“Home is the nicest word there is.” This quote from Laura Ingalls Wilder sums up our emotional ties to our home, but the truth is our desire for home features continues to change with new choices, technology and social trends.
As an example, our aging population and the trend of adult children returning home are making separate master suites with living areas and separate casitas with desirable features.
Gwen Buscher with Classic Interiors offers some insight she has gained from her experience and a recent trip to the Design Market. The move toward contemporary design, coupled with an industrial look is continuing, with clean lines, little texture and the use of wood, metal and stone. Lighter colors, lighter shades of colors and even blue have returned. The look desired is uncluttered with few accessories. The traditional tub has been replaced with the large walk-in shower, coupled with storage nooks and benches. On the technology front, the use of “charging stations” with the electrical plugs out of view and WiFi capability are popular.
In Durango, we have the advantage of a beautiful outdoors, and large windows or “sliding walls” that open the outside to the inside should be considered. The expanded use of the outdoors spaces is a continuing trend. On a recent trip, our friends showed us their new home with a sliding window that opened the entire wall to a covered, lighted patio, with outdoor kitchen and living area. It was practical and beautiful. This home and other models in the community offered a second master suite with living quarters as a standard design.
Ray Godfrey with CFS Design Studio offers some suggestions about flooring choices.
On the upper end, many are choosing hardwood floors with a wire brush and stained finish. The texture is interesting and safer than the standard wood floor. In mid-level homes and homes used as rental properties, wood grain vinyl planking has been very popular. It has a textured surface, is extremely durable and is quieter than solid wood floors. It is also environmentally friendly because it is made from recycled plastics. The older style laminate floors are not being used as much. The other product with growing acceptance is ceramic tile with a wood grain finish. It has a very small grout line and looks like real wood. On bathroom floors, the large 12” x 24” rectangular tiles are appealing and are replacing the large square tiles.
Our love of our pets is showing in new home designs with designated areas for pets, easy access to yard areas and pet baths in the garage. Other new designs gaining in popularity include “snore” rooms, pocket bedrooms, garages designed for multi-use spaces and small pocket offices instead of the larger office areas in the past.
Don Ricedorff is a Realtor at The Wells Group in Durango, and a past president of the Durango Area Association of Realtors. He can be reached at don@durangorealproperty.com.
