60s + 70s = 2025: EXPLORING RETRO HOME TRENDS

During the 2025 Builders FirstSource National Event, Dawn Duhamel of DTJ Design discussed this shift along with several other key elements that are important to keep in mind when working on home design or remodeling projects this year:

• Nature is a huge source of inspiration and is permeating most trends in one way or another.
• People want flexibility in their living spaces.
• Details like fluting, knurling and grooves are showing up in unexpected places.
• Gray is no longer the go-to color, and browns are being embraced for their warmth.
• Blues and greens are mainstream with green taking the lead in new product launches.
• Earthy terracotta and blush are going strong.
• The days of the harsh, exposed bulb are gone as we are seeing a shift toward softer white, diffuse light.

Your ability to include these trends as options for your clients has several benefits. If you are a custom builder, familiarity with the latest styles could help you build a stronger connection with clients and enhance your reputation. lf you are working on a larger-scale project like a subdivision, incorporating some of the details people are looking for could help sell homes faster.

This article is the first in a series on these design trends, and we’re starting with a particularly popular theme: retro. Referred to by Duhamel as “60s + 70s = 2025,” this trend leans into the vintage color palettes, natural materials, playful patterns and soft, curvy shapes of the 1960s and 1970s.

Many Gen X and millennial homebuyers are attracted to nostalgic motifs that invoke warm, personal feelings, or, more simply, appreciate the unique throwback styles that give homes character. You’ll see a range of colors from the bold and vibrant hues of the 60s to the rich and earthy hues of the 70s, along with geometrical and intricate patterns on flooring and wall tiles.

CABINETS AND COUNTERTOPS

In cabinetry, there is an increasing desire for warm, natural woods like walnut and oak. Details like grooved doors, fluted glass, woven cane and antiqued mirrored glass, which were prevalent in the 1960s and 70s, are now being featured as cabinet fronts. Offering these kinds of options to clients lets them add special, unexpected touches in ordinary places.

Two-tone color schemes for cabinets and countertops offer homeowners the opportunity to play with color and create a more dynamic space. Utilizing different color combinations and unique design styles with cabinets give homeowners a way to create a personalized, retro area.In kitchens, this might involve using a bold or darker color on the bottom cabinets and a lighter or more neutral one for the top. Another option might feature natural woodgrain cabinets on the bottom and colored cabinets up top. New and improved versions of terrazzo—the trademark bespeckled tile used on floors in homes and public spaces throughout the 60s and 70s—is now gracing countertops and being coordinated with contrasting materials like butcher block islands.

Homeowners are in search of softness and embracing curves, which makes curved countertop edges very trendy this year. More thought is also being put into what those edges look like with grooved, fluted, and a variety of other textures showing up in this often overlooked place. Kitchen islands are a prime spot to feature a vibrant color or interesting texture. Some owners are opting to top kitchen islands with a color or material that contrasts to the rest of the countertops to keep the space visually interesting. Rounded cabinet bases are taking the place of traditionally rectangular ones and are being given the same sort of textural treatments seen in countertop edging, adding flair to an area that frequently goes without it.

WINDOWS

As people are looking for creative ways to add custom touches to their homes, windows are not being overlooked. Unobstructed views, energy efficiency and plenty of natural light are ideal, so it’s no wonder that big windows are a current favorite, as are casement windows. You’ll find these windows framed in warm woodgrains and a variety of earthy blues, greens, terracottas and other colors that will allow your clients to reflect more of their personality.

FLOORING & TILING

In flooring, checkerboard is making a huge comeback , but not just as classic black and white, 12 x 12 tiling. Smaller tiles in a variety of neutral and earthy colors like spice, goldenrod and mossy green are popping up in bathrooms and kitchens and are available in more luxury materials like marble and travertine that soften and modernize the overall look. Checkerboard is also being used in more creative ways, such as in the construction of tiled walkways, patios and backyards made of alternating blocks of grass and concrete.

Basketweave, stripes, mosaic tile patterns and terrazzo are also gaining popularity with their ability to create visual interest and personal expression within a space. Backsplashes and bathrooms are excellent places to utilize these patterns to make a statement, especially as tiling in these rooms is now often extended up the full height of the wall.