For years, the ideal home seemed to have a very specific look.
White walls. Neutral furniture. Carefully edited shelves. Open spaces with almost nothing out of place. Rooms designed to photograph beautifully from every angle.
But something appears to be changing.
A new fall and winter home trends report suggests homeowners aren’t simply thinking about what will make their houses look more current. They’re increasingly thinking about how they want their homes to feel—and how they actually want to live in them.
And they’re prepared to spend money making those changes.
According to the new Thumbtack Fall and Winter 2026 Trends Report, nearly 58% of homeowners expect to spend at least $1,000 on home improvement or maintenance during the next six months.
The report, recently highlighted by Martha Stewart, points to four major trends emerging for fall and winter: more pattern, richer earth tones, bigger holiday curb appeal and rooms designed to serve several purposes.
But underneath all four is a larger shift that may be more interesting than any particular paint color or decorating style.
Homes are becoming more personal.
Instead of asking, “What is everyone else doing?” homeowners increasingly seem to be asking, “How do we actually want to live here?”
Nearly 6 in 10 Homeowners Expect to Spend at Least $1,000
The numbers suggest this isn’t simply a decorating trend.
Thumbtack’s report is based partly on an online survey of 1,010 U.S. homeowners conducted September 7–8, 2026, along with the company’s project data and insights from home professionals.
Nearly 58% of respondents said they expect to invest at least $1,000 in home improvement or maintenance over the next six months.
Holiday spending is entering the home as well.
One in five homeowners surveyed said they are budgeting between $250 and $499 specifically for holiday decorating or preparing their homes to host.
But homeowners aren’t necessarily pouring that money into giant renovations.
Some of the most noticeable changes are happening through paint, patterns, furniture arrangements, outdoor spaces and better use of rooms they already have.
That may be one of the most practical ideas to come out of this year’s trends:
Making your home feel different doesn’t necessarily require making your home bigger.
The Picture-Perfect House May Be Losing Some of Its Appeal
Anyone who has spent time looking at home inspiration online has probably seen some version of the same room.
Neutral sofa.
Neutral rug.
Neutral walls.
Carefully selected accessories.
Everything coordinated.
Almost nothing personal enough to reveal much about the people who actually live there.
Those rooms can certainly be beautiful. But the latest trend reports suggest more homeowners are becoming comfortable with homes that show a little more personality.
Thumbtack describes the larger movement as one away from years of pared-back, picture-perfect interiors and toward homes that are warmer, more expressive and more representative of the people living inside them.
Other fall design reports are seeing something similar.
A recent Martha Stewart report on fall 2026 design trends, based on Houzz’s conversations with nearly 50 design professionals, also described a movement away from off-the-shelf perfection.
The emerging home doesn’t necessarily look like it was completed all at once.
It looks collected.
A chair inherited from a grandparent might sit beside a newer sofa.
Children’s artwork may share a wall with framed prints.
Books are visible.
Colors don’t have to disappear into the background.
The house begins to tell you something about the family living there.
Pattern Is Coming Back in a Big Way
One of the clearest examples is pattern.
According to Thumbtack, 61% of homeowners surveyed would consider incorporating at least one type of pattern into their home during the coming year.
Florals and botanical patterns were the most popular choice, selected by 34%.
But we’re not just talking about a throw pillow with flowers.
Patterns are moving into much more noticeable places.
Think wallpapered ceilings, painted stripes, murals, patterned entryways, florals mixed with checks or even designs extending across multiple surfaces.
For homeowners who spent the last decade carefully removing anything that might make a room feel “busy,” that can sound intimidating.
It doesn’t have to be.
A pattern could be introduced through curtains, a rug, bedding, an upholstered chair or even paint.
The larger lesson isn’t necessarily that everyone needs wallpaper.
It’s that rooms no longer have to disappear into neutrality.
Brown, Terracotta, Moss and Muddy Green Are Replacing Cooler Neutrals
Color is changing too.
The fall and winter palette identified in the Thumbtack report includes browns, clay, terracotta, moss, ochre and deeper muddy greens.
These colors have something in common.
They feel grounded.
Thumbtack found that nearly six in 10 homeowners want the paint color in a room to create a warm and cozy atmosphere, while half want their rooms to create a sense of calm and groundedness.
That changes the question homeowners are asking about paint.
Instead of simply:
What color looks best?
the question becomes:
How do I want to feel when I walk into this room?
Sue Wadden, director of global architectural color marketing at Sherwin-Williams, told Thumbtack that consumers are increasingly creating environments based on how they want to live and feel.
That idea may explain why warmer colors are returning.
A creamy brown, herbal green or muted terracotta isn’t trying to disappear.
It creates atmosphere.
And homeowners don’t necessarily have to repaint an entire house to experiment with it.
A powder room, bedroom, painted trim, bookcase or single wall can introduce warmer color without turning the project into a major renovation.
Your Living Room May Need to Do More Than One Job
Perhaps the most practical trend in the report is something Thumbtack calls the “Flexing Room.”
The idea is simple.
A living room may be the family’s everyday gathering space in the morning.
By afternoon, children may take over part of it.
