The Home Design Trend Emerging Among Homeowners More Than Ever In 2026

Home experts are always on the lookout for what's driving homeowners' decisions when it comes to buying or designing their living spaces. One characteristic that's expected to be especially popular in 2026? Home designs that cater to multigenerational living. Redfin and Thumbtack dove into data from dozens of design and real estate professionals for their 2026 Home Design Trend Predictions, and concluded that multigenerational living features will be a top priority this year. Meanwhile, the latest edition of the National Association of Realtors Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers found that 14% of home buyers purchased a multigenerational home in 2025. While that's a slight dip from the previous year, overall many home buyers have been opting for multigenerational housing setups in recent years. In fact, the number of Americans living in multigenerational households has quadrupled since the 1970s, meaning this is no flash in the pan trend but rather a home design preference with lasting impact.

What exactly is multigenerational living? It depends on who you ask. The U.S. Census Bureau defines a multigenerational household as "three or more generations under one roof," while Pew Research says "two or more adult generations (with adults mainly ages 25 or older) or a 'skipped generation,' which consists of grandparents and their grandchildren younger than 25" qualifies as a multigenerational household. In any case, a household that blends different generations and age groups instead of just the nuclear family is becoming more and more common. As a result, more homeowners are looking for home designs that cater to the needs of extended family members at all stages of life — meaning an uptick in things like ADUs (Accessory Dwelling Units), or smaller secondary homes on the primary home's property, as well as aging-in-place features such as wider doors and curbless showers.

41% of recent homebuyers said the primary reason they bought a multigenerational home was so they could "care for or support aging parents," according to the National Association of Realtors Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers. But the home design has its appeals for other reasons, too. Combining incomes, with multiple working adults living together under one roof, can help alleviate some of the strain caused by rising housing costs. And, so-called "boomerang kids," i.e. young adults who leave home for college or work only to return again to live with their parents, have become more common as the cost of living increases.

As well as the monetary benefits, for parents of young children, living together with grandparents or other extended family can also offer more of a "village," providing more caretaker help and emotional support. And for homeowners who intend to stay in their house for the long-haul — a trend that's becoming increasingly common as mortgage rates and home prices remain high — some people are opting for more multigenerational home design features simply because they themselves intend on staying in their home for every stage of life, including when they retire.

While some people are choosing to buy a new house with the express purpose of it being multigenerational, others are adapting and adding features of multigenerational homes onto their current home designs. For example, the National Kitchen & Bath Association (NKBA | KBIS) Annual Bath Trends Report found that aging-in-place design features such as wider entryways, curbless showers, and grab bars are becoming more mainstream. They're seamlessly incorporated into sleek bathroom layouts, and becoming a highly sought after bathroom trend in 2026.

ADUs (Accessory Dwelling Units) are also gaining traction. "With many homeowners staying put longer, we're seeing a big wave of reimagined spaces. ADUs remain extremely popular, both for family flexibility and rental potential," Redfin agent Kellie Martinez said in Redfin and Thumbtack's 2026 report. Adding an ADU to your primary residence could mean anything from converting your garage into a studio, to converting a section like the basement into a separate residence with a separate entrance, to building an accessory dwelling unit in your backyard, like a tiny home. Depending on what's legal where you live, more homeowners are getting creative with how to add more housing for more family members under one roof.

Multigenerational home designs also tend to favor larger, versatile living areas that can bring together more family members and be used for multiple purposes, so don't expect layouts like the open floor plan to be disappearing anytime soon. Likewise, bigger, more spacious kitchens with multiple sinks and cooking prep areas that enable more cooks in the kitchen are gaining steam. But while bigger communal areas are popular must-haves, multigenerational homes are also necessitating more fully-equipped private areas for different family members — meaning more houses have more than one primary suite with a full bathroom and walk-in closet attached.