It’s that time of year again, when every single platform announces their yearly trend predictions. But you should know by now that Village tries to focus as much as we can and show you information relevant to our area and our markets. Hot take: the Midwest is not like the East or West coast markets when it comes to home interiors. And our kitchen and bath service area is not even similar to Chicago home trends. That is why our TV show features projects from right here in the Quad Cities and the surrounding areas. We choose to share those stories online and on our show to inspire your own project with us. So, we have browsed a few other 2025 home trend lists and compared trends to our own project data and customer habits. We decided to share five general concepts we arrived at so that you can keep them in mind for your own projects with us this year.
2025 Kitchen and Bath Trends
To begin, it is important to remember that home trends are very different from fashion and media trends. When you invest in finishing or furnishing your home, you expect to keep those investments around for a while. It is not typical to remodel your kitchen or bathroom every 5 years. You want to design a space that reflects your tastes but will still look great 10 to 15 years later, right? So, let’s dive into some general categories of trends we are noticing that have practical applications and prove to look like they are not going anywhere soon.
1: Wood and (Not Quite) White Cabinets
Wood cabinets are still in demand for kitchen and bath spaces in 2025, but there has been a new category of wood tones rising to the occasion. In both new home and remodel projects we have seen a continued interest in light, White Oak woods… but a hot new bombshell has (re) entered the villa. Warmer medium finishes are beginning to arrive as options from all our cabinet lines. Instead of the raised-panel cathedral-arched cabinet styles of the past, simple, sleek and minimal doors showcasing the qualities of the wood are being used. In bathrooms, home bars, home offices, and especially in dual-tone kitchen designs, we are seeing a rise in warmer wood finishes. The 2025 approach to this renaissance is selecting a cabinet door style that can highlight the unique woodgrains and character of the wood. More surface area on a door or drawer front allows the finish to enhance the grain of the wood and adds that warmth we all love without too much decoration. A warm minimalism trend that can translate into both traditional and contemporary spaces.
It is not a super-secret design hack that including wood in a space warms it up. Wood and woodgrains have an incredible ability to do this. Would you rather “cozy up” to a farmhouse dinner table or a glass-top one? Have you noticed less grey or “griege” on magazine covers and Instagram feeds? Well, even painted cabinetry is trending on the warmer side. And this means even our lighter painted finishes are following suit. If you are a native to the Geneseo or Quad Cities area, then you may be familiar with the term “Bettendorf beige”? We may see a revival of that term soon but trust us, it will look refreshed. Beige itself has almost become a slang term for basic, “mid”, or average. But sometimes those qualities are exactly what you want for a permanent finish investment that will be accessorized to reflect your personal style. So picture a beige with less of an obvious yellow undertone, and more of a warmer white that can get along with greys and wood tones alike.
Wynnbrooke cabinetry in Accessible Beige painted finish installed with Soapstone Metropolis quartz counters in a Bettendorf, Iowa home. Kitchen by Village Home Stores for Aspen Homes of the Quad Cities.
Not everyone desires a bright white art gallery space. They lack the warmth we just spoke of. Stark white kitchens may not be for everyone, but what about light… but not quite white options? Good news, we have lots! Your cabinet designer at Village Home Stores will help you focus on which paint may be right for your space and the lighting in your home. One of the best qualities of a not-quite-white painted finish is that it has permission to read so many tones as the daylight changes in your space. Another bonus? You don’t have to work so hard to match your whites. By deliberately choosing a cabinet finish that isn’t stark white, you now can pair it with white trim or walls without seeming to strike out. Visit the Village showroom sometime to see the full spectrum of white and not-quite-white cabinet finishes we offer. Let’s give the term “Bettendorf Beige” a fighting chance for the rebrand it deserves.
2: Extended Kitchen Spaces
Our market still shows a high interest in kitchens that are open and functional. Our remodel customers aim to remove a wall or widen an opening to a surrounding living space. In new home layouts our builders are still allowing for open-concept kitchens that allow the kitchen, dining, and living room spaces to become one large hub of the home. But for some designs that will be used for entertaining often, there is a rise in the request to include bonus spaces within reach of the kitchen.
