Representatives from Brookfield Homes, CalAtlantic Homes, CalOSHA, K. Hovnanian Homes, Meritage Homes, Milwaukee Tools, Pardee Homes, Shea Homes, The New Home Company, Toll Bros. and Warmington Homes met to review 1st quarter accomplishments and to discuss future training on Scaffold Safety.
There were 127 single-family, multifamily, remodeling and community projects honored at the 2016 Best in American Living Awards (BALA) ceremony Wednesday night at the NAHB International Builders’ Show in Orlando, Fla.
That means there were 127 examples of the top design trends that home buyers expect to see over the next several years in your building and remodeling projects. They include:
Benches and nooks. In single-family custom and production homes, architects and designers include benches and nooks because they’re cozy, chic and practical, serving as places to snuggle up with the kids or a good book.
Big showers and tubs. Showers continue to get larger and free-standing tubs more luxurious. Walk-in showers feature wall-to-wall glass and universal design features.
Board and batten. You’ll see a lot of this siding on the exteriors of this year’s winners, and they also add a classic touch to today’s contemporary interiors. Some winners add a unique spin by adjusting the width of the boards, giving homes a more customized, one-of-a-kind feel.
Dark door and window frames. On multifamily, custom and production homes, architects and designers are choosing dark brown or black frames around windows and doors instead of whites. Windows pop on white or light siding, and dark frames add a striking effect from the interior looking out.
Times have changed since McDonald’s chairman Ray Kroc introduced upselling to the masses by directing his employees to ask customers if they wanted fries with their sandwiches. Even 60 years ago, Kroc knew that consumers spend more when they’re already in buying mode, and his directive nearly doubled the company’s sales of french fries.
Home builders long profited from the same approach, selling bare-bones houses standard while pushing a variety of higher-end products as upgrades or options. But 21st-century home buyers are turned off by hard line tactics, say industry experts. In fact, among home buyers and builders, upselling is now practically a dirty word.
“We don’t upsell. The term itself is inappropriate,” says Kira Sterling, chief marketing officer for national home builder Toll Brothers. “The implication is that that’s against customers’ best interests, and this is not what we are doing.”
Instead, associates at Toll Brothers’ 25 design centers throughout the country take a custom approach for every client, Sterling says, getting to know each buyer’s lifestyle and how they intend to live in their homes so presentations and offerings can be tailored to their needs.
In markets across the country, home builders of all sizes are upping their design studio game. Earlier this year, Louisville, Ky.–based Cook Brothers Homes opened what it claims is the most comprehensive design studio in greater Knoxville. In Charlottesville, Va., buyers can preview and select fixtures, appliances, cabinets, and countertops at Southern Development Homes’ new design center. In Southern California, The New Home Co. converts model home garages into customized on-site design centers and highlights all available upgrades, from lighting to landscaping, in its models. In February, McLean, Va.–based Miller & Smith opened a “sales experience center” at its new community One Loudoun in Ashburn, Va., a 1,300-square-foot retail space that allows home buyers to feel and see products.
KTGY Architecture + Planning in Los Angeles has created three new-home designs for Brookfield Residential Properties' Kissing Tree master plan in San Marcos, Tex. The 55+, 3,200-home community is located on 1,332 acres in Central Texas, halfway between San Antonio and Austin in the heart of the Texas Hill Country.
“We designed the Colby, Emerson and Clarkson plans to appeal to a wide variety of 55+ consumer preferences," said Manny Gonzalez, FAIA, LEED AP, managing principal of KTGY’s Los Angeles office and head of the firm’s 55+ studio. "Home buyers have lots of options at Kissing Tree -- not only on the inside of the home, but also what they want their home to look like on the outside.”
