Over the years, the way houses are built changed a lot. Certain hot trends back are still relevant today as they were before while some have been replaced. Here are a few of the trends that you can see today as we head off into a new decade.
1. Cutting-edge Tech
Advances in technology have allowed homeowners to adopt certain systems that significantly improve their living conditions. Back in the day, cavity sliders were considered a top-notch engineering/architectural innovation.
Smart homes are a big thing nowadays, and many homeowners want to incorporate some tech to help them save up on money and, at the same time, increase efficiency around the house.
Instead of installing several switches that operate individual items, owners opt to utilize devices that let them control multiple items using their hand-held devices.
2. Dual or Multi-purpose Furniture
Despite statistics indicating an increase in homes built with bigger spaces, many folks opt to move to condominiums and scaled-back houses to minimize their time and effort in home maintenance.
For this reason, many people are faced with spatial challenges when it comes to storage. This is why many furniture makers and manufacturers are now coming out with dual or multi-purpose furniture, such as sofa beds and ottomans with storage capability that addresses space and storage concerns. Many of these pieces have compartments that let homeowners stash their equipment, office supplies, linens, and other knick-knacks, thus minimizing unsightly clutter around the house.
3. Energy and Water Efficiency
As mentioned earlier, people are looking for ways to increase efficiency around their homes, especially where water and energy are concerned. They ask engineers, designers, and contractors how they can turn their homes into money-savers. In most cases, the solutions come as low water sinks, more efficient furnaces, recyclable water for flushing toilets and watering plants, installing solar panels, and going green.
4. Media Rooms
A few years ago, media rooms were unheard of, or at least, it’s scarce that you would find a home where one exists. Typically, most folks would only have a large TV in the family room where everyone can gather for movie night or binge-watching their favorite shows.
Nowadays, we have man-caves and she-sheds and multi-media rooms where you can enjoy anything and everything that has to do with multi-media — a large wall-mounted flat-screen TV with complete surround sound, a gaming station in one corner, and a music lounge in another. The set-ups vary depending on the type of media people enjoy the most.
5. Green Homes
There has been a growing concern for the environment over the past couple of decades, which has led to architectural innovations such as green homes. A lot of home hunters are now concerned with how environmentally friendly a house is. They are very particular with materials used for construction because out of their concern for the environment. They prefer the use of sustainable green materials and technologies such as solar panels and tankless water heaters.
6. More Use of Neutral Colors
A decade ago, most homeowners adopted either an all-white or cooler neutral hues, such as cool blues and grays, to their home interiors to give it a cleaner and more relaxing vibe. However, we all know that home decor colors tend to change every 5 to 10 years. We have already seen the transition from cool neutrals to warmer neutral pastels that makes a home cozier and more inviting.
7. Vegetable Gardens and Outdoor Kitchens
There has been an increase in people wanting to cook outdoors a lot more than the occasional barbecue. Designers came up with ways to meet this increasing demand by incorporating an outdoor cooking station into their plans. On top of the griller, these outdoor kitchens are outfitted with sophisticated cooking stations coupled with a refrigerator and vegetable garden for easy access to ingredients.
8. Outdoor Living Areas
This trend that was started a few years ago continues to increase in popularity today. A lot of people now are opting to have homes that allow them to chill and lounge outdoors, in addition to their indoor living room. In most cases, these are extensions of indoor living rooms divided only by full-glass doors and windows to make the transition between indoor and outdoor spaces seamless.
In another ten years, there will certainly be other trends that will pop up and take the ones on this list. At this point, we can only guess which past trends will make a comeback and which new ones will show up.
