If you design high-end spaces, your business may look strong on paper. Pipelines are holding. Projects are moving. Referrals are steady. But beneath that stability, something is shifting. Luxury clients today are arriving more informed, more digitally fluent, and more opinionated than ever before. They are investing, but they are also evaluating differently. What they expect from you, how they define value, and how they make decisions is evolving.
ThinkLab, the research division of SANDOW Design Group recently released the annual U.S. Design Industry Benchmark Report (USDIBR), offering a comprehensive look at the interior design industry’s trajectory. You can download the full report here.
At the same time, we dove deep specifically in the upper segments of the residential design sector as part of our recent Luxury Residential Design Hackathon. We surveyed 900 luxury residential designers to better understand how luxury is being defined today and how high-end clients are changing in real time. The findings suggest a market that is strong, but not static.
Here are three data points about the state of luxury design in 2026.
1. 86% of Residential Designers Expect Business to Be Flat to Up in 2026
Despite broader economic uncertainty, luxury residential designers are signaling optimism. According to ThinkLab data, 86% expect their business to be flat or growing in 2026.
This is not a market in retreat. High-net-worth clients continue to invest in their homes as long- term assets, personal sanctuaries, and expressions of identity.
However, optimism does not mean expectations are static. In fact, as markets stabilize, client standards often rise. When investment continues, scrutiny increases. Clients expect clarity, responsiveness, and a higher level of strategic guidance.
2. The Average Residential Designer Has 40x the Recommendation Power of the Average
Consumer
Luxury residential designers are not just purchasing on behalf of one household. They are shaping decisions across dozens of projects, influencing multiple categories, and guiding significant financial investments year after year. ThinkLab research shows that the average designer holds approximately 40 times the recommendation power of the average American consumer. When you get to the top 200 Interior Design Giants of Design that number is 140x.
Designer’s influence extends far beyond product selection. Designers serve as translators between possibility and practicality, aspiration and execution. In an environment where clients are exposed to limitless options, the designer’s role as trusted filter has never been more valuable.
3. Designers Spend Most of Their Time Selecting Products and Streamlining Presentations
There is a common misconception that residential designers spend most of their time focused solely on aesthetics. In reality, the largest portion of a luxury residential designer’s time is spent selecting products, considering how those choices shape behavior and experience within a space, and streamlining how those ideas are presented to clients.
Today’s luxury client arrives informed. They have access to global references, digital platforms, and endless product exposure. What they seek from their designer is not simply inspiration; it is clarity, filtration, and decision confidence.
And yet, 57% of residential designers say their biggest business challenge is earning appropriate fees. That tension is telling. As clients grow more informed, the designer’s value increasingly lives in expertise, judgment, and process; not just product. But when that value is embedded in curation and decision guidance, it can become less visible, and therefore harder to price.
What This Means for You
Luxury residential design is not slowing down. The outlook is strong. Influence is high. Opportunity remains abundant. But the luxury client of 2026 is not identical to the luxury client of five years ago.
Expectations around personalization, responsiveness, digital fluency, and transparency are evolving. Definitions of value are expanding beyond aesthetics to include experience, alignment, and process clarity.
If you are a residential designer, understanding these shifts is not optional — it is strategic.
That’s why ThinkLab and Studio Designer are partnering to host a webinar specifically for the luxury designer. Join us March 5 at 1pm EST for 2026 Industry Insights: How the Luxury Client Is Evolving.
In this session, we will share deeper insights from our Luxury Residential Hackathon, including what is changing in high-end client expectations and how designers can adapt now.
If you design in the luxury residential space, you won’t want to miss this webinar.
Written by Amanda schneider
Founder, Thinklab
About the author: Amanda Schneider, LEED AP, MBA founded ThinkLab, the only research entity wholly focused on the built environment. She’s a respected thought leader featured in prestigious publications including Forbes, MIT Sloane Management Review, Interior Design Magazine, and Metropolis. She’s a sought-after keynote speaker, recently featured on TED.com and the host of the top 1% podcast, Design Nerds Anonymous. Her book titled “Work for What’s Next” will release June of 2026.
Studio Designer is the leading digital platform for interior designers managing and growing their design businesses, featuring fully integrated project management, time billing, product sourcing, and accounting solutions.
Want to learn how Studio Designer can work for your design firm? Schedule a call with our team: https://www.studiodesigner.com/get-a-demo/
We can’t wait to connect.