10 Multifamily Amenity & Clubhouse Design Trends That Will Dominate 2026
Design Trends of 2026:
tomorrow’s design needs attention today
Developers are already sketching, budgeting, and breaking ground on projects that won’t lease until late 2026, 2027, or even 2028. That means the Amenity packages you approve in the next six to nine months will have a huge impact on pre-leasing momentum. No pressure, lets call it an opportunity.
After 15 years of designing clubhouses and amenity spaces across Florida and the Southeast, Boyan and I have noticed the same amenity requests year after year, even as resident expectations continue to shift. We’ve been trying to implement many of the trends we’re talking about today for at least 5–10 years, always thinking ahead, because in multifamily development, the design you approve today doesn’t come to life until long after trends have evolved. By the time a project is permitted, built, and finally receives its CO, the market has already moved on. That’s why predicting what’s next isn’t just helpful…it’s essential to resident satisfaction and retention.
So what makes me an authority on Clubhouse Amenity trends of the future? Nothing…except that I care…so everything. I don’t publish my blogs because I write them to keep me educated and evolving, and because design is my favorite subject obviously. So through blogs I can have a dialogue with my ideas, explore other ideas, be a better designer, person, and make a difference.
There was a time when I considered leaving interior design in search of work that felt more “impactful.” But eventually, I realized something important: I already believed deeply in the power of space. The environments we create and the experiences people have within them, become part of their lives and memories. That stays with them.
And that stays with me.
1. The “Third Place” Clubhouse - aka the place you never want to leave
Not the lobby. Not the unit. The spot residents actually use. Ray Oldenburg was onto something, but this time the trend comes with a side of revenue. And if you somehow skipped that chapter in design school, Ray Oldenburg was the sociologist who coined the idea of the ‘third place’. The space in your life that’s neither home (first place) nor work (second place), but the relaxed social environment where community actually forms. Think neighborhood cafés, pubs, or the kind of spot where you don’t need a reservation and nobody expects you to buy a $15 cocktail to hang out. Architects and designers have borrowed Ray’s philosophy for years, but Multifamily is finally catching up. Residents want that same effortless, magnetic stay awhile energy inside their Amenities. I know this for several reasons, one stand out is reading reviews where residents posted “I can go on dates here and never leave the property”. Reading that review meant so much to me. I never get to visit these clubhouse amenities after the final FF&E install and Punchout, but I peek in on line with hope of reading something just like that. The modern clubhouse should become a social sanctuary that residents never want to leave.
2. Micro-Wellness Zones
Because a 5,000-square-foot gym is no longer enough. Residents want wellness. We all know now, how much we have been poisoned and contaminated. People are biohacking in epic portions. I know because I am personally one of them. Yes, full confession, I have a refrigerator full of supplements that promise to grow my telomeres. I’ve been trying to get clients to incorporate spa amenities for years with no takers, but I think we are finally here. Were talking infrared sauna pods, cold-plunge alcoves, cozy breath-work nooks and recovery lounges. Meditation and Rest are the rage, and this trend is not going out anytime soon. Tiny zones like these cost way less than a full spa but photograph like a million bucks on Instagram too.
3. Outdoor-Indoor Blur
This trend isn’t new. When I was in college we coined it ‘bringing the outdoors in’. But it’s taking off as of late, and there are advancements in materials and fabrics that is allowing it happen without damaging consequences, even in the Florida micro-climate like we have here. Yes this means micro-plastics! Refer to Trend 2. Disappearing nano-walls, covered outdoor kitchens in the exact same finishes as indoors, fire-pit living rooms, poolside cabanas that feel like an extension of the clubhouse. Work that in with floor lanterns and accents of light that speak romantic retreat because Amenity spaces should feel like a Resort hotel.
4. Biophilic Layering 102
The simple living wall is yesterday's biophilia. Today’s trend is about engaging the full sensory journey of nature. This is Biophilic Layering 102: focusing on rich texture, evocative scent, and ambient sound. Think moss installations, towering preserved olive trees, water features audible from the leasing office. We are using essential oils and plantings to elicit subtle, grounding smells of cypress or blood orange, ensuring the space feels truly alive and immersive.
