How We'll Be Living Tomorrow: 5 Future Lifestyle Trends
What trends will dominate the 2020s? Here are five visionary suggestions from six Danish trend forecasters
What home and lifestyle trends will dominate in the 2020s, and how will our homes change as a result? To find out, we interviewed six Danish experts on future trends and housing. Although it’s impossible to give a definitive answer from where we stand today, they pointed us to five overall mega-trends for the 2020s.
Because of this trend, there is a massive need for space-saving and multi-functional solutions, and the experts predict that this will be the starting point for a huge trend. We will see, among other things, multi-functional designs and spaces aimed at creating rooms within rooms, minimalism and a huge focus on storage optimisation.
“One room can easily fill several functions. For example, a classic guest room can readily be designed to also serve as a home office and meditation room. The multi-functional mindset will definitely spread,” says Missona Aston, an expert in consumer tendencies and future trends. She adds that, for example, with new and smart lighting technologies, it is not hard to change the mood of a room as needed.
“One room can easily fill several functions. For example, a classic guest room can readily be designed to also serve as a home office and meditation room. The multi-functional mindset will definitely spread,” says Missona Aston, an expert in consumer tendencies and future trends. She adds that, for example, with new and smart lighting technologies, it is not hard to change the mood of a room as needed.
Many challenges arise when the size of homes shrink, but one in particular will dominate, says Mads Arlien-Søborg, who is a trend and lifestyle expert.
“The biggest problem will be storage, and I think we’re going to talk a lot about storage space. We will be forced to think rationally and get rid of a lot of things, but we will also talk about how on earth we will store the things we want to keep,” he says.
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“The biggest problem will be storage, and I think we’re going to talk a lot about storage space. We will be forced to think rationally and get rid of a lot of things, but we will also talk about how on earth we will store the things we want to keep,” he says.
Need an expert to help futureproof your home? Find a professional storage designer and organiser near you on Houzz
2. Seniors will dominate the housing market
The proportion of Australia’s population aged 65 years and over increased to 15.9 percent last year, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. This group is projected to grow more rapidly in the 2020s, as baby boomers (people born between 1946 and 1964) turn 65 and enter their post-retirement years, or the ‘third age’.
These many new seniors will dominate the housing market with – among other things – co-housing structures that are extremely different from traditional nursing homes. The seniors of the future will be healthier, stronger and more resourceful than those of previous generations.
“For many years we have focused on families with children when talking about what defines homes and who has the most pull in the housing market. However, seniors will define our housing market and housing types in the coming years,” says Mette Mechlenborg, housing researcher at Aalborg University.
The proportion of Australia’s population aged 65 years and over increased to 15.9 percent last year, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. This group is projected to grow more rapidly in the 2020s, as baby boomers (people born between 1946 and 1964) turn 65 and enter their post-retirement years, or the ‘third age’.
These many new seniors will dominate the housing market with – among other things – co-housing structures that are extremely different from traditional nursing homes. The seniors of the future will be healthier, stronger and more resourceful than those of previous generations.
“For many years we have focused on families with children when talking about what defines homes and who has the most pull in the housing market. However, seniors will define our housing market and housing types in the coming years,” says Mette Mechlenborg, housing researcher at Aalborg University.
Bædkel specialises in the home of the future, and her analyses point to the same conclusion: “We have been talking about people of the third age for decades, but it’s only now that we are really starting to take healthy seniors seriously in the financial sense,” she says.
“Quite a lot of what is in the spotlight in terms of today’s lifestyles is about younger people, but I think the third-agers will have a lot to say in housing trends and interior design over the next decade, and it will be viewed as having great importance.”
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“Quite a lot of what is in the spotlight in terms of today’s lifestyles is about younger people, but I think the third-agers will have a lot to say in housing trends and interior design over the next decade, and it will be viewed as having great importance.”
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3. Smarter homes
Thanks to technological and electronic developments, our homes will become unimaginably smart in the next decade and beyond. “There is a lot going on in technology development – in short, we want things that make our lives easier. Imagine mirrors that double as a personal trainer or refrigerators with a built-in kitchen garden,” says Rie Fjordsøe Rasmussen, trend editor at the Scandinavian trend institute Pej Gruppen.
