The team at Robuck Homes prides itself on having a pulse on the real estate trends that people are looking for in a new home. That’s especially true when it comes to design. We’ve been in the forefront of what’s on-trend since our start nearly a century ago, and as we keep looking to meet the demands of our customers, we’re constantly focused on what’s hot for home buyers in North Carolina. And with the market starting to ramp up into its busy season, 2025 design trends are top of mind for the Robuck team.
Caroline Rice and Anne Paul are Robuck’s design studio consultants, and both have a deep understanding of the trends people are looking for in 2025. They say the following trends are the ones that are top of mind this year.
Color drenching is in from Triangle to the coast
Robuck builds within the greater Triangle area as well as on the coast of North Carolina, and one of the things Rice and Paul pointed out is that tastes can vary on the location. Rice is based in Wilmington, while Paul works in the Triangle design center. And both agreed the most popular designs begin with where a buyer lives.
“Being at the coast, people love fresh, light and airy blues right now,” Rice said. She said coastal buyers continue to love coastal design, with light floors and beachy colors. For example, she says elegant champagne colors that mesh beautifully with blues or light, minty greens are popular in kitchens that feature those pops of color in accent islands. “There are not really into a lot of dark colors, unless it’s like a navy or something. They’re not doing the moody, in-the-city look.”
On the other hand, Paul said color is wildly popular in the Triangle. “We are seeing color drenching — just more color in general. Though I think that might be for both markets, but in a different way.” She said while the coast might feature lighter blues and greens, the Triangle brings in darker greens and other elements. “We’ve seen some fully dark rooms, but they have lots of bright windows so it’s not too overwhelming. That would never happen at the coast.”
Statement spaces remain a must-have
Both Paul and Rice said they are seeing a trend toward statement kitchens and other spaces that reflect the family. “I’ve been seeing a lot of statement kitchens,” Paul said.
“Of course, that’s where the soul of the home is,” Rice added. That’s translating to highly personalized kitchens, such as bold, navy blues and deep greens.
“I’ve had many of my homeowners pick an all-blue kitchen — not just an accent, but all blue perimeter and island — that’s off-set with white tile and white countertops so it’s not so dark and heavy. But it’s really interesting when you walk in,” Paul said. She added that Robuck features a line of hood options that help emphasize the kitchen, which makes it a focal point of the home.
Rice added that Robuck’s flex spaces have helped many homeowners add even more personality to specific spaces. “We have the option to add a finished bonus room, which they’re going to set up as their gym, or if they’re both working from home, one of them is going to use it as an office. Some of our plans have a flex room downstairs that you could add French doors to. That’s one thing Robuck does really well — there’s some kind of flexible use space that we try to incorporate into every home. It might be an optional feature that you’d have to select as a structural option, but almost every home has some sort of space that you can use in a flexible way.”
The most popular exteriors blend modern and traditional design and outdoor living
One of Robuck’s most popular exterior designs is its Modern Farmhouse, which blends elements of traditional farm homes, like spacious porches, clean design, and an abundance of outdoor living, with modern design. Both Rice and Paul said the Modern Farmhouse remains a hit in all of Robuck’s community’s — regardless of whether it’s the Triangle area or coastal North Carolina.
The Modern Farmhouse is bringing a unique blend of character to the coast. “The people who choose the modern farmhouse make it a mix of coastal and farmhouse,” Rice said, explaining that the farmhouse style is typically drawn into the home from the outside. For example, trim accents like shiplap or board and batten walls are still top of mind for coastal buyers. “They’ll do a stain, like a natural looking island, but then use still those coastal colors for like backsplash so they kind of intertwine.”
Rice said Robuck continues to focus on the outdoors spaces as part of its design, too. “Outdoor living is important in both areas. Roebuck does a pretty good job of having an option for the outdoors — like covered porches on every home. A lot of them can facilitate screened-in porches. I think that’s really important to North Carolina buyers because we live in such an awesome climate where it’s fun to be outside.”
Rice said another one of the top 2025 design trends continues to be slider doors to connect the interior of the home to the outside. “The slider doors are like windows across the back porch that you can open up to one open space. People love that,” she said. That’s also translating to bringing green throughout the home, inviting nature indoors. “It’s that ‘bringing nature in’ idea, using plants and natural materials.”
Personalized spaces are bringing in additional character
One of the most popular things Rice and Paul are seeing from buyers is that they are using flex spaces to create a home that’s distinctly theirs. In fact, Robuck offers a curated set of selections to help give homeowners with eclectic tastes the right variety to choose from.
For example, Rice explained, “Instead of having a flex room, we have a guest suite option. You can turn it into a guest bedroom with a guest bath. Somebody might have a mother-in-law who lives with them or have frequent company that they might not need just that flex space — they need the guest room. There are major structural options like the finished bonus room, things like that that are optional.” She said things like tray or coffered ceilings are great examples of personalizations that can help a home stand out. “It’s different from their neighbor who also has that same plan. Everyone has different tastes and I feel like that’s what makes their home different from the others.”
“We have designed kind of bare bones and it was still a great looking house,” Paul added. “And then the same plan, the buyers chose to spend several thousand dollars of extra upgrades and it looks completely different. So this one floor plan can be so flexible for so many people’s different lifestyles and different needs and different price points because of the options that we allow them to choose from.”
Working with the Robuck design team
Regardless of whether a buyer wants to take advantage of 2025 design trends or wants to create a home based on their specific tastes, both Paul and Rice suggest buyers come ready with ideas, and to be prepared to take it slow.
“We really try to hone in on what’s important to you and your lifestyle and then we’ll show you pieces that fit that and that way you’re not bogged down with all that noise that doesn’t really apply to you,” Paul said. “We offer three design appointments on purpose — time tested and each appointment structured so that we can focus on specific aspects of the home — and then a finalization appointment at the end so we can really spend some time reviewing your selections again. It is sort of that laboratory environment. There are no stakes.”
That’s important, both agreed. “I think giving them the freedom to be able to experiment, then to go away and rest and sleep on it and talk about it — that is how people make the best decisions,” Paul said. “I think that’s kind of the recipe to really producing a home that they’re really going to love.”
