When our clients come to us to build a new home or remodel an existing house, they ultimately want well-appointed rooms that suit their lifestyle while creating an environment that feels like home. The tricky part is that the details that make a house stylish and functional are unique for each person. While a home that suits a growing family will account for the moving pieces of their lives, an empty nester’s dream home typically looks and functions much differently. Regardless of the exterior charm – whether it is Colonial, Craftsman, Mid-Century, or Contemporary – every detail of the design must suit your needs without sacrificing your taste.
Working with a team of professionals can help you narrow in on your must-haves and how the finishes and materials available today and the current design trends can help you to live better in your space and create an environment that is an extension of you.
Personal Style is IN
A wider variety of choices is available right now, driven in large part by varying consumer tastes and an emphasis on bringing personality into design. Manufacturers continue to release more styles and material options so that homeowners can achieve a truly custom fit for their lifestyle and likes. For example, a white farmhouse-style kitchen is remains a classic choice, but we are also seeing the addition of bolder cabinet colors and natural wood which are equally on-trend!
Clients are throwing off the mantle of neutral palates and showing off their taste with bold colors throughout their homes. We’re seeing this in cabinets, tile, light fixtures and more. Where neutrals are necessary, greige is taking the place of cool gray as a backdrop to all the warmth and vitality throughout the home.
The best news is that in 2020, beauty is truly in the eye of the beholder. What’s truly in style is foregoing traditional “trends” and selecting the fixtures that speaks to you. This is evident in the fact that manufacturers are expanding their finish options to include more colors, more metal finishes, and more styles to accommodate every client’s distinctive taste. You can select faucets in brushed gold, polished nickel, matte black, and everything in between. In fact, you can even mix them throughout your home! Practically everything is fair game as long as you love it.
Minimal Maintenance
The homeowners of 2020 do not want to spend their weekends struggling to maintain their home and property. They are conscious of the maintenance required for each of the materials they select in their homes. An experienced design-build team is aware of the latest and greatest options available to clients – like the new iterations of composite decking that look more like real wood but never have to be stained and have a 30 year warranty, or gutter systems that virtually clean themselves. In 2020 and beyond we are going to continue to see homeowners electing to install materials that make their lives easier on a day to day basis.
Green Living
Speaking of conscious consumers, the eco-conscious home is continuing t o gain traction. Green living can be tough to identify, however, since it may look different to each homeowner. Some homeowners are looking to minimize the chemicals and improve the air-quality in their home, so we are seeing more manufacturers offer low- or no-VOC products to meet those needs. Some homeowners are focused on sustainable resources and minimal waste, so material manufacturers are finding ways to reuse and recycle. Still other homeowners are looking to increase energy efficiency in order to decrease both their carbon footprint and their electric bill! These clients are looking for things like solar power, air-tight insulation, and highly HVAC systems. Overall, the options to “go green” in 2020 are more available than ever, but many of the most important aspects are hidden “behind the scenes” of construction, so it’s important to ask your builder what kind of materials they are using and what benefits they offer.
Connectivity
By this point in 2020 (or in the last 5 years for that matter!), nearly everyone is aware of smart home technology like Alexa or Google Home being able to play music or change channels on command. But did you know that, with the right lights installed in your home, you can actually dim the room and change the color temperature to a cozy warm glow for the evening? How about setting it to happen automatically every night at sunset? You can also preheat your oven from the couch or check how much milk is left in the fridge while you are at the grocery store. Locked out of the house? How about a deadbolt that can be opened with your phone. Messy hands while cooking? You might be interested in an automatic faucet. These are the details that make a home truly special and allow homeowners to achieve the ultimate level of customization.
Why the details matter
People come to Matthew Bowe Design Build so that they don’t have to sacrifice what they really want for a choice between 2-3 tolerable (if unremarkable) options. We work with homeowners from the very beginning stages to prioritize their needs and ideal finishes in order to develop a plan and solution that checks all the boxes. The beauty is in the details because the details make the difference between a house you live in and a home you love.
Alair Homes Hunt County, Ashburn, Leesburg, Middleburg, Upperville, Winchester. From vision to concept to plan to construction, we take custom home building to a new level. Thoughtful planning. Intelligent design. Personal touch. That’s the Alair Homes Hunt Country difference. Begin making your dream home a reality. Schedule a consultation today!