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Home Design Trends
Beyond curb appeal
What buyers love when they cross the threshold
Curb appeal
has always been a powerful draw for buyers. But just as important
is what lies beyond the front door. Builders and architects say their
buyers today are looking for some degree of wow—rooms that go beyond
the tried-and-true and offer sizzle both in design and function.
Take the laundry room. After being purely utilitarian and stuck in a basement's
dark reaches, it's gained its own space upstairs. The latest incarnations have
been spiffed up with more and fancier cabinetry, additional counters for folding
and craftwork, new washers and dryers that whir quietly, and even showers to
clean the family pet.
Two contenders are closing in on the laundry room's status as the home's most
coveted space: a mud room with places for individual family members to stash
clothing and athletic gear, and a home theater with giant TV, surround sound,
stadium seating, and even a popcorn machine.
These new rooms have come fast on the heels of bigger, better-equipped kitchens;
spa-like master bathrooms; and larger studies, libraries, or family rooms,
the latter designed to replace the disappearing formal living room.
What's spurring such rapid-fire changes in homes, traditionally a venue for
evolutionary change? J. Walker Smith, president of Yankelovich Partners Inc.,
a forecasting and market consultancy firm based in Chapel Hill , N.C. , attributes
it to hiving, a cousin to cocooning, the desire of homeowners for a safe, coddling
refuge.
We still want security, Smith says, but we also want our homes abuzz with activity
and linked to the surrounding environment. In this way, we mimic bees, which
make their hive a home base but venture forth and connect by pollinating plants
and making honey. "Hiving is about living in a way that's engaging rather
than isolating," says Smith, who cites a host of products—such as cellular
phones, other wireless technology, DVD players, and outdoor kitchens—that have
sold well in the sluggish economy because they provided services for hiving.
Although not everyone can afford an immense laundry room or well-equipped home
gym, anyone can afford to dream. And eventually the rooms that create the greatest
buzz will become available at lower prices for a larger segment of the population,
says Stella Koop, a Chicago architect with RTKL Associates Inc., an architecture
and design firm based in Baltimore . Following is a smorgasbord of rooms and
features captivating high-end homeowners today.
Beyond Utility
Once an afterthought, laundry rooms and mudrooms today are big, attractive,
and viewed by some as essential to keep a family's life humming smoothly.
Busier lives mean more clothing, sports gear, and paraphernalia that need to
be put on, taken off, stored, and cleaned. Today's larger houses are ready
to tackle these needs with separate laundry rooms and mudrooms. But they're
now designed as showplaces, incorporating the same level of finish in materials
as a home's less utilitarian rooms, says Evanston , Ill. , architect Stuart
Cohen. These spaces include energy-efficient front-loading washers and dryers,
a counter to fold clothes, wall-mounted ironing board, sink, specialty equipment
to clean delicates, and individual bins for family members' dirty and clean
clothing, says Gabe Pasquale with Spectrum Communities, homebuilders in Valhalla
, N.Y. He pegs a quality package with equipment at $10,000 to $12,000.
Less common features are a crafts table, gift wrap cabinet, and corner to hose
down Fido. In some houses, one laundry won't do. A second one is placed near
bedrooms. Mudrooms, too, have been expanded to accommodate cubbies and a bench.
The most posh designs include a grill for wet boots and a radiant-heated floor,
the latter costing $20 to $23 per square foot. All that's needed is hot chocolate
and s'mores.
Beyond the Kitchen
Buyers continue to seek big kitchens where everyone can congregate,
but some also favor auxiliary kitchens by a family room or on a deck.
Too many chefs no longer spoil the broth. Today's bigger, better-equipped kitchens
have multiple cooking zones, even if just to heat frozen or prepared meals
from a supermarket. The focus is to make leisure time easier and more pleasurable.
That may also mean having refrigerated or freezer drawers, apart from the main
refrigerator, to stock cold drinks and ice cream ($2,659 for two drawers);
an extra dish drawer, the latest generation of dishwasher ($1,349 for a double
drawer); and being able to prepare a frothy latte at home ($1,949 to $2,049)
instead of heading out to Starbucks.
Other home chefs want to be able to relax within view of the cooking zone or
have family members do so. That's why many of the designs that are most popular
continue to merge the kitchen with an informal dining and sitting area.
