Peter Miller
2026 Trends in Traditional Building: What’s In, What’s Out, What’s Hot, What’s Not
Palmetto Bluff kitchen by Michael Franck
Credit: Photo by Gordon BeallHot or Not?
By now you have read all the end-of-year memories and new year predictions you can process. I want to add to your overload with my 2026 “What’s Hot and What’s Not” predictions about trends in traditional building. Below are classical architecture and interior design trends our team sees for the new year—along with what's out of style.
If you have your own thoughts about what’s in or out in the new year, be sure to let me know. Here are mine.
Hot: Real stone
Not: Cultured stone
Hot: Flagstone patios with grass for grout
Not: Treated lumber decks
Hot: Life cycle analysis
Not: Value engineering
Hot: Authentic Palladian windows with true divided light
Not: Casements, no divided lights with a separate circle top window above
Hot: Anything a real estate ad doesn’t “boast” about
Not: Granite countertops
Hot: Affordable kitchen appliances that someone cooks with
Not: European appliances
Hot: Gable roofs, but not too many gables on the house
Not: Flat or slanted roofs or a house with “gableitis”
Hot: Decorative plaster
Not: Drywall
Hot: Floral-patterned wallpaper
Not: White paint
Hot: Adaptive use
Not: Teardowns
Hot: Tall double-hung Italianate windows
Not: Floor-to-ceiling glass
Hot: Clay tile or shingle roofing
Not: Asphalt roofing
Hot: Dipping pool
Not: Hot tub
Hot: Real wood floors
Not: Embossed plastic wood-grained floors
Hot: Low-slung timbers on ceilings which are warm and cozy
Not: Vaulted ceilings which are cold and echo
Hot: Boxwood
Not: Yellow mums
Hot: Mid-century modern furniture
Not: Anything Victorian
Hot: Antiques
Not: Ikea
Hot: Paintings
Not: Prints
Hot: Books on shelves
Not: Grandma's brick-a-brac
Manufacturer of custom lighting fixtures: chandeliers, sconces, pendants & lanterns; new designs, historic reproductions & custom work; handcrafted in wood, tin, brass or copper; glass, mica or alabaster shades.
