The 2023 St. George Area Parade of Homes delivered big inspiration and ideas, big time!
From dramatic desert retreats to high-style family homes, the recent 2023 St. George Area Parade of Homes had it all. This annual event never disappoints, and this year’s talented builders and designers delivered bold innovation and inspiration at every turn. Boasting 30 featured homes, this year’s event also showcased some all-the-rage decorating trends that are certain to dominate in 2023. Click through to see 10 of our favorites.
New Neutral Colors
Say so long to cool whites and cold grays. These days, warm neutral tones—cream to ecru, taupe to mushroom—foster the soothing, natural look many of us crave for our comfort-driven spaces. In a memorable family home built by RL Wyman Design + Create, designer Yvonne Christensen and the team at House West Design masterfully layered the main living room with a range of tranquil neutral tones, enriching everything from woven rugs and texture-rich upholstery to a hand-plastered fireplace and a pair of driftwood-hued tables.
Interior Arches and Rounded Forms
In addition to rounded fixtures, forms and furnishings, arched doorways and accents continue to be popular as a way to offset strong lines and sharp angles common in most rooms. In a four-level home overlooking Desert Color’s lagoon, Split Rock Custom Homes used arched openings and niches to counter this living room’s more linear and angled elements, promoting ease and comfort. A laid-back décor by Becki Owens Design and Milkbird Design furthered the interior’s relaxed, inviting style.
Pendant Lights
Maybe it’s their jewelry-like performance, or perhaps it’s their ability to shine brilliantly solo or dazzle in head-turning clusters. It could even be their broad range of styles and finishes or their ability to shine bright in everything from bathrooms and kitchens to dining spaces and bedrooms. Whatever the reasons, pendant lights are many decorators’ darlings for illuminating today’s most delightful spaces. The team at House West Design used the midcentury modern style of a home built by American Heritage Homes to inspire a trio of pendant lights they hung above the walnut table below.
Wet Rooms
The teaming of showers and bathtubs in enclosed bathroom spaces continues to rise in popularity as designers and builders focus on creating spa-like style and a sense of openness in today’s luxe bathrooms. In many cases, it’s also a savvy way to make the most of a small bathing space. The bath/shower combination showed up in a number of Parade homes, many featuring shapely free-standing tubs while one showcased a fully tiled, built-in tub seamlessly integrated into its identically tiled wet room space. In a wet room built and designed by Madsen Homes, dimensional tile provides an eye-catching backdrop for a shapely tub and multiple shower heads. Wood-look floor tile flows from inside from the vanity area, visually linking the areas together.
Slatted Walls and Reeded Details
Call it getting in the groove. Dimensional detail via slatted wood walls and reeded surfaces flourished in many of the Parade’s most memorably decorated spaces. In a Stone Cliff home, designer Allison Campbell teamed with builder Anderson Custom Homes to create a fireplace wall bookended with built-in shelves and benches backed by handsome, wood-slatted walls.
Statement-Making Stone
While quiet quartz is still a go-to for many, today’s more adventurous stone choices feature surprising colors, bold patterns and unique species. These stones perform like art in spaces ranging from bathrooms and kitchens to main living areas and even outdoor patios. Think countertops, fireplace walls, range hoods, slab backsplashes and more. Adams & Company Construction and Copperhaus Design went all out in this powder room as they completely clad its walls in large, boldly veined black-and-white tiles. Geometrically patterned floor tiles add to the anything-but-timid décor.
Showy Butler’s Pantries
Many modern-day kitchens team with butler’s pantries that are designed and decorated with as much flair and function as the main kitchen area. Open doorways often frame views into these stylish areas while leaving their work and prep areas hidden around a corner or behind a main wall. Common decorative elements including beautiful stone, gleaming tiles, open shelves and layered lighting frequently flow from a main kitchen into an adjoining butler’s pantry space. In a large St. George family home, Split Rock Custom Homes and Becki Owens Design created a seamless transition from an open kitchen to its light-filled butler’s pantry by furnishing both areas with identical cabinets, open shelves and hand-formed Zellige wall tiles. Beamed ceilings unite and elevate the style of both spaces, as well.
Warm Woods
Few things deliver natural warmth and texture to our rooms better than wood, so it’s no wonder wood has experienced a resurgence in popularity. Designers are using it everywhere, from floors and ceilings to walls, built-ins and, of course, furnishings. And just like in nature, today’s best-dressed décors feature a mix of wood tones and species, fostering the relaxed, comforting style we crave today. In a Desert Color home created by Cedar Point Homes and Ember Design, honey-toned wood flows from a staircase wall onto the ceiling of an upper-level lounge. Natural light, white walls and decorative accent lighting prevent the wood treatment from overwhelming the space.
Outdoor Living
Outdoor living areas expand the style, space and livability of a home, and their popularity continues to surge across Utah. Today, moving glass walls and floor-to-ceiling windows open to lush landscapes and relaxed outdoor living areas ranging from cozy decks to expansive patios. Their amenities are as luxurious as those found indoors: stone floors, wood ceilings, broad fireplaces, equipped kitchens and laid-back lounges. Pools, fountains, misting fans, heaters, TVs, fire pits—they’re all here, luring us outside where we long to live. In Washington, Jenson + Sons Construction opened this modern home’s beautiful interior to a pool partially covered by a soaring, wood-clad ceiling. Below, an outdoor fire feature flickers below a built-in TV wall. Desert views flood the seating and lounge areas. Interior design by Juniper Design Collective.
Light-Flooded Showers
Showers continue to morph from our bathrooms’ utilitarian workhorse to a high-style spot to rinse and relax. This splashy feature is being treated to head-turning design elements: floor-to-ceiling glass enclosures, dazzling tile work, multiple shower heads, built-in benches, niches and skylights. Many of the showers admired in the 2023 Parade homes were filled with natural light, courtesy of cleverly integrated skylights and overhead windows. In Kayenta, J2 Construction and Gulch Design Group fashioned a clean-lined primary bathroom with a large shower illuminated, in part, by natural light flowing from a large skylight above.