of the other pandemic-era changes, this one isn’t reversing.

What we’re designing now are spaces where you can work from home but have genuine privacy from the rest of the house. Not a desk tucked into a hallway. Not a nook off the living room where you’re on calls while your family watches television two metres away. A space that can serve a different purpose to the rest of the home, that has its own separation and quiet.

Study nooks done well, or a dedicated room with a door, the specifics depend on the layout and the family. But the intent is the same: homes that flow, with intentional zoning that makes working from home genuinely workable.

Moving On From Pale With Deep Timber, Stone and Texture

The light, bleached interior that dominated Australian homes for the better part of a decade is giving way to something warmer and more grounded.

We are seeing a continued shift toward natural materials and warmer tones. Timber textures, stone surfaces and tactile finishes are becoming more popular as people look for interiors that feel calm and grounded spaces that feel warm, layered and inviting rather than minimal and cool.

In terms of timber, we’re seeing a move toward deeper tonal timbers: walnuts and deeper oaks, both in feature joinery and flooring. Engineered timber and hybrid flooring remain strong choices — practical, hardwearing, and available in the richer tones that clients are now gravitating toward.

For benchtops, natural stone is increasingly on the wishlist: granite, limestone, marble. These can be expensive materials, so aren’t suited to every budget, but the appetite for it is there. Stone splashbacks are following the same direction.

The overarching quality people are seeking in their materials is authenticity. Something that feels like it belongs and will continue to feel that way in ten years.

Warmer Whites, Earthy Tones and the End of the All-White Kitchen

The all-white kitchen is on its way out. In its place, we’re seeing a colour palette of soft neutrals, warm whites and earthy tones, spaces that feel calm and grounded rather than stark and clinical.

Off-white colours in cabinetry are popular, particularly for colour blocking, pairing a warmer tone on the island or lower cabinetry against a different shade on the uppers, or against natural timber elements. No white kitchens here.

For tapware and hardware, brushed nickel and gunmetal are the reliable go-tos right now. Brass is stunning and can be exactly right for certain interiors, but it is very much a trending colour, worth considering carefully before committing throughout a home. Coloured tapware as a considered point of difference continues to be popular.

Storage & Customised Joinery That Does the Work

If there is one area where clients are consistently investing their energy and their budget, it’s storage. Specifically, storage that’s been designed rather than defaulted to.

Walk-in robes and sliding robes with customised fitouts have been coming up consistently. Not just the robe as a room, but the internal organisation of it, the hanging sections, the shelving, the drawers, designed around how that individual actually uses the space.

Integrating customised feature joinery with storage is another popular request we see. It’s the recognition that joinery can be both functional and beautiful, that the storage in your home doesn’t need to be invisible or purely utilitarian. A well-designed built-in becomes a feature in its own right.

The consistent thread is that storage is now being considered from the design stage, not bolted on at the end.

Building for Yourself, Not the Market

This is perhaps the most meaningful shift we’re seeing, and it goes beyond any specific material or layout choice.

The focus has shifted to long-term functionality and lifestyle when designing and building. With the focus moving slightly away from resale, clients are individualising their homes and thinking about the longer term. Cost of living pressures and uncertainty around housing availability are influencing this too, people are making thoughtful choices about where they’re spending their money, and they’re building homes they genuinely want to live in rather than homes they’re hedging against the market.

What that produces are homes with more personality. More specificity to the people in them.

On the subject of trends themselves: we’ve never been particularly interested in following them for their own sake. Trends are worth watching, they reflect something real about where design is heading, and product availability is heavily shaped by them. But what’s always more important is maintaining your true style. This is your home. It should feel authentic, with purpose and individual personality.

 

Building Industry Trends

7 Stars: How New Energy Rules Are Reshaping WA Home Design

The move to a 7-star NatHERS energy efficiency requirement for new homes in WA is one of the most significant regulatory changes the industry has seen in recent years.

Achieving 7 stars isn’t simply a box to tick. It’s influencing both the way homes are designed and what materials are being specified, from insulation and glazing choices through to the orientation of the design and passive design principles applied to meet the requirements.

This means energy efficiency is now part of the conversation from the start. Where a home sits on the block, which direction it faces, how windows are positioned, how the home is insulated,  all of these are now shaped by the requirement to achieve 7 stars, not just by aesthetic or layout preference.

The cost implication is real. The new energy efficiency rules are adding more costs to already elevated build prices. But the upside is that homes built to these standards genuinely perform better, lower running costs, better thermal comfort, and a home that’s designed to work with the WA climate rather than against it.

Build Costs Are Still High.  Here’s What That Means for 2026

Since COVID, the WA building industry has experienced significant pressure around supply chains and labour shortages. While some things are slowly stabilising, build prices remain elevated, and the addition of 7-star requirements is adding further cost on top of an already stretched baseline.

This isn’t a temporary spike that’s about to correct. It’s the new baseline for building in WA, and going into a new build in 2026 with realistic expectations is important. Working with a builder who is transparent about costs, and who can help you prioritise your spend across the build, makes a significant difference to the outcome.

The Best Thing You Can Do Before You Break Ground

When designing your home’s interior, organisation is key.

The single most impactful thing you  can do before their build begins is to plan their selections early and put genuine thought into them. Consider this at the design stage of your home, not in the weeks before handover. Making decisions in advance can help streamline the pre-start process and avoid delays or costly variations later. Variations after the build has started are expensive. Decisions made at the design stage are not.

 

Ready To Build Your Dream Home?

Building a custom home in 2026 offers a real opportunity to get something genuinely personal a home that’s been designed around how you live, finished with materials that will last, and built to meet the energy standards that make it comfortable for decades to come.

If you’re thinking about building in WA and want to talk through what this looks like, get in touch with the Chross Homes team or schedule an appointment at our showroom to see talk through the range of design choices and finishes on offer.