Farmhouse Is Out, Brutalism Is In: Predictions from Zillow's 2024 Trend Report

From sleek home design to soothing gardens, this is what homebuyers are searching for in 2024.

It's time to close up your cloffice and take a dip in your cold plunge pool—at least, that's what Zillow's 2024 Home Trends Report says. Released today, the real estate marketplace looked at nearly 300 home features and design styles mentioned in for-sale listing descriptions to discover what homebuyers are searching for—and what they no longer want.

"When certain keywords appear in a rising share of listings, it's a signal that today's home buyers may be gravitating toward those features," Zillow's home trends expert Amanda Pendleton said in a statement.

The two top search terms were in complete contrast: "brutalism" and "sensory garden." The former is a minimalist, stark design style with an emphasis on hard lines, raw materials, and concrete floors, and it increased by 452% in searches in 2023. Sensory gardens, up 314%, are all about soft, gentle textures, scents, and colors, focusing nature's therapeutic traits.

Related: These Decor Trends Took Over TikTok Last Year—Here’s What to Expect in 2023

While these concepts find themselves on opposite ends of the design spectrum, they're both focused on making a space feel impactful and intentional, unlike more neutral styles like shou sugi ban-treated wood (which experienced a drop of 69%) and farmhouse style, which has fallen in popularity post-pandemic.

Homeowners are also looking up homes with murals, with an increase of 18%. While that may not seem like a significant number, combined with recent increases in the use of wallpaper, moody colors, and Barbie pink, it's further proof that people are favoring design styles that show off their personalities. Along those colorful lines, Murano glass chandeliers (custom handcrafted fixtures from Murano, Italy) have become a hot ticket item, with a 58% rise in searches.

This one may not come as much of a surprise: The bounce in searches for "pickleball," increased by 64% over last year, and listings that mention it are up 100%. The wildly-trendy sport has picklers everywhere on the hunt for homes with their own courts in upscale areas or located near public courts.

"I've seen homeowners converting their driveways into courts by using portable nets," said Joy Kim Metalios, a Zillow Premier Agent in Fairfield County, Connecticut. "Players with ultra-luxury homes are painting new pickleball lines on their sport courts or tennis courts. Since pickleball is such a social sport, an at-home court has become the latest entertaining feature, like an outdoor kitchen or a pizza oven."

On the topic of kitchens, you may want to replace the arches and terracotta tile in your Tuscan eating area, which has 45% fewer searches than a year ago. Or not: Trends come and go, but having a home that makes you happy is always in style.

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