Two butlers pantry setups by Village Home Stores right outside of kitchen connecting to the dining room.
Often the extension of the kitchen we can include is in a small hallway in route to a formal dining room. In the past, these extensions have been labeled as a Butler’s Pantry or Scullery. But not only are those terms outdated, but the use for the space is also changing. Be honest, when is the last time you polished the family silver or needed to sort and organize multiple sets of heirloom dishes? Not often right? That’s some scullery foolery. Instead these spaces are serving as more versatile wet or dry bar areas or even a “caterer’s kitchen” space. No matter what you call it, this is the area that is steps from the kitchen, but not closed off like a pantry is. It may set up as your drink station for a party, or prep a birthday cake for candle lighting. Extended kitchen spaces offer you more storage, more countertops surface, and the option to adapt the area as you need it.
Koch Cabinetry coffee bar kitchen extension in Savannah White with White Oak floating shelves installed in a Bettendorf, Iowa kitchen by Village Home Stores for Aspen Homes of the Quad Cities.
A very common request for a kitchen extended space is a coffee bar or drink station. Most kitchens these days do not just simply have a coffee pot in the corner. In our market our customers love their coffee, tea, smoothies, juicers, supplements, and protein shakes. These beverage routines and rituals require a lot of gear and gadgets. Our design team can plan a zone of the kitchen or even an appliance garage to conceal some of the items, but an extension of the kitchen hidden out of immediate sight could be a better option. Ask your designer at Village about your options and be sure to note and list off what your needs will be for machines, outlets, and storage.
3: Statement Home Lighting
Hearing that home lighting is trending to big, bold statements makes our hearts so happy! Natasha and Alexis in our lighting department LOVE what they do, and our lighting brands are taking big swings launching models that can truly make a big statement in rooms of your home. Our remodel and new home clients are really starting to take more ownership of what they like, not what everyone else has. Light fixtures give you the chance to accessorize your space and take it in the direction of your own personal style.
Huxley rattan chandelier by Troy Lighting from Village Home Stores hanging in the great room of a Bettendorf, Iowa home by Aspen Homes.
Making a statement with a light fixture can come from the size, shape, or texture of it. The natural modern fixture in the image above checks all three boxes as it takes the great room into the category of warm and earthy but also polished and controlled. Village Home Stores offers a full catalog of lighting options for your home, each from a series that may include other sizes and finishes just right for you. If you want to make a statement with your lighting, Natasha and Alexis can help you make that happen. They will help sort through our options in-store or online.
A buzzword in the design space again this year is “Biophilic”. Which sounds super fancy but it’s just a way to describe pieces that connect the inside of your home to the outside and nature. It is why we are seeing more wood cabinetry again. In the Midwest we already prioritize this concept. Some of the “kitchen sink views” of our rural kitchen customers are the most beautiful sights to be seen. Many farmhouses were built with these specific views in mind. That desire to connect with the outdoors has always been there for us. This nature-inspired home trend is so fun to use as you select statement lighting to introduce shapes and textures from the outdoors. Check out this stunning fixture that hangs in the living room of a Bettendorf, Iowa home. It looks like the most beautiful blooming plant.
Biophilic Luxe Hudson Valley 28-light chandelier hanging in a Quad Cities home. Lighting by Village Home Stores.
Connecting our human bodies and minds to natural elements has so many positive benefits. And it doesn’t need to happen with a large showpiece of décor or furniture. Natural light itself is a way to make a statement. Look how bright and light this room is during the day giving this showpiece fixture a gallery effect. And just imagine how those leaf/petal details glow at night!
Dark textured tile shower with lighted shower niche installed in a bathroom from Village Home Stores in a Quad Cities home.
