There’s a fine line between classic and old. When preparing your Philadelphia home for sale, you want to ensure that past trends don’t overwhelm and date your space. While it’s impossible to embrace every new interior design trend, a few small changes can revolutionize your home’s overall appeal when styling, staging, and selling it.

Below are some current interior designs that will wow your potential buyers.

Designer pantry

A new trend for houses for sale in Philadelphia is the designer walk-in pantry. This trend is as useful as it is beautiful. Kitchens are often the hub of a home’s activity and are no longer used exclusively for cooking and serving. They’re a central space for entertaining, doing homework, and spending time as a family. Having a place to tuck away the toaster, can opener, mixer, and other items keep the counters clean and usable. While walk-in pantries have been a part of homes for a long time, homeowners are beginning to decorate their pantries as they would the rest of their homes. With so many options available for decorative storage, you can turn your canisters of pasta and legumes into decor. Floor to ceiling shelving is often painted in an accent color – or the shelves are neutral and the background is a vibrant color – to give the space visual appeal.

Hidden appliances

Thanks to new technologies and designs, the large stainless steel hood hovering over the stove is no longer necessary in Fairmount luxury homes or in a chic downtown condo. There are now many sleek, hidden options that allow the rest of your kitchen to stand out. Panel ready refrigerators turn what was once a large stainless-steel eyesore, into a seamless piece of beautiful cabinetry. 

Tile

Tile’s durability has made it a practical choice for kitchen and bathroom designs, but it’s recently seen a resurgence in trendy luxury design. Houses for sale in Philadelphia with tile countertops and backsplashes make a stylish and functional statement to potential buyers. Patterned tiles add artistic flair to your kitchen, while a higher volume of plain tiles makes your kitchen feel larger. To make a dramatic statement, you can use a stone slab instead of tile. Stone slabs are hung in one continuous piece, or in very large pieces with few breaks. The eye-catching gradients of color give an otherwise boxy kitchen movement and flow. Or, consider using marble around the base of your kitchen’s island for a touch of luxury.

Nature is always in

Bringing a little nature into your Philadelphia home is never a bad idea. When you combine natural materials with environmentally conscious design, you create an elegant, modern home that is safe for both its inhabitants and the environment. Adding some potted plants throughout the home improves air quality and provides a bit of style. You can use flowers to add some color, pine wreaths for a refreshing scent, or palm plants for a touch of green. Use natural textiles and furniture in your home to provide texture and a sense of warmth. Natural or recycled wood can be used to create beautiful end tables, benches, and other furniture rich with color. Using natural materials for pillows and bedding is more comfortable to the touch, and it doesn’t load landfills with synthetic materials when the time comes for a home refresh. 

Home office

Working from home has become increasingly common. As a result, home offices have become a mainstay for Fairmount luxury home buyers. A home office needs to have good (preferably natural) lighting,  as well as sufficient access to outlets and a reliable Wi-Fi connection. A home office doesn’t require a lot of square footage; space for a large desk and comfortable chair will suffice. It should also feel good, meaning the design of the area is welcoming, inspiring, and conducive to productivity. 

Multi-functional spaces

Using your square footage efficiently is crucial when listing your house for sale in Philadelphia. Whether it is turning your back patio into an outdoor kitchen, the odd area under the stairs into a fashionable wine cellar, or the odd nook into a kids’ play area—every part of the home should have a function and a purpose. Some rooms can serve multiple purposes (a home office can also serve as a gym, and a kitchen can also serve as a dining room) but when preparing your home for sale, try to dedicate a singular purpose for each space.

Be creative and work with your home’s design whenever possible. Partitions provide an easy solution to creating a separation of space, in case your large living room must also serve as a home office.


The experienced local realtors on Marc Silver’s Team specialize in helping Philadelphia homeowners and investors seek out their ideal real estate. Reach out to Marc’s team for expertise buying, redesigning, or selling your Philly home.