Aston adds that while technology is getting smarter and more dominant in our lives and homes, it is also becoming more invisible. “There is clearly a higher sense of status in not showing off technology. Technology should not be visible or affect the look of the home; it should just be in the background and do its job,” she says.
Thanks to technological and electronic developments, our homes will become unimaginably smart in the next decade and beyond. “There is a lot going on in technology development – in short, we want things that make our lives easier. Imagine mirrors that double as a personal trainer or refrigerators with a built-in kitchen garden,” says Rie Fjordsøe Rasmussen, trend editor at the Scandinavian trend institute Pej Gruppen.
Aston adds that while technology is getting smarter and more dominant in our lives and homes, it is also becoming more invisible. “There is clearly a higher sense of status in not showing off technology. Technology should not be visible or affect the look of the home; it should just be in the background and do its job,” she says.
However, experts also predict that in the midst of all the technology enthusiasm and ultra-smart development, we will see waves of reaction against technology.
“If even our toothbrushes are gossiping that we haven’t brushed our teeth well enough and pretty much automatically call the dentist, then we need some place where we can rest completely and where no-one can reach us,” says futurist Anne-Marie Dahl, of Futuria.
“When you want to take something from the fridge but your exercise tracker suddenly tells you that you haven’t moved enough today to eat that extra food, then that will be the time for a counter-movement saying, ‘No, get me off Google and let me have control over my home; it’s got to be totally tech-free’.”
“If even our toothbrushes are gossiping that we haven’t brushed our teeth well enough and pretty much automatically call the dentist, then we need some place where we can rest completely and where no-one can reach us,” says futurist Anne-Marie Dahl, of Futuria.
“When you want to take something from the fridge but your exercise tracker suddenly tells you that you haven’t moved enough today to eat that extra food, then that will be the time for a counter-movement saying, ‘No, get me off Google and let me have control over my home; it’s got to be totally tech-free’.”
4. Expect a boom in diverse family structures and healthy-living communities
Some people will move into single-family homes, others will live in exclusive luxury collectives and still others will see three generations in the same house. In the 2020s, the term ‘home’ will not automatically equate to a father, a mother and children under the same roof, say several of the experts we consulted.
“More and more people have discovered that you can have good family relationships outside of the classic nuclear family model. And because the family and the home are so closely related to each other, this will also impact our understanding of what a home is,” says Mechlenborg.
She says that the increasing number of families with, for example, two mothers or two fathers is also shaking up the common perception of a family. In other words, we are expanding the premise of what a good family and good home are, and it is becoming less taboo to live differently.
Some people will move into single-family homes, others will live in exclusive luxury collectives and still others will see three generations in the same house. In the 2020s, the term ‘home’ will not automatically equate to a father, a mother and children under the same roof, say several of the experts we consulted.
“More and more people have discovered that you can have good family relationships outside of the classic nuclear family model. And because the family and the home are so closely related to each other, this will also impact our understanding of what a home is,” says Mechlenborg.
She says that the increasing number of families with, for example, two mothers or two fathers is also shaking up the common perception of a family. In other words, we are expanding the premise of what a good family and good home are, and it is becoming less taboo to live differently.
Bædkel says that the trend will, among other things, come to life through a wealth of new private co-living communities. “But they will be nice communities that you move into because you really want to, and they will be associated with a certain degree of social status,” she says. “They will be totally different from traditional communal living, like those horrible shared kitchens from college that one might think of.”
Aston adds that new communities will emerge to cater to every possible lifestyle: not just for singles in big cities, but also across generations or with multiple families living together to create eco-cities outside urban areas.
Aston adds that new communities will emerge to cater to every possible lifestyle: not just for singles in big cities, but also across generations or with multiple families living together to create eco-cities outside urban areas.
“It is closely related to the sharing economy mindset, which asks, ‘What do I need, exactly?’ and, ‘How can I get a higher quality of life without necessarily spending a lot of money on a kitchen that I could just as well share with others?’” she says.