With the emphasis on outdoor living, the patio has morphed into a full kitchen,
with grill, pizza oven, refrigerator, wine cooler, icemaker, warming drawers,
and anything else that can be plugged in. The cost may run between $25,000
and $40,000, including equipment. Some lucky owners have small, secondary kitchens,
as the owners of this suburban Chicago home do. They built a kitchen next to
an upstairs family room in a 5-by-9-foot space as part of a larger home remodeling.
For about $50,000, they bought countertops, appliances, glass-fronted cabinets,
a sink, flooring, and installation.
Beyond the Bath
Buyers used to the joy of steam showers with powerful jets and sprays
at health clubs, spas, and resorts are incorporating them into spiffier
home bathrooms.
They may not have time to get away to a spa, but homeowners still want to pamper
themselves daily. Today's high-end buyers favor large showers with a glass-fronted
door and minimal frames, generous-sized showerheads, multiple body sprays and
jets, temperature control mechanisms, and built-in benches. Cost: about $7,000.
Extra bonus: a mirror that can be defogged.
Today's upscale bathrooms also look more luxurious, less functional. Components
include cabinetry that resembles built-in furniture and is constructed from
high-grade woods and laminates; better lighting in the form of recessed ceiling
spots on dimmers, sconces, and a chandelier; snazzier drawer pulls; handsome
countertop materials with two lavatories dropped in when space permits or better
yet—separate his-and-hers areas; large wall mirrors; a wall-mounted TV; heated
towel bar; and visually interesting, practical flooring, perhaps in the form
of mosaic tiles to rival a Roman bath. The largest bathrooms may also include
a separate toilet room, stacked laundry equipment, and an area to do yoga or
meditate. Who needs to get away? Close the door and turn off the phone.
Beyond Beige
Paint personalizes a room faster, more dramatically, and less expensively
than any other design treatment.
After years of favoring beige and white, buyers are becoming more adventurous
and creative in the colors they choose for floors, walls, furnishings, and
home accessories, says Barbara Richardson, director of color marketing for
ICI Paints in Cleveland, maker of the Glidden paint brand, available in 800
hues. Richardson attributes this confidence to the prevalence of color in popular
culture. "Look at the sets of TV shows like 'Friends.' Color is everywhere," she
says. Other color experts like G. Clotaire Rapaille, founder of Archetype Discoveries
Worldwide, a consumer research firm in Boca Raton , Fla. , which advises the
Big Three automakers on color choices, agrees that color is being used more
boldly on cars and throughout houses, even showing up in ceilings, floors,
and household products like kitchen ranges, light switches, and vacuum cleaners.
What are today's hottest colors? The standouts, Richardson says, are reds,
greens, and warm neutrals.
Some buyers find it daunting to think about paint colors at the time of purchase;
others may seek your input. Sellers may question how their choices affect resale.
Conventional wisdom says to keep it neutral, but color experts say that's no
longer critical. Experts suggest these tips:
- Decide how you want the room to feel when it's finished. Cozy, calm,
relaxing, or energetic? "If you want it to feel calm, you might
prefer a cooler blue, gray, or green," says Richardson . "If
you want it more vibrant, consider a warmer bright red."
- Take color chip samples from a paint store, glue them to a white
poster board, and put the board against a wall you plan to paint,
Richardson says. Eliminate samples that don't work. Purchase a quart
of paint in the remaining colors. Paint boards in the colors being
considered, and view them during the day and at night, since light
affects results.
- Many companies, Glidden included, offer software that allows buyers
to "repaint" a digital photo of their rooms, in the same
way that the living room is shown in green, neutral, and red.
- Consider painting trim in different rooms the same off-white or
neutral to create a good transition from room to room.
Beyond the Ordinary
Luxury-home buyers today are looking to their homes as a place to
live out their personal fantasies.
No longer are Hollywood moguls the only ones with screening rooms. Buyers can
have a fully automated home cinema installed with front projection and a large
screen, plus surround sound, subwoofers, reclining or stadium seating, soundproofed
walls, concession stand, and furnishings that resemble a Moroccan casbah or
any other decor. To seat 10 comfortably and offer good sound and sight, one
expert puts the price at a minimum of $75,000.
Other rooms in high-end homes are given over to game rooms with pinball machines
and jukeboxes that turn adults into children; humidity-controlled wine cellars,
starting at $50,000, that properly keep vintages and have room for tastings;
F.R.O.G. rooms (finished rooms over garages), which can serve any function;
and functional nooks and crannies, sometimes a result of complicated architectural
designs, for reading, working, or daydreaming.
