The new luxury status symbols for your home – and what’s out

Interior designer Dara Huang is often asked to add supersized ceiling lights into the designs of her high-net-worth clients

For the high-net-worth homeowner, the home can be one of two things: a private sanctuary in which to retreat from the outside world, or an opportunity to show off their taste and wealth. Rewind a decade or two, and the features that such a homeowner might have indulged in might include a minimalist, handleless kitchen, a statement designer chair or a state-of-the-art audiovisual set-up.

But tastes change, and so has the profile of the HNW buyer. The average age of a super-prime property buyer is getting younger, and such buyers might include tech start-up founders, sports stars, social-media influencers and musicians (Taylor Swift, for example, who recently entered the Forbes billionaires list, reportedly has a property portfolio worth well over $100 million).

So what are the new status symbols that these buyers want in their homes? Here’s what the experts say.

Wellness spaces 

The conventional home gym, long a feature of the HNW home, has evolved into a “wellness space” that focuses on mindfulness and meditation. “Our clients have a greater holistic awareness of their health today than perhaps they did in the past,” says the interior designer Janine Stone. “Beyond treadmills and weight racks, our clients increasingly want spaces where they can practise yoga, pilates or meditation.”

Interior designer Janine Stone has created spas for clients

Concepts of wellness, of course, can differ. “For one client, we landscaped her garden to feature a series of trickling streams and stepping stones that led her to a private yoga plinth in a secluded area,” says Stone. “For another, we created a dimly lit, earthy-toned room with lots of cushioned seating, luxurious fabrics, ornate architectural detailing and indoor plants, where they kept a collection of antique books and a reserve of collectable whisky – it was their personal sanctuary in the house.”

Janine Stone created a private yoga plinth within a newly landscaped garden for one HNW client

Marble and stone bathrooms 

Remember those extra-large jacuzzis complete with colour-changing mood lights that were once de rigueur in luxury bathrooms? “So naff,” says the architect and interior designer Dara Huang, whose HNW clients include the founder of the beer brand Brewdog. Natural stone is now the way to elevate your bathroom – and indeed any other room in your house, she says: “It speaks so many volumes; it just works.” For bathrooms, “What you really want is a frameless look,” she adds. “That’s the look of luxury – seamlessness, details. If you have a sink and a shower tray made bespoke out of stone, for instance, it’s just really impressive-looking.”

A marble bath in a bathroom designed by Dara Huang – with a sensational view over New York’s Central Park

Cinema rooms 

Home cinemas are nothing new in the high-net-worth home, but Huang has noticed that TV snugs with theatre seating are particularly popular right now. Whereas previously, an enormous TV was a common feature in the luxury living room, these days such equipment is tastefully hidden away.

“One thing that really dates itself is ugly AV equipment,” notes Huang. “Dated tech is really unattractive: those bulky, awkward speakers. Have those things concealed. What’s really fun, and making a comeback among my richer clients, is projections on walls. I know someone who bought a device that you attach to your phone and it creates a huge projection across the wall. She can watch Netflix on her phone and turn her living room into a movie theatre, without needing a massive TV.”

Handmade wooden kitchens

When pop star and actress Lily Allen’s New York home was featured in the American interior-design magazine Architectural Digest last year, it went viral on social media – where her kitchen, handmade by the British company Plain English, was particularly admired.

Rather than the sleek, white, handleless designer kitchens that denoted a certain level of wealth in the Noughties, where all cooking equipment was concealed (and, possibly, never used), the typical Plain English kitchen (which has a starting price of £70,000) is traditional country-house style, with painted wooden cabinetry, open shelving for displaying your copper pans, and a sense of comfort (Allen’s has a central island with a gingham fabric skirt in place of cabinet doors). The company’s pantry cupboards are the stuff of legend: an instant sign of discernment to those in the know.

British Standard by Plain English (above and below) create handmade bespoke kitchens using skilled craftsmen and traditional techniques

British Standard by Plain English cupboards

Flower rooms

Whereas, previously, a room dedicated to gift-wrapping was a sign that you had really made it, these days there is a focus on greener pursuits, in every sense of the word. Interior designer Louise Bradley has noted an uptick in younger wealthy clients specifying a designated flower room, for flower arranging, tending to house plants, and vase storage. “I often design these rooms with a more contemporary style to them, while still keeping them functional and traditional within the home,” she says. Think shelving to hold tasteful wicker trugs, hooks on which to hang Japanese floral shears, and oversized Butler sinks.

Supersized ceiling lights

Forget acres of low-profile ceiling spotlights: today’s designer home will feature a supersized, out-there ceiling pendant that could double as a piece of sculpture (and could well require a reinforced ceiling to hang it). Dara Huang notes that a large ceiling pendant has become a statement feature in stylish living rooms, and says that size really does matter in this case: “You have to get the proportions right. If it’s too small for the room, it just looks cheap.”

Supersized pendant lights are just one of the latest luxury trends, says Huang

Coffee nooks 

Wine rooms are still in demand, but coffee is really where it’s at among Millennial and Gen Z big spenders, for whom getting a high-quality caffeine hit has become a near-obsession. The social-media platform Pinterest identified “Cafécore” as one of its key trends for 2024, and Louise Bradley has noted an uptick in demand for superlative coffee-making facilities among her clients, which she links partly to the rise in home-working.

“Worldwide, coffee is becoming an increasing trend among younger individuals,” she says. “Many jobs are now offering hybrid and fully remote working options, and having their very own coffee bar in the home allows them to omit the coffee shop and access the same level of pick-me-up during long working hours.”

Louise Bradley has noted a rise in requests for top-notch coffee-making facilities – such as this Fisher & Paykel built-in coffee maker – among her clients

Unique pieces of furniture and art 

Rather than splashing out on a branded designer chair, what really signals that you have taste is a one-off piece.

“Scarcity seems to be the true definition of luxury to a generation that takes in a lot of social media content that often showcases oversaturated trends,” says Rina Patel of Vastu Interior Design. “Today’s young and wealthy homeowners are focused on achieving uniqueness within their home. Many of my younger and digitally savvy clients are frequent users of the website 1stDibs, which allows homeowners to purchase one-of-a-kind vintage pieces.“

Unique works of art are often on the list of requests for Linda Morey-Burrows’s clients

In some cases, such pieces can become part of one’s personal brand, she adds: “There’s a high chance that the young and super-rich homeowners of today have made their wealth from fruitful careers as influencers or content creators. A home can then become elevated to a stage or a set for video content, and in these instances, the element of uniqueness comes into its own. A stand-out piece in the backdrop of the home can become part of their signature look, helping to garner attention and engagement from other social media users.”

It’s the same with art, according to interior designer Linda Morey-Burrows: her clients want her to seek out interesting works from up-and-coming artists whose appearance on their walls will make them look as though they have their finger on the pulse, rather than instantly recognisable pieces by well-known names.

What’s out

Jacuzzis with colour-changing mood lights are so passé – iStockphoto

Say goodbyt to ugly AV equipment such as awkward speakers – Perry van Munster / Alamy Stock Photo

Sleek, white, handleless kitchens (with ceiling spotlights) denoted a certain level of wealth in the Noughties – Hoxton / Alamy Stock Photo

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