Bædkel also predicts that the 2020s will be characterised by a huge awareness of climate-friendly and more sustainable living, which does not fit very well with the idea of individuals living alone in their own apartments. “Living with others is something that, on a large scale, can make a huge difference to the climate in terms of things like reducing food waste and sharing space,” she says.
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Bædkel also predicts that the 2020s will be characterised by a huge awareness of climate-friendly and more sustainable living, which does not fit very well with the idea of individuals living alone in their own apartments. “Living with others is something that, on a large scale, can make a huge difference to the climate in terms of things like reducing food waste and sharing space,” she says.
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5. Sustainable materials: less plastic, more vegan
The 2020s will be the decade of action when it comes to sustainability. Climate, the environment and animal ethics are already attracting a great deal of attention, but it’s often more talk than action. That will change soon, however, as experts predict two trends: more recycling and more vegan materials. We will be especially aware of this in the home, where plastic will go totally out of fashion.
“The main material that we will be fighting against is plastic. We have to find alternatives in housing products, and here I really think we will see a development in the ’20s,” Arlien-Søborg says. He suggests that the vegan wave that has dominated the food industry so far will inundate housing in the new decade.
The 2020s will be the decade of action when it comes to sustainability. Climate, the environment and animal ethics are already attracting a great deal of attention, but it’s often more talk than action. That will change soon, however, as experts predict two trends: more recycling and more vegan materials. We will be especially aware of this in the home, where plastic will go totally out of fashion.
“The main material that we will be fighting against is plastic. We have to find alternatives in housing products, and here I really think we will see a development in the ’20s,” Arlien-Søborg says. He suggests that the vegan wave that has dominated the food industry so far will inundate housing in the new decade.
Ironically, a vegan lifestyle is often difficult to combine with reducing plastic. For example, some of the most common vegan alternatives to materials like leather, skins and fur – such as fake fur or faux leather – are often made of plastic.
“We’re starting to realise that the vegan alternatives to leather and fur might not be so good for the environment. That is why new designers will be researching new materials as plastic-free alternatives to leather,” says Rasmussen.
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“We’re starting to realise that the vegan alternatives to leather and fur might not be so good for the environment. That is why new designers will be researching new materials as plastic-free alternatives to leather,” says Rasmussen.
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The seat on the chair here is made of salmon skin, while the armrests are made of recycled plastic
For example, plastic-free vegan alternatives, which have already emerged, offer a leather alternative made from industrial-waste apple peels and a fur-like material made of corn.
“Of course, it will take some time for these products to reach mainstream consumers, but there is no doubt that we will see a stream of new materials that take animal welfare and the environment into consideration. This is something we haven’t seen before,” says Rasmussen.
Your turn
Which of these five trends are you looking forward to embracing at home? Tell us in the Comments below, like this story, save the images, and join the conversation.
More
Keen to read more? Don’t miss 10 Points to Consider if You’re Looking for a Forever Home
For example, plastic-free vegan alternatives, which have already emerged, offer a leather alternative made from industrial-waste apple peels and a fur-like material made of corn.
“Of course, it will take some time for these products to reach mainstream consumers, but there is no doubt that we will see a stream of new materials that take animal welfare and the environment into consideration. This is something we haven’t seen before,” says Rasmussen.
Your turn
Which of these five trends are you looking forward to embracing at home? Tell us in the Comments below, like this story, save the images, and join the conversation.
More
Keen to read more? Don’t miss 10 Points to Consider if You’re Looking for a Forever Home
There will be a battle for space in the 2020s, with more people moving into smaller homes in cities.
Around the world, 66 percent of people will live in urban areas by 2050, according to a study on cities by the London School of Economics. “Urbanisation is a mega-trend that will characterise the next decade,” says Anne Dencker Bædkel, a sociologist and futurist at the Copenhagen Institute for Futures Studies.
“We will simply move closer and closer together in cities, where, obviously, there is limited space,” she says, pointing out that coveted space in cities will become more expensive as a consequence.