Top 7 Trending Home Features In Boise 2026
As a custom home builder in Treasure Valley, we often see patterns in home features that people are requesting and adding to their custom home plans. Keeping on top of these trends allows us to help our clients build homes that are more desirable should they need to sell their homes in the future, and incorporate the latest in comfort and convenience.
It also helps us to design better and more comfortable home plans. When something is trending, we often incorporate this feature into our standard house plans or add the feature as an upgrade option.
Here we’ll cover seven of the top trending home features we are seeing in Boise and Treasure Valley in 2026 to help you as you design and build a custom home to build on your land.
Trending Home Feature #1: Kitchen Pantry
This one isn’t new in 2026, but a kitchen pantry continues to be one of the most popular home features for both buyers and those who are building a custom home in Boise. Storage space has always been important, and the kitchen, as the centerpiece of the home, requires ample storage to maintain orderliness. For most families, a kitchen pantry isn’t just nice to have; it’s a requirement.
Because of the popularity of the kitchen pantry, all Pathway Builder’s house plans include a kitchen pantry. Several of our plans, including the Ponderay, Pathfinder, and Pacific Crest, include oversize walk-in pantries for even more kitchen storage – a great option for larger families and those who love to cook and entertain.
Trending Home Feature #2: Flexible Spaces
Flexibility has never been more important to residents of Treasure Valley. In 2026, we are seeing a continued need for flexible spaces in homes that can easily adapt to a family’s changing needs. Whether it’s multigenerational living, a growing family, a guest suite for visiting friends or family, a new work-from-home arrangement, or even a new hobby, building in flexible spaces means a home can adapt to all of these changing needs.
Flexible spaces can include mother-in-law suites and ADUs, offices that can be converted to bedrooms, and bonus rooms that can easily be a craft room, entertaining space, or a playroom.
For ideas on what flexible living space can look like in your custom home, take a look at any of our Plus series house plans. Each of these custom home plans includes a bonus room to add flexible space and value to your home. You can also take a look at our Pathfinder floor plan, which includes an optional mother-in-law suite complete with a separate entrance, kitchenette, and private patio area.
As more residents of Boise and Treasure Valley continue to work from home, multigenerational living continues to rise, and more residents move to the area from out of state, we don’t expect to see this trending home feature lose popularity anytime soon.
Trending Home Feature #3: RV Garages
Outdoor recreation is a way of life in Boise. This means recreational supplies like kayaks, snowmobiles, and, yes, RVs abound. With the popularity of RVs in the Boise area, homes with RV garages are becoming more desirable in 2026 for their convenience.
Not only that, but as flexible spaces become more desirable, homes with RV garages offer significant space that can be adapted to other uses like recreation rooms, craft spaces, or lounge areas when they are no longer needed for RV storage.
All of Pathway Builders’ standard house plans can be customized to add an RV garage, a 3rd car garage, or even a boat bay. Use our instant quote tool to add an RV garage to any home plan and get pricing to build on your land in Treasure Valley today.
Trending Home Feature #4: Homes with acreage
As Boise and Treasure Valley become more populated in 2026, homes with acreage that offer serenity for homeowners are trending. Many out-of-state buyers move to the Boise area specifically for the opportunity to purchase a larger lot. This is also leading to the popularity of homes with acreage.
With home prices rising, those looking for acreage are now looking further afield in places like Mountain Home, which offers the benefit of proximity to Boise’s amenities and job opportunities and the prospect of a home with acreage at a more affordable rate.
Looking to build a house on a lot with acreage? Take a look at these build on your land developments in Mountain Home.
Trending Home Feature #5: Outdoor Living Spaces
Enhanced outdoor living spaces have been trending for some time. We wrote about them in our custom home building trends in 2024, and we’re including them again as one of the top trending home features in 2026 because interest in inviting outdoor living spaces hasn’t slowed down.
Outdoor living spaces are an affordable way to extend a home’s living space, and with the exceptional climate in Boise, these spaces can be used in almost every season. All of the homes currently on Redfin’s most popular homes in Boise highlight outdoor living spaces that are private escapes ideal for relaxing or entertaining guests.
If you are building a custom home on your land, incorporating an inviting outdoor living space enables you to take advantage of all this trending home feature has to offer at a lower price than you’d need if you were building these living spaces indoors.
You can customize any of our house plans to add more covered outdoor living space or design a completely custom home with us that builds in your ideal outdoor living area.
Trending Home Feature #6: Energy Efficiency
As the cost of energy in Boise rises in 2026, homes that are energy efficient are more and more desirable. Trending energy efficient home features go well beyond energy efficient appliances to fully efficient HVAC systems, solar panels, insulated garages, and smart tech designed to save on heating, cooling, and electricity bills. This can include smart blinds and lighting integrated with smart HVAC systems to optimize natural light and better regulate home heating and cooling needs automatically.
You can learn more about how to choose an HVAC system for new construction for greater energy efficiency and get tips for building an energy efficient home.
When you build a custom home with Pathway Builders, you’ll find that energy efficient features like an efficient HVAC system and an insulated garage are standard features in all of our floor plans.
Trending Home Feature #7: Spa-Inspired Bathrooms
While it may have started as a luxury home trend, spa-inspired bathrooms are one of the top trending home features across any home type in 2026. To incorporate this trend in your custom home build, think luxury finishes like matte black or gold, a standalone soaking tub, a more spacious bathroom, and abundant natural light.
To help you create a more relaxing and luxurious space, many of our home plans already include spa-like bathroom features standard, including our Palouse modern farmhouse plan and the Payette four bedroom house plan.
Get inspiration for your spa-like bathroom in this spacious custom home in Emmett or this multigenerational home in Boise.
Explore all of our floor plans to find a plan that fits your needs and budget.
Not finding a floor plan that’s right for you? You can customize any Pathway Builders plan with a larger pantry, second soaking tub, or additional outdoor living space. All you need to do is select a floor plan and start customizing with the features that are important to you using our instant quote tool, or learn more about building a custom home with Pathway Builders.
Recap: Boise’s Top Trending Home Features In 2026
- Kitchen Pantry
- Flexible Spaces
- RV Garages
- Homes With Acreage
- Outdoor Living Spaces
- Energy Efficiency
- Spa-Inspired Bathrooms
Boise’s top trending home features emphasize the importance of comfort, convenience, and serenity. If you are looking to build a custom home on your land in Treasure Valley, we’d love to talk with you. Contact us today to start designing and building your new home.
Are you a real estate investor? Working with a builder that knows what home features are trending is just one of the many benefits of partnering with Pathway Builders. Learn more about the benefits of working with Pathway Builders to build your investment in Treasure Valley, or contact us to discuss your next project.
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