During a holiday meal, it becomes extra dining space.
When overnight guests arrive, part of the room might even become temporary sleeping space.
According to the survey, 52% of homeowners say their living room takes on a different purpose when friends or family visit.
That is significant because the solution isn’t necessarily adding square footage.
It’s making existing square footage more adaptable.
Furniture that moves easily suddenly becomes useful.
So does hidden storage.
A console can become a serving station.
An ottoman can provide seating and storage.
A small table might work as a game table most of the year and holiday dining overflow when relatives arrive.
The best room may not be the room that performs one function perfectly.
It may be the room that can perform four functions pretty well.
Homeowners Are Spending Money Making Existing Space Work Harder
Thumbtack’s project data supports that idea.
Requests for closet and shelving-system installations increased 49% year over year.
Home-organizing requests increased 37%.
Room-remodel requests increased 26%.
Those numbers suggest homeowners aren’t only thinking about how rooms look.
They’re thinking about how rooms function.
And that distinction matters.
Sometimes the improvement a house needs isn’t another decorative object.
It might be a shelf where something is constantly being left on the floor.
It might be better lighting in the corner where someone likes to read.
It could be seating that can move when company comes.
Or hooks where backpacks actually get dropped instead of where someone thought they should be dropped.
A home begins to feel personalized when it responds to the habits of the people inside it.
The Holidays Are Moving Outside
Personal expression isn’t stopping at the front door.
Thumbtack found that nearly two-thirds of surveyed homeowners plan to decorate their front door or porch for the holidays.
Another 52% plan to add holiday lights to rooflines, trees, pathways or landscaping.
Professional project requests reflect that interest.
Holiday-lighting installation requests increased 37% year over year.
Deck and porch remodeling requests increased 50%.
Patio remodeling requests climbed nearly 67%.
That doesn’t necessarily mean everyone wants an enormous holiday display.
It suggests homeowners increasingly view the exterior of the house as part of the gathering space.
A porch isn’t simply something guests cross before entering.
It can become part of the welcome.
A few chairs, warmer lighting, seasonal plants or a simple front-door display can change the feeling without turning the yard into a holiday attraction.
This Isn’t Really About Following Four New Trends
There’s an irony in talking about a trend toward individuality.
If everyone immediately buys the same floral wallpaper, terracotta paint and oversized holiday decorations, we’ve simply created another version of the picture-perfect room.
The more useful takeaway is to look underneath the trends.
Pattern: Put things you enjoy where you can actually see them.
Earthy color: Think about how you want a room to feel.
Holiday curb appeal: Make the entrance feel welcoming.
Flexible rooms: Design around what your family actually does.
None of those ideas requires following a particular style.
A traditional house can do them.
So can a farmhouse, midcentury home, apartment, contemporary house or 1980s suburban home.
The point is not making every house look the same.
It’s almost the opposite.
Another 2026 Trend Is Pointing in the Same Direction
This movement didn’t suddenly appear in September.
Earlier research from Thumbtack found homeowners increasingly prioritizing projects that make them happier rather than choosing improvements solely because they might increase resale value.
As Martha Stewart previously reported, 84% of homeowners surveyed for that earlier research said they were prioritizing projects that brought happiness over dollars—including many homeowners who planned to sell.
That research found interest in projects such as interior painting, lighting updates, dedicated hobby spaces, built-in bookcases and sunrooms.
Put the reports together and a larger pattern begins to emerge.
Homeowners may be getting tired of treating their houses primarily as products that eventually need to impress someone else.
They’re allowing themselves to enjoy them now.
Before Spending $1,000, Ask a Different Question
If you’re among the nearly six in 10 homeowners planning to spend at least $1,000 during the next six months, the most important decision may happen before you choose a contractor, paint color or piece of furniture.
Walk through your house and ask:
What doesn’t work well for the way we actually live?
Maybe everyone gathers in the kitchen even though the living room is beautifully arranged.
Maybe nobody sits in the formal dining room.
Maybe the children do homework at the kitchen counter because the desk upstairs feels isolated.
Maybe holiday guests always need another place to sit.
Maybe everyone piles shoes beside the door because the shoe storage is somewhere nobody naturally goes.
Those little frustrations can be useful clues.
Instead of starting with what your house is missing, start with what your family is already trying to make the house do.
Then spend accordingly.
A Home Doesn’t Have to Look Finished
Perhaps that’s the most refreshing part of this shift.
Homes aren’t museums.
They change because families change.
Children grow.
Parents age.
People start hobbies.
Someone begins working from home.
Grandchildren arrive.
Holiday gatherings get bigger—or smaller.
A room that worked beautifully five years ago may no longer make sense.
And a home filled with evidence of all those changing seasons may never look as perfectly coordinated as a professionally staged photograph.
That doesn’t necessarily mean something has gone wrong.
It may mean the house is doing exactly what a home is supposed to do.
The most interesting trend for fall and winter 2026 isn’t floral wallpaper, earthy paint or bigger holiday decorations.
It’s permission to stop designing exclusively for the photograph.
Because when the front door closes and everyone comes home, the people living there—not the picture—are what the house was for all along.