There were an abundance of new ideas, features, and designs of interest to the new home community at the 2017 International Builders’ Show and the Kitchen & Bath Industry Show, both held in Orlando, Fla. a week ago. Everyone was there to gather the top trends and buzzwords you should know about now.
Sizzling New-Home Innovations to Check out
Modernity in Moderation
As it happens designers, home builders, and consumers have different ideas of the meaning and salability of the term “modern,” along with the industry is attempting to bridge that gap. Seth Hart of DTJ Design in Boulder, Colo. explained how “moderated modern,”-where asymmetrical windows and color and material combinations that provide high contrast-can be used on more traditional homes to provide an up-to-date feel without breaking the bank or turning off potential buyers.
“It’s not about doing wild roof forms,” Hart told attendees. “It’s all about how you create a modern design in something that still has a broad market appeal and is done affordably.”
Eric Brown, a builder representative with Artisan Homes Realty, LLC in Phoenix uses the term “comfortable contemporary” to help identify the style. “It’s going to attract baby boomers,” he predicted, noting this style offers “something that reminds them of their old home, but it’s updated.”
Another twist on this trend comes in the form of the “modern farmhouse,” which has been another popular buzzword at the show. Many of the winners of the National Association of Home Builders’ 2016 Best in American Living Awards featured farmhouse sinks, reclaimed wooden beams, and barn doors layered into modern designs. Including the farmhouse elements themselves are being updated, as is evident in cleaner, more minimalist designs made of contemporary materials.
The Secret Hideaway
Don’t all of us want to transform a cluttered space into a fun design novelty? Another trending term at the show this year was “the messy kitchen,” which is a hidden space away from the gleaming center island where homeowners can prep food and stow Mr. Coffee far from guests.
Wayne Visbeen, president of Visbeen Architects, told attendees he also makes use of this technique to hide away the “home management space.”
“I put hidden rooms in offices a lot,” he said. “I think it’s a great place to hide the junk, and people think its sexy.” He notes that hidden space doesn’t need to be huge to be effective, suggesting a four-by-eight foot space would be sufficient. Also, with all the easy-to-install sliding barn and pocket doors in the consumer market now, this is a project some homeowners can undertake themselves.
Fewer Bathroom Barriers
One trend that was heavily featured in Orlando a week ago was the idea of an open shower, or “wet room.” Some even contained both a shower and bath in one, which designers reported saves space in master baths where homeowners don’t want to skimp on a stall shower to fit in a pretty tub.
This is an excellent solution to consider for anyone trying to add the element of zero-barrier entry to bathing, which is a significant consideration for those with limited mobility. However, Mary Jo Peterson, a kitchen, bath, and universal design consultant in Brookfield, Conn., noted you can find drawbacks.
“If I really want a hot, steamy shower, it’s hard to do in these open spaces,” she said. She also noted that it’s difficult to calculate ahead of time if the water will escape the intended area making the whole bathroom into a “wet room.” She cautioned builders to avoid the temptation to put rain-style showers up too high, to reduce the spray’s radius.
Auto-Smart Homes
We’ve all heard the talk about how smart home devices are gonna change our lives forever, but Dave Pedigo doesn’t think we’re quite there yet. Pedigo, vice president of emerging technologies at the Custom Electronic Design and Installation Association, told attendees that until we can move “away from using a mobile phone as remote control,” we won’t actually have smart homes.
He said natural user interfaces, such as the voice commands consumers are able to use to control Amazon’s Alexa as well as other smart home devices, are only the first step toward developing a truly smart home which could anticipate residents’ needs in advance. For example, we already have sensors in existence that “see” when a sleeper has gotten up at night and can automatically illuminate night lights to lead them safely to the bathroom.
“Ultimately, we are moving toward not having to deal with technology,” Pedigo said. “You shouldn’t have to tell the lights to turn off or tell the shades to go up.”
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