Activities that require all types of attire—athletic, casual, business casual,
and formal, as well as the necessary accessories—have spurred a plethora of
closet organization systems. In larger homes, closets are more akin to rooms
in size and elaborateness. Systems typically combine a mix of open, closed,
and hanging storage constructed from oak, walnut, cherry, or more exotic woods.
The cost may run $800 per linear foot without doors and $1,200 with doors,
according to Poliform USA Inc. Extras may include an island for folding, steamer,
and safe to stash jewelry and important documents.
Buyers don't need an entire room to create a home gym. Many find space in a
large bathroom, screened porch, or TV room. Post-workout? A home spa with massage
table.
The pièce de résistance —a feature that's becoming more
common in both new and existing homes—is an integrated home automation system
that controls the HVAC, lighting, home security, music, video, and sprinkler
system. Many such systems today can be accessed remotely via an Internet connection,
allowing buyers to keep an eye on their new features—even when they're at work
or halfway around the globe. "Anything they can do inside the house can
be accomplished from outside, even 3,000 miles away. If they're at a hotel
in Milan with an Internet connection, they can plug in their laptop to see
if they left their lights on at home in Chicago," says Jason Lehnhardt,
systems consultant with Paul Heath Ltd., a home automation architecture firm
in Chicago. Not surprisingly, the cost is steep—between 7 percent and 20 percent
of the cost of the home.
RESOURCES
Airoom Architects & Builders ( www.airoom.com ), Lincolnwood,
Ill.; Antonella Cremonesi, marketing manager, Poliform USA Inc. ( www.poliformusa.com ), New
York; Better Homes and Gardens ( www.bhg.com ), Meredith
Corp., Des Moines, Iowa; Stuart Cohen, architect and principal, Stuart
Cohen & Julie Hacker Architects
( www.cohen-hacker.com ), Evanston,
Ill.; Fisher & Paykel Appliances Inc.
( www.fisherpaykel.com ), Auckland,
New Zealand; Joyce L. Gioia, president, The Herman Group ( www.herman.net ), Greensboro,
N.C.; Mick De Giulio, owner, de Giulio Kitchen Design Inc. ( www.degiulio.org ), Chicago
and Wilmette, Ill.; Julie Greenwood, owner and co-principal, Greenwood King
Properties Inc., Houston; Nancy Hamel, corporate marketing administrator,
Cachet Homes Inc., Scottsdale, Ariz.; Douglas Hoerr Landscape Architecture ( www.dhoerr.com ), Evanston,
Ill.; David Kaufman and Tom Segal, partners, Kaufman Segal Design, Chicago;
Stella Koop, architect, RTKL Associates Inc. ( www.rtkl.com ), Chicago;
Jason Lehnhardt, systems consultant, Paul Heath Ltd., Chicago; Beth McGehee,
vice president of operations, Anderson Homes and Design, Scottsdale, Ariz.;
McVaugh Custom Homes Inc.
( www.mcvaugh.com ), Houston;
Miele Inc. ( www.miele.com ), Princeton,
N.J.; Mountain Lumber Co. ( www.mountainlumber.com ), Ruckersville,
Va.; Gabe Pasquale, vice president and chief marketing officer, Spectrum
Communities
( www.spectrumcommunities.com ), Valhalla,
N.Y.; Orren Pickell Designers & Builders Inc. ( www.pickellbuilders.com ), Bannockburn,
Ill.; Scott A. Rappe, principal, Kuklinski + Rappe Architects ( www.kplusr.com ), Chicago;
G. Clotaire Rapaille, chairman and founder, Archetype Discoveries Worldwide
( www.archetypediscoveriesworldwide.com ), Boca
Raton, Fla.; Barbara Richardson, director of color marketing, ICI Paints,
Glidden Paint Co. ( www.glidden.com ), Cleveland;
J. Walker Smith, president, Yankelovich Partners Inc., forecasting and market
consultancy, Atlanta and Chapel Hill, N.C.; Street of Dreams Inc.
( www.streetofdreams.com ), Woodinville,
Wash.; Sub-Zero Freezer Co.
( www.subzero.com ) and
Wolf Appliance Co. LLC, Madison, Wis.; Charles von Weise, principal, 42/40
Architecture Inc. ( www.4240architecture.com ), Chicago;
Keith Willis, partner, Innovative Theatres ( www.innovativetheatres.com ), Santa
Monica, Calif.
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This article was published on: 04/01/2004 , by BY
BARBARA BALLINGER at R ealtor Magazine
Online.
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