Design Trends

As you browse the various design styles, don’t limit yourself to the past. There are many new materials, technologies, and lifestyles that are changing the way we build. Several key trends that are having a significant impact include:

Earth-Friendly Design: An exciting new trend is the increased awareness of the impact our housing demands have on our environment. Architects and manufacturers are looking at some very innovative ways of using bio-degradable materials to create comfortable, economical, and sustainable homes. At President Homes, we offer a variety of energy-saving features as standard to lower the environmental impact of a home.

Flexible Floor Plans: Today’s busy lifestyles and technology are radically changing the function of our homes. Flexible and multiuse rooms that include family project rooms and media rooms, are just a few examples. Large multi-purpose family areas are being substituted for the traditional dedicated rooms of the past. “Bonus” rooms are also popular and are being used in many ways – from toy rooms to home offices.

Accessibility: ”Aging in place” is a new design trend that considers the physical needs of the homeowner throughout the years of home occupancy – from young family to empty nester to retirement. Many are designing their homes to accommodate not only their current lifestyle, but also what it might be throughout their homeownership lifecycle to ensure it istays accessible as they age. Here are some links that you may find helpful:

Center of Universal Design

AARP’s “What is universal design”

TND and Universal Design, Phillip Dommer

Outdoor Rooms: Integrating the outside with the design of the home is a feature of the Prairie style, but is being incorporated into the lifestyles of homeowners across the country. Planning the outside spaces as extensions of your interior space creates a more holistic living environment. One of the most popular trends is the outdoor kitchen or cooking space. Homeowners are bringing high tech appliances outside to enhance the outdoor eating experience.

Abundant Storage: Closets are typically scarce in older homes, but newer homes are creating unique storage spaces that are designed for a specific use or function. From hanging garage systems to built-in “lockers” in laundry rooms to sophisticated walk-in closet/dressing rooms, there are many unique ways to work for storage space into a home.

Eastern Ideas: Feng Shui, Vástu Shástra, and other Eastern philosophies have influenced the use of space throughout history. Today these principles are gaining respect in the West. These design techniques focus on the energy within a room, and how the occupants of a space interact with each element. These trends are no longer strange ideas from afar; they are now becoming just another guideline for design. For more information, please see: HGTV “More than a Buzzword”

Photograph copyrights: Kohler, 2005 Behr Process Corporation, A Masco Company