From personalized spaces to warmer, renewable surfaces, there are a number of compelling building trends making their way across America. To excite more interest in your builds, learn some of the top home design trends from 2017.
- Community Gathering Spaces. In this age of digital socialization, many people feel isolated. To meet the demand for face-to-face interactions, more and more single-family residential developments and multifamily buildings are offering various amenity spaces. This includes fitness centers with group classes, clubhouses, outdoor decks with community pools, kitchens and even drive-up areas for food-truck socials.
- More Personalized Designs. In the face of rising home prices, many baby boomers and retirees are downsizing to cut costs. This trend is prompting design professionals to focus on how people live, rather than how they might utilize space generically. Instead of a one-size-fits all approach, modern design tactics center on making every inch of available space count. This means more versatility and flexibility for a greater range of living options.
- Walkable Communities. Urban centers have always been attractive to people who’d rather walk to work, stores and entertainment. These days, this trend is moving into the suburbs, where living close to public transit and a town center offers similar appeal. A high walking score has become a valuable real estate marketing tool, and properties far from everything have become less valuable.
- Warmer, Renewable Surfaces. As technology becomes pervasive throughout homes, more people are yearning for tactile materials and surfaces that convey warmth. Both renewable and low-maintenance, natural cork has resurfaced to meet these demands. Favored for its versatility and aesthetics, cork is also resistant to cracking, fire, abrasions, termites, water, mildew and mold. It can also be stained or finished with water- or acrylic-based polyurethane.
- Low-cost Surface Upgrades. Rising energy costs have combined with stricter energy codes to fuel a demand for more efficient HVAC systems and energy-wise appliances. At the same time, there’s also been a rising demand for less costly surface upgrades, such as low-E window films. These can double glass performance at only 20 percent the cost of a full window replacement. Other cost-effective surface trends include ceramic insulating wall paint and thermal energy shields for attic interiors.
- Healthier Homes. As consumers become more aware of hazardous indoor environments, they’ve become interested in healthy HVAC systems, purifiers and water supplies, along with nontoxic adhesives and paints. More buyers are expected to hire health experts to examine listings, with many demanding in-home contaminant removal before a sale. In turn, more builders are expecting health concerns to impact their designs, according to a study from the Urban Land Institute.
While environment, economy and demographics typically determine building trends, there appears to be a ubiquitous desire for energy-efficiency and a sense of community. Fueled by these triggers, builders can expect the above trends to become more mainstream over the next several years.
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