6 Design Trends for Boosting Resident Retention, Condo Sales
Are the look and feel of your buildings in sync with what's hot right now?
What’s the latest in design for apartment, condo and townhouse projects? One of the best sources of current styles is the American Society of Interior Design’s annual Trends Outlook report. The 2025 edition was just published with insights that may surprise you. I asked interior designers who work in these spaces to weigh in on how they’re witnessing and implementing some of these trends.
This is not about the color of the year—Mocha Mousse, according to Pantone. Or whether wallpaper is in or out—seems like it’s in at the moment. It’s about larger trends that can impact your communities for years to come, including who they may attract as new prospects and how happy they’ll be with the offerings.
1. Cultural narratives
For Kia Weatherspoon, founder of Determined by Design, cultural narrative is a core practice. “We focus on multifamily projects that prioritize beauty, color, softness, and heritage—designing housing that feels intentional, livable and deeply connected to the communities it serves,” she said.
Her firm’s projects are predominantly in neighborhoods of color, where cultural narratives take the form of deep historical research, cultural references and storytelling through art, texture and color.
Increasingly, Weatherspoon’s developer partners are leaning into this perspective. It’s about more than another mural, she said. It “means collaborating with local artists and makers.”
These choices carry cultural weight and make a difference. “They signal to residents that the spaces are for them, that their history and culture are not only seen but valued.” They create a sense of belonging for renters and condo owners.
For Tesla Love, design director of interiors for CosciaMoos Architecture, cultural narratives show up prominently in entrances, lobbies and exterior facades: “We are finding that a lot of our clients are asking for local artisans, which I think inherently starts the conversation on inclusivity of cultural themes.”
Starting a project with a land acknowledgment is a terrific way “to set the intentions from the beginning of a project, while honoring the history of the people and the earth,” declared Amber Ferguson, an interior designer with Meshberg Group. “We work nationally, but the core of our work is in New Jersey, Brooklyn and Miami, which all have deep cultural roots.”
2. Outdoor integration
Most of CosciaMoos Architecture’s projects are in an urban setting. “Outdoor space is highly regarded and, most recently, seen as a necessary amenity,” Love said. “This plays out mostly with roof decks and green roofs.” She uses glass wall systems to create seamless indoor-outdoor transitions.
Having outdoor access has always been prized by urbanites but became more of a perceived need than want when the pandemic closed parks, beaches and trailheads in the early weeks. Access to nature outside their doorstep became a wellness imperative for people cooped up in their homes, living and working there.
READ ALSO: Outdoor Amenities Are in With Renters
Outdoor access can also be a social benefit, as the trend report notes: “Designs are increasingly blending indoor and outdoor spaces to foster social engagement.” Residents are seeking this connection, especially older, single adults who may be relocating to a new city or state.
“Access to outdoor spaces is a significant driver for long-term tenants,” Ferguson noted. “Rooftop grilling and pool decks are prime amenities, or if there is a larger parking structure, the top floor of the podium level will often be utilized as an indoor/outdoor amenity.”
3. Adaptive living
The ASID Trends Report notes that “homes will need to be retrofitted with adaptable living solutions to support the health and wellbeing of the aging population, designing for autonomy to alleviate isolation and prioritize connectivity.”
Meshberg’s multifamily units are designed to be adaptable “so that any unit can be modified to meet the needs of residents’ physical abilities,” Ferguson reported. “Nearly everyone will experience loss of physical ability during their lifetime.”
CosciaMoos is seeing a lot of demand for higher-end living from empty nesters, particularly in urban areas. For these residents, floor plates are important. “This includes more than two bedrooms with the ability to have one or two rentals onsite for extended family visitors,” Love said. “These projects also generally require more luxury finishes and more storage in the unit.”
One of the demographic trends that makes this floor plan type even more popular is older adults—particularly divorced or widowed women—rooming together. Each will want their own suite for privacy and comfort.
4. Innovative lighting
Ferguson is seeing more multifamily projects that provide elegant solutions for accessibility since people want their spaces to look like resorts—not rehab hospitals.
CosciaMoos has been pushing for tunable white as a standard. “This is both in individual units and common areas,” Love shared.
Recent studies have shown that similar circadian technology installed in common areas can reduce falls in nursing home residents. As more older adults seek to live independently into their 70s and beyond, incorporating these fixtures in your projects can potentially reduce accidents and lawsuits. Incorporating them in individual units can enhance comfort and sleep quality and become a wellness feature you can market to prospective tenants or buyers.
“We are doing circadian lighting in one of our most recent project’s wellness areas to support the natural rhythms of restfulness and wakefulness,” Ferguson shared. “Daylighting strategies support lower energy usage as well.” Their strategies tend to focus on kitchen and bathrooms, she adds.
5. Smart technology
Most, if not all, of CosciaMoos Architecture’s projects incorporate some sort of smart living amenities. “The most popular are smart locks and adjustable white spectrum lighting,” Love revealed.
Smart tech is a must for Meshberg’s projects. “One trend we are seeing is experiential/red light therapy showers in the amenity spaces,” Ferguson said. “Certainly, circadian lighting, roller shades responsive to the time of day, as well as amenity driven technology—simulation and gaming spaces, pod labs and content creation rooms.”
While units are getting smaller, the community spaces are extensive and invested in a variety of technologies for wellness, entertainment, and security, she noted.
6. Sustainability and toxic awareness
Most multifamily buildings have requested to be LEED, Love reported, but they don’t always end up with the official certification. “The majority of the bigger projects, 150-plus units, are being designed to LEED Gold minimum,” she noted. Toxic awareness is a standard for her firm, but it’s not often on the developer’s radar.
Meshberg’s multifamily projects are mostly sustainability-certified, Ferguson shared, but the firm is looking at efficiency, low-flow fixtures and low-to-no VOC products at all project levels.
“Designers and product manufacturers [are] leading the charge here by reducing or eliminating the use of vinyl and finding alternatives in durable and beautiful wallcovering, upholstery, and flooring,” she commented. “We have more information at our fingertips than ever before, so it’s certainly not necessary for us to wait to have a LEED or WELL project to make healthy selections.”
Weatherspoon agreed: “It’s not just about meeting LEED requirements—it’s about creating spaces that feel good, function well and support the well-being of the people who live there.”
She opts for non-toxic mineral-based paint plus updated linoleum flooring that is durable, nontoxic and resistant to bacteria and allergens as an LVT alternative.
What are you and your design team doing in this realm? Are you providing MERV-13 filtration in your projects? Or reverse osmosis in your units? The investment can pay off in attracting health-conscious Gen Z tenants and buyers and well-to-do, well-read Boomers seeking greater longevity.
“Post-pandemic, health, wellness, and sustainability remain top priorities for clients looking for products and solutions that not only meet their sustainability needs but mitigate health risks,” reports the ASID trend outlook.
They’re going to be drawn to spaces featuring zero VOC paints and induction ranges that don’t put harmful toxins in their air. And as they read about nearly half of our tap water being contaminated with forever chemicals, as the U.S. Geological Survey reported in July 2023, providing filtration for them will be a competitive advantage for your units.
Check out the ASID report for more of the design trends that create the kinds of communities that buyers and tenants are drawn to live and remain in.
Jamie Gold, CKD, CAPS, MCCWC is a Forbes.com senior contributor, wellness design consultant, industry speaker, and award-winning author of Wellness by Design (Simon & Schuster, 2020).