Don’t forget that you can even make a statement with the lighting itself, not just the fixture. Ask about our low-profile LED lighting options that can be used to accent all areas of your home. Wet-rated options can make for impactful moments like this dramatic tiled shower in a Quad Cities home. We added lighting to this wall-to-wall shower niche, and it made a statement while championing the moody and dark textured wall tiles selected.
4: Home Oasis and Flex Spaces
Golf simulator gathering spaces, spa bathroom designs, home offices that can double as a podcast studio… you name the need, we can space-plan the room. Much like the extended kitchen trend, entirely flexible spaces are a common request. Whoever lives and visits your home will change within each year and over the years you live in a home. These flex spaces can change and adapt with your needs over the time you spend in the home.
Chances are whatever use you have planned, there will be storage needs. A formal dining room may function as a home office most of the year. That means a wall of closed cabinetry can conceal the home office gear away when t is time ot host a meal. Perhaps a guest bedroom could be more useful as an art studio space or small-scale media room? Even a hallway closet could be converted to a laundry station or pocket office. It is still a solid joke that once a child moves out, a treadmill or elliptical shows up in their room almost immediately. Home fitness spaces are very common.
With fitness habits and lifestyle choices that focus on wellness, having a designated space for working out or for prayer and meditation can be a wonderful investment. Plus, don’t forget that Village Home Stores offers many departments, all in one location. That means that our experts can plan your dream flex space plus most of the needed finishes and fixtures. Flooring, lighting, even refrigeration and everything in between.
5: Full Coverage Surfaces
The less transitions or disruptions our brain must process when viewing a space, the easier it is to relax in it. That is certainly the case with kitchen surfaces. A tile backsplash can easily become the focal point of a wall because of the color or pattern creating so much to see. But what if you wanted to just keep the practical value of a wall surface without all that noise or grout? Ask about using a full-height backsplash. Installing a slab of countertop surface as your wall surface gives you an easy-to-clean surface and can make a super stylish impact on the space.
Chef Keys working at a KitchenAid gas cooktop with a full height quartz backsplash behind it.
This full-height backsplash concept doesn’t have to be put into play everywhere in a kitchen design. Check out that image above. Chef Keys is working at a gas cooktop with a quartz splash installed just behind the work surface. So, if anything splatters or steams up, it is easy to clean up.
Skara Brae Cambria Quartz countertops and full-height backsplash installed in a Bettendorf, Iowa kitchen remodeled by Village Home Stores.
Of course you can employ this concept when you do want to draw attention to your material too. How incredible does the kitchen above look!? We remodeled that kitchen in Bettendorf and the Skara Brae Cambria makes a massive statement of pattern, color and sparkle. Wow!
Coretec vinyl plank flooring installed in a Moline home by Hazelwood Homes.
Full coverage surfaces in your home may also take the form of investing in new flooring surfaces for an area (or connecting areas). Wouldn’t it be great to have one consistent flooring surface without transitions, thresholds, and texture changes? How about when you go to clean your flooring? Having one category of floor surface makes cleaning far less overwhelming when there is only one cleaner/tool needed paired with a good playlist. We have even installed a few “wet-room” bathroom designs that take this concept into a contained room to make the entire space a usable oasis with a consistent surface for the flooring and walls.
Get Started on Your Own Project With Us
There is SO MUCH to be excited about in our industry and the 5 general trends we shared here don’t even scratch the surface of what Village can do for you. Ready to stop saving, sharing, and screen-shotting inspiration and get started working on your project? No matter what you are working on or what size/scope the project is, we want to have a chance to see if Village Home Stores may be the right fit for it. But readers, we can’t get started unless you say hello.
So, if you are ready to go from the research/inspiration phase to the next step, contact us for an appointment. You can use the chat feature right here on the site, complete this short form, or give us a call at (309) 944-1344. As we finalize our prep for the QCBR Home show in February (will we see you there?), remember that our designing, bidding, and complete process takes time. Your first appointment is a step in the right direction and get the ball rolling. Our advice? Connect with us ahead of the home show so your project is in line ahead of our home show leads. We can’t wait to hear what you are working on and see how we can help.