5. Flexible Pop-Up Event Rooms
One room. 800 to 1,200 square feet. Yoga studio in the morning, wine-tasting lounge at night, Super Bowl party in between. Motorized drapes, modular furniture, and AV on remote…make it happen in under 30 minutes. The days of the large, single-purpose amenity room should be over. Developers can no longer afford to allocate 800 to 1,200 square feet of high-value real estate to a use that only appeals to a fraction of the resident base for a few hours a week.
The Flexible Pop-Up Event Room (or multi-function room) solves this crucial problem by transforming a liability of unused space into a dynamic asset. The goal is simple: maximize the utility and appeal of the space by allowing it to fluidly transition between vastly different functions throughout the day and week.
6. Quiet Luxury
The end of dull boring Clubhouses and its counterpart…Vegas style Clubhouses. Matte black hardware, that’s here to stay…can I just say thank you to the industry for coming up with this classic timeless color on finishes finally? Handmade ceramic pendant lights, linen upholstered walls or lime and clay paints, logos that don’t scream at you. People want expensive without the stuffiness.
The design says "expensive" without ever shouting it. As a lifelong minimalist, I've been quietly celebrating this trend, And now I'm finally, accidentally trendy.
7. Resident Creatives Program
Creative studios are in: pottery wheels, professional grade podcast booths, floral-arranging stations, even tiny jewelry benches. These programs lead to higher resident renewals, but more importantly, they inject an element of genuine fun and discovery into the community. With Gen Z famously cutting back on alcohol, we must provide engaging, skill-building activities that offer a meaningful alternative to scrolling. Bonus points for dynamic partnerships with local artists to keep the programming fresh.
8. Amenity-Integrated Food & Beverage
Developers are moving beyond simple coffee bars to design dedicated, climate-controlled food delivery vestibules that keep residents orders secure and out of the main lobby and it’s an amenity that has been added into our current projects. But in 2026, I see clubhouses leaning even harder into making food and drinks part of the everyday experience. Boyan and I have been trying to introduce gourmet vending into our projects for years, and it’s finally here. Think automated coffee bars, smoothie stations, or snack lockers, this invites residents into the clubhouse instead of running to 7-11. These setups aren’t just convenient, they provide engagement, and they can also bring in a nice passive revenue stream for the community.
9. The 2026–2028 Color + Finish Palette
Cold gray has finally retired. Warm, grounded colors are in. Terracotta, toasted oat, desert sand, mossy greens from biophilic incorporation, sun-bleached neutrals…even small accents are considered in the how will this look on my iPhone selfie. The aesthetic is defined by pale neutrals, timeless wood tones, matte finishes, and layers of tactile objects…the intersection of Japandi and classic Minimalism. We ditch the pure white walls and bohemian decor for materiality and objects that tell a story.
10. The “First Place” Residence - aka the apartment that finally feels like home
By 2028, the #1 reason people will renew isn’t just the cold plunge or the podcast booth, it’s the feeling that their home is their home.
Offer a personalization package for residents.
Choose your bedroom or living-room paint color (8 curated, timeless paints to choose from - no neon) $499
Peel-and-stick digital mural or textured wallcovering $599
Island/Kitchen Pendant Upgrade…FREE install if you purchase the fixture Choose any pendant from our 12 options $100-$200 each. Want to take it with you when you leave? No problem. Want to leave it for the next resident? We’ll credit your final month’s rent $100.
Ala carte or full furniture package. $X
Put a beautiful mood-board photo of the 12 pendants in the leasing center and on the website and watch how many people pick that option first. It’s the “I designed my own kitchen light” flex that photographs like crazy on move-in day.
The math is a no-brainer. $800–$1,500 extra revenue per unit, 12–18 % higher renewal rates, and residents who post their “new home” reels tagging the property for years.
It’s the final trend of the decade: giving residents autonomy and their own personality into the unit where they actually live ‘The First Place’
The ten trends you just read aren’t just clever amenities. They’re the direct response to a deeper cultural reset that started in the lockdowns and never went away.
We now guard our time. We scrutinize every surrounding. We refuse to settle for spaces that don’t actively make us feel alive, connected, and restored.
Today’s residents aren’t renting square footage. They’re choosing the First Place that finally feels like home and the Third Place they never want to leave the property for.
Get these ten things right and you won’t just hit 95 % occupancy. You’ll build a community people brag about, stay in for years, and never want to leave.
The Q Sarasota - boyan guran | 247 + just b design
