The Latest New Home Design Trends

Each year at the National Association of Home Builders’ International Builders’ Show, the Best in American Living Awards (BALA) provide recognition to builders and design professionals who have accomplished outstanding design achievements. Awards are given in all sectors of the residential housing industry, including single-family production, custom, rental, affordable, interiors, remodeling, community and international.

The BALA awards spotlight the latest design trends, and are often a sign of what will become popular in new residential construction around the country. Here are a few of the top trends home buyers can expect to soon see in new home designs, if they aren’t already:

Classic yet Contemporary

Homes that are hot sellers on the market right now are those that successfully blend old styles with new. Timeless and elegant spaces are created by blending modern and traditional elements such as crown molding with fewer or less fancy pieces. Elevations are clean and simple and interiors are fresh and light, not ornate and heavy like the formerly-popular elements such as ornamental columns, complex crown molding and cabinetry with additional applied decorative pieces.

Multigenerational Living

Given the increasing cultural diversity in America as well as the state of the economy during the past few years, many families are all living under one roof. To save money, young adults are living at home after they graduate school, and retired parents are sharing homes with their grown children and their families. Single-family home designs accommodate multigenerational households, such as homes with two master suites, often with at least one located on the ground floor to be more accessible.

Cost Effective Designs

Rectangular home designs are more cost effective, so new homes no longer have the “exploding house” look with multiple, odd roof lines or the unnecessary interior volumes they create. But home designs can still be visually stimulating with creative and innovative modifications that reduce construction and system costs to the home owner. For example, mixing materials such as metal, wood and stone in the façade give a home a modern look.

The Family Triangle

Open floor plans is a trend that isn’t new, but has expanded.  Ground-floor focused, open floor plan living spaces used to be specific to certain regions and generations, but now it is desired by all buyer profiles across the country. Many designs eliminate the living room and add a flex space or den adjacent to the kitchen or family room to allow for privacy when needed, and still accommodate flexibility for many different uses.

Kitchen Entertaining with a View

The kitchen remains one of the most important rooms in the house. Yet kitchens are still a modest size as the average overall square footage of new homes has decreased in the past few years. So designers are incorporating creative storage solutions to both suit the home owners’ unique needs and to allow more windows above the countertops rather than cabinets to retain a feeling of open, light space. 

Green Design Elements that Consumers Understand and Want

The 2011 BALA entries reflected the fact that home buyers now expect a certain level of green design in their new homes that provide both comfort and cost savings. Green technologies such as tankless water heaters and highly efficient HVAC systems that directly impact and reduce operating costs are commonly installed in new construction.

To see all the winners of 2011 BALA awards, go to www.nahb.org/BALA. To find a professional home builder or remodeler in the Grand Traverse Area go to www.hbagta.com.

New Homes of the Future: Smaller, Greener and More Casual

The economic downturn has changed the way Americans look at a lot of things, including what they are looking for in their next home. A study by the National Association of Home Builders suggests that the recession has caused prospective home buyers to shift their perspective on the housing they want and need, and that the new home of the future will focus more on efficiency than indulgence.

The survey asked builders, designers, architects, manufacturers, and marketing specialists about what they thought the likely characteristics of the average, new single-family detached home would be in 2015.

First, the typical size of new homes will continue to shrink, with respondents saying they expect homes to average 2,152 square feet. That is 10 percent smaller than the average size of single-family homes started in 2010. Census Bureau data shows that the average size peaked in 2007, at 2,521 square feet.

This decrease is likely influenced by economic hardship, with  consumers focusing on lowering the cost of heating and cooling their homes as well as no longer having a lot of equity in their current homes to finance purchasing a much larger one. An aging population — 29 percent of the U.S. population will be 55 and older in the year 2020 — will also increase demand for smaller homes as empty-nesters downsize into easier-to-manage properties.

A smaller home means the space must be better suited to modern lifestyles. Fifty-two percent of builders expect the living room to be merged with other spaces in the home by 2015 and 30 percent said it will vanish entirely. Respondents also expect the entry foyer and dining rooms to become smaller, or merge with other spaces. A great room comprised of the kitchen, foyer and living room is the most likely room to be included in the average new home. Some of the rooms least likely to be present include two master bedroom suites, a sunroom, a hobbies room, and a media room.   

Kitchens are also expected to become more functional. Double sinks, recessed lighting, table space for eating, a breakfast bar and pull-out drawers are the features most likely to be in the new home kitchen in 2015.

In addition to floor plan changes, it is expected that new homes in 2015 will include more green features and technology, including low-E windows; engineered wood beams, joists or tresses; water-efficient features such as dual-flush toilets or low-flow faucets; and an ENERGY STAR rating for the whole house.

Surprisingly, some new home features that have been popular in recent years are expected to lose favor with home buyers in the future. Less than a third of survey respondents said they thought more technology features, more universal features and more outdoor living features would be the first or second most probable trend.

To find out about trends in new homes in the Grand Traverse area, contact the Home Builders Association of the Grand Traverse Area at 231.946.2305 or visit their web site at www.hbagta.com .

New Exhibits, Latest Education Tracks To Be Unveiled At International Builders' Show

WASHINGTON, Nov. 21 - Excitement is building for the National Association of Home Builders' 2012 International Builders' Show (IBS) Feb. 8-11 as planners report pre-registration figures up nearly a quarter over this time last year and dozens of exhibitors have snapped up remaining booths in the last two weeks.

The Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla., will be packed with IBS events featuring expert speakers, opportunities for networking and entertainment, nearly 175 outstanding education sessions, home tours and more than 700 exhibitors with the products and services that make it the largest light commercial construction show in the world.

Home builders, remodelers, designers, architects and developers will fill the classrooms and trade show floor to learn about and examine the latest energy-efficient appliances and insulation products, technical improvement and innovation in roofing, decking and other building supplies, new design trends for the kitchen, bath and outdoor living areas--and everything in between.

"I do about 10 shows a year, but if you said to me I could only do one, it would be this one," said Brian Stowell, president of Crown Point Cabinetry in Claremont, N.H. The company is exhibiting at the International Builders' Show for the third year in a row. In a still struggling housing market, "unless you are there, you are not going to be in front of the people who are doing the jobs," he said.

They will also gain a better understanding of the country's economic outlook at a special presentation by Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke open to all credentialed attendees on Feb. 10.

Thirteen tracks of education--from "Remodeling" and "Green Building and Sustainability" to "Business Opportunities and New Markets"--offer a wealth of information to professionals in all segments of the industry. Sessions detail tools for innovative project financing in a tough lending market, social media tactics specific to new home buyers and other effective marketing tactics, advanced framing techniques, consumer preference surveys for the 50+ buyer--and more.

"Outstanding networking opportunities, special displays and product information for niche markets such as universal design and custom building, and the signature educational events that only NAHB can provide--each of those is reason enough to make plans to attend the International Builders' Show," said NAHB Chairman Bob Nielsen, a home builder from Reno, Nev.

Highlights of the opening ceremonies include appearances by hiker Aron Ralston, who survived a harrowing trip through a remote Utah canyon that is retold in the movie 127 Hours, and magicians Penn & Teller.

"I encourage all my home building industry colleagues to visit the Show website at www.buildersshow.com for registration information and a preview of the many activities and events we have planned--and I hope to see you at the International Builders' Show," he said.