Home Again
To sell in the new century, learn how people will live.
If home is where the heart is, then the heart may be in for a
change. The dwellings of the 20th century are already evolving to
accomodate future trends. And whether you're a carpenter, an
interior designer, or a landscaper, features of new homes are sure
to affect your bottom line: - Size: With empty-nest
boomers leading the way in home-buying, the elaborate, multileveled
pseudo-mansions of choice in the '80s have shifted to smaller,
more manageable abodes. At a modest 900 square feet, the new dream
home is charmingly equipped with such features as built-in
cabinets, window seats, breakfast nooks, porches and flat
ceilings-all designed to please home buyers wanting less grandeur
and more functionality. What's out? Elaborate and decadent
architecture like huge staircases, vaulted ceilings and formal
living and dining rooms.
- Rooms: These newly shrunken
homes also disregard "fixed room" layouts. Kids'
playrooms are no longer relegated to the back of the house, says
home-builder David Weekley of David Weekley Homes in Houston. Such
retreats will be more open to all family members. And future houses
will have built-in home offices to accommodate the 60 million (and
growing) U.S. home businesses.
- Entertainment: Look for TV
and computer to become intertwined with broadband technology,
making it possible to watch TV on the Net or surf the Web on your
TV. Says John Romanowich of Home Animation Inc., a home-wiring
design firm in Skillman, New Jersey, "[For example], I could
watch TV and do some work while watching my kid play in the
backyard via picture-in-picture and a closed-circuit camera."
According to Roman-owich, the number of U.S. homes with equipment
linking computers, phones, TVs and other devices will rise from
600,000 today to almost 6 million in 2002.
- Bathrooms: Expect them to
be the most prestigious rooms of all, as new interest in bathroom
comfort is feeding a trend toward outfitting the cleansing oasis
with designer accessories, says Timothy C. Schroeder, president of
Duravit USA Inc., a bathroom furniture and accessories company.
Equipped with high-end, aesthetically pleasing fixtures, the
21st-century lavatory will merge with the master bedroom to create
a personal family spa and relaxation center of sorts.
- Backyards: People are
looking for unique expression in their gardens. "More people
want a design that fits them," says Joel Albizo of the
American Nursery & Garden Association. It can be anything from
Japanese-inspired gardens to prairie-styled yards. Water elements
in any form, be they ponds, fountains or bubbling brooks, are also
high on homeowners' request lists. Technology will play a role
in future landscaping as well: Albizo predicts landscape designers
will be interacting with clients via the Web and designing entire
yards with online, interactive photos.
- Kitchens: Imagine a
refrigerator that manages your grocery list. Or a counter that acts
as an electronic message board for the family. It sounds like an
episode of I, but these innovations are closer than you think.
"[Kitchens have] now become the nerve center of the
household.," says Carmen Egido, director of Intel's
Application Research Lab in Hillsboro, Oregon. Egido also predicts
kitchen-appliance connectivity to Internet services, allowing, for
example, refrigerators that notice you're running out of food
and arrange for groceries to be delivered.
Contact Sources
- American Nursery & Landscape Association, jabizo@anla.org, www.anla.org
- David Weekley Homes, 1111 North Post Oak Rd., Houston,
TX 77055, www.davidweekleyhomes.com;
- Home Animation, fax: (609)333-1219, johnr@homeanimation.com;
- Intel, 2111 N.E. 25th Ave., Hillsboro, OR 97124,
(408)765-8080.
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