By Melissa Dittmann Tracey, REALTOR Magazine
More Americans are showing their love for the great outdoors with their homes, seeking more outdoor living spaces at home that can blend in with their indoor spaces too, according to the American Institute of Architects Home Design Trends Survey for the first quarter of 2012. AIA surveyed nationwide architects to discover home preferences. The first quarter survey focused on home layout and the use of interior and exterior space.
“In the last few years, outdoor living spaces have become the new ‘great room’ in terms of must-have items for home owners,” says Kermit Baker, AIA’s chief economist. Continue reading »
By Melissa Dittmann Tracey, REALTOR® Magazine
More home owners want more space in their kitchens and are expanding the kitchen’s use for more than just cooking, according to the latest findings from the American Institute of Architects’ quarterly Home Design Trends Survey. The survey, conducted in the fourth quarter of 2011, focused on kitchens and bathrooms.
“Kitchens seem to be regaining their function as the home’s ‘nerve center,’” says AIA Chief Economist Kermit Baker.
During the housing downturn, kitchen design fell as a priority for home owners, Baker notes. But as the market has picked up, Americans’ interest in kitchens has been renewed.
“The last few years have seen kitchens take on new functions with dedicated computer areas and recharging stations,” Baker notes.
The kitchen products and features growing the most in popularity, according to the survey of architects, are:
By Melissa Dittmann Tracey, REALTOR® Magazine
As home buyers continue to rank affordability high, more home styles are getting simpler and homes are becoming lower maintenance, according to the latest Home Design Trends Survey, conducted by the American Institute of Architects.
Simpler exterior details and the use of durable building products are growing in popularity, according to the third-quarter survey of architects, which mostly focused on community and neighborhood design.
By Melissa Dittmann Tracey, REALTOR® Magazine
The trend of the shrinking home size may finally be leveling off, according to the latest Home Design Trends Survey by the American Institute of Architects.
Since 2005, architects have increasingly reported home sizes on the decline as the sluggish economy prompted more home owners to desire smaller homes with lower maintenance and upkeep costs. But the downsizing trend is showing a few indications that it may be coming to an end.
In the first quarter of 2010, nearly 60 percent of the architects surveyed in AIA’s Home Design Trends Survey reported home sizes declining. Fast forward to the first quarter of 2011 and that number now has dropped to 52 percent, while 5 percent of architects are now reporting an increase in home sizes. Home sizes in the upper-end of the market, in particular, appear to be stabilizing ahead of more affordable entry-level homes.
“While this doesn’t suggest that home sizes are suddenly and dramatically increasing, it does indicate that the pace of decline has slowed,” writes AIA Chief Economist Kermit Baker in the report. “Until home prices begin to accelerate, it is unlikely that homes sizes and volumes will show significant gains.” (What are you seeing in your market? Take our poll!)
This follows on the heels of an AIA home design trends survey earlier this year that showed nearly a quarter of architects reported the size of kitchens was increasing after years of being downsized. Continue reading »
By Melissa Dittmann Tracey, REALTOR® Magazine
The recession had sparked home owners to be more modest with designs of kitchens and bathrooms, but the improving economy is making home owners want more out of their house.
Residential architects are reporting that home owners’ preferences are tilting toward larger kitchens and bathrooms, and in some cases, home owners are saying they want even more than one kitchen and more bathrooms, according to the latest American Institute of Architects’ Home Design Trends Survey, which mostly focused on kitchens and bathrooms.
“We are not seeing the same level of demand for larger and additional kitchens and bathrooms as we saw during the peak of the housing market, but there has been a shift away from downsizing those rooms that has taken place over the last two years,” says AIA Chief Economist Kermit Baker.
That said, while home owners are beginning to show a preference for “more” and “larger” when it comes to kitchens and bathrooms, they still are mostly bypassing upscale products and favoring more sustainable and universal design features.
KITCHENS
As homes have gotten smaller so have kitchens, but now architects say the downsizing trend in the kitchen is coming to a halt. Nearly a quarter of architects say the size of kitchens nowadays are actually increasing.
As kitchens get bigger, special function areas are expected to continue to be popular, such as recycling centers, larger pantry spaces, recharging stations for electronic devices, and integration of kitchens with family living space (known as “great rooms”). Continue reading »
By Melissa Dittmann Tracey, REALTOR® Magazine
Coinciding with a sluggish housing market, home owners have changed their preferences about how space is used and designed in their homes. Function over extravagance has reigned in recent years, along with affordability, when it comes to home features, according to the latest American Institute of Architects Home Design Trends Survey for the second quarter of 2010.
Here are a few highlights from the report, based on nearly 300 residential architects who were surveyed about the design preferences of U.S. households.
WHAT’S IN
Home offices: More people are working out of their home or telecommuting, prompting more home owners to want a dedicated workspace in their homes.
Outdoor living areas: Home owners want to expand their living space into the outdoors and are seeking to incorporate more outdoor living elements into their lifestyles, AIA Chief Economist Kermit Baker said in a public statement about the survey. Continue reading »
By Melissa Dittmann Tracey, REALTOR® Magazine
The sagging economy is influencing home design as more home owners favor smaller indoor and outdoor spaces that are often cheaper to maintain. Forget the formal spaces that are rarely used. Home owners nowadays don’t want to waste space and want to use every square inch of their home.
Home sizes and lots continue to decrease as preferences grow for low maintenance property improvements, according to the American Institute of Architects Home Design Trends Survey for the first quarter of 2010.
“We continue to move away from the McMansion chapter of residential design, with more demand for practicality throughout the home,” AIA Chief Economist Kermit Baker said in a public statement about the survey results. “There has been a drop off in the popularity of upscale property enhancements such as formal landscaping, decorative water features, tennis courts, and gazebos.”
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