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Something for Everyone in Home Design Trends
 Few crystal balls can provide as much insight into what matters most to home buyers as the group of industry-leading architects, builders, interior merchandisers and interested friends that gathered recently for an NAHB Design Committee roundtable discussion of the trends shaping new home design.
Here are their insights:
First-Time Buyers
For this demographic group, sky-rocketing land costs dictate housing design changes. As the per-acre price of land continues to rise, the cost equation for first-time buyers increasingly means that the “American Dream” begins with attached housing and at much higher densities than ever before.
With attached housing the common characteristic of first-time buyer homes, differences exist among multifamily housing options, as well as commonalities. These include:
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Elevations in urban-edge housing take on the massing of the nearby commercial buidlings and often include bold colors. |
- Urban-Edge Attached vs. Suburban Attached: Condos and townhomes in an urban location or in a first-ring suburb have a decidedly different look than the same type of product in a traditional suburban setting. Densities may be the same, but elevations in urban-edge housing take on the massing of the nearby commercial buildings and often include bolder colors.
In suburban, high-density, attached housing developments, building massing creates the appearance of large, detached, single-family homes.
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Small plans can "live large" for the first-time buyer with kitchens featuring a single cabinet wall and a larger island that offers stoarge options as well as eating space. |
- “Live Large” Floor Plans: Changes through the years have led to small plans that live large. For example, kitchens feature a single cabinet wall and a larger island that provides storage and eating space. Kitchens open completely to the main living area, with colors and materials coordinating and connecting both spaces.
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Kitchens open completely to the main living areas with colors and materials that connect both spaces. |
Ceilings are higher and windows are larger to create well lit spaces.
- Green Is Good: Among “Generation Y” — the primary first-time buyers — green building resonates. This buyer segment values the use of renewable materials and efforts to consume less energy.
Move-up Buyers
Having ridden the wave of home price appreciation over the last decade, these buyers have the financial wherewithal to drive up the size and spec level on move-up housing. They want and expect choice in their new home.
Across the nation, move-up homes are bigger than before and the space allocation is changing as well — all in response to buyers who demand better designed, better appointed homes that reflect their individuality. Some of the new defining features include:
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While floor plans remain open, the separation between formal and informal living zones is more pronounced. |
- Formal and Informal Zones: While floor plans remain relatively open, the separation between these two living zones is more pronounced.
In the informal zone — typically at the rear of the home — kitchens and great rooms are larger and blend into one another more than they used to through the use of similar materials and cabinetry.
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Formal dining rooms remain a must-have for the move-up home buyer. | Formal dining rooms remain must-have places, but living rooms increasingly morph into other uses — home offices, reading rooms, etc.
Butler’s pantries that connect the kitchen to the dining room (but hide the mess) bridge the two zones.
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Specialty rooms can become anything the buyer wants, such as this home office/library. |
- Specialty Spaces: Wine rooms, garage workshops, home theaters, meditation rooms, libraries — pick an interest or hobby and there is a space just for it.
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Garage workshops are popular specialty rooms/spaces for move-up buyers seeking expanded storage and hobby space. |
Build out the bonus space and it can become anything the buyer wants it to be.
Empty Nesters and Active Adults
This group remains an enigma. Continuing in its well-established tradition of defying convention, baby boomers — the leading edge comprises a large percentage of this demographic group — seek diverse housing solutions.
Some seek the lock-and-go lifestyle that is driving condo development and sales in urban centers.
Others place a premium on location and will buy homes in first-ring established suburbs just for the lot.
For still others, multiple houses fit the bill — a vacation home where the extended family can reconnect and a townhome or condo closer to their original home base.
Whatever their choice, more and more homes for this group include the following:
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The empty nester buyer frequently prefers a master down home. The trend seen here is that this buyer now wants a private retreat space included within the master suite. |
- Master Down: What’s changing here is the inclusion of a private retreat space within the master suite. These sitting spaces may be for reading, watching television or whatever, but defining features include an abundance of natural light and not a lot of space. Think cozy.
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Empty nester buyers throughout the country are seeking outdoor living spaces as a feature of their homes. |
- Outdoor Living Spaces: No longer a feature just in the sunshine states, outdoor retreats appeal to these buyers in every climate. Covered balconies, courtyards with fireplaces and porches with ceiling fans all provide the indoor/outdoor living options desired.
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This home features a courtyard with an outdoor fireplace — the perfect space for outdoor living. |
- Elevators: If elevators aren’t included in original construction — and many new homes do have them — more and more buyers are leaving space to add this convenience option later.
Custom Home Buyers
Today’s custom home buyers are better educated about everything related to home building and they know what they want. A custom home allows the owner's personality to shine through, and that appeal overcomes the time commitment the custom home process requires.
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Today's custom home buyers are better educated about everything involved in the home building process and know what they want. This home displays features that allow the owners' personalities to shine through. |
Keep up with today’s design trends and you’re likely to meet the needs of your target buyer.
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Design Do's
Some trends to consider and keep an eye on for the months ahead:
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Bright colors continue to grow in popularity. |
- Colors: Bright, “eye candy” colors continue to grow in popularity. Orange, bright greens, lighter blues and pink with brown will be hot colors.
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Mixing two or three tones of hardwood in one room is a noticeable buyer preference. |
- Woods: Still the most popular choice in flooring, mixing two or three tones of hardwood in one room is on the rise.
- Lighting: Chandeliers are everywhere — in the foyer, bathroom, dining room, bedroom, just about everywhere.
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For countertops, think onyx and marble. Use decorative tiles in kitchens, baths, butler's pantries and wet bars. And note that pewter and copper finishes add luster and elegance. |
- Finish Materials: Think onyx and marble for countertops. Decorative tiles create perceived value in the bath, butler’s pantry and wet bar. Affordable pewter and copper finishes add luster and elegance without a high cost.
- Power Rooms: This is the new jewel space in a home. Spare nothing in outfitting this small space in a model.
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For kitchens, seek out stock cabinets that look like furniture and vary the cabinet heights. |
- Cabinetry: Seek out stock cabinets that look like furniture. Vary cabinet heights within a room. Use cabinets to provide storage space in living areas.
- Guy Space: The “tough shed” or the work room off the garage is becoming popular.
- The Wireless Home: Rethink computer stations and home offices as computer connections become wireless.
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Steven Dewan, AIA, is a principal with Newport Beach, Calif.-based Bassenian Lagoni Architects, an architectural and land planning firm specializing in the design of residential communities. The firm has created award-winning designs and land plans for clients in California and the West, across the United States and in Mexico, Japan, Indonesia and China.
For more information, call Bassenian Lagoni Architects at 949-553-9100, or visit the firm’s Web site at www.bassenianlagoni.com.
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