Some things go without saying. Rupert Murdoch has a lot on his mind and the home real estate market is challenging.
But true to the spirit of this house-proud city, Atlanta homeowners don’t appear to be letting a large and enduring bump in the real estate road get them down. Instead, they are channeling their frustration into remodeling and building. Keeping pace with a fix-’er-up ambition that can’t be tempered by a sour economy, the home building and remodeling markets are awash in an exciting array of new trends as contractors adapt to the increasing desire of homeowners to make their existing homes better suit their needs.
With travel budgets tapped, one of the biggest home building buzzwords is the staycation trend. Whether through the addition of a spa-style bathroom or a backyard poolscape, many homeowners are finding ways to experience vacation-caliber luxury in their own homes.
Greg Green took that staycation trend one step further, thereby demonstrating another growing trend: The conversation of second homes into primary residences. Green, a partner at Capital City Mechanical and Electrical Services, and his wife, Sandra, an executive at MedAssets, traded a Roswell address for a permanent vacation with a Lake Lanier custom home built by the Norcross firm of Norwood Architects. The couple leveled their former vacation home on their 10-acre property to build a 13,000-square-foot, resort-style home with four-car garage, indoor and outdoor water features including an infinity edge pool and an open, amenity-chocked floor plan that conveys a sense of vacation all year long.
“It’s all about the water,” said Green. “It’s hard to go to work in the morning, once you get up and walk outside and you look at it.”
Also in keeping with another popular building trend, the Green’s rustic-chic space beautifully connects outdoor and indoor, with the home’s alfresco spaces as comfortable and as amenity-laden as the indoor ones.
“Our open patio is pretty much where we live in the summer and the fall. The floors are heated and we usually have a fireplace going full-time,” said Green. The couple brought the outdoors inside with a unique water feature, an indoor, glass tiled waterfall that flows from the second level to the main level, and a stacked stone fireplace that echoes the predominant material used on the home’s exterior.
Ili Nilsson, co-owner of the residential design firm TerraCotta Properties, said homeowners all seem to have similar requirements: “a bug-free outdoor playroom, an outdoor bug-free entertaining area, an outdoor fireplace for the holidays -- some people have put their Christmas trees out there,” she said. Nilsson accomplished all of those goals recently when she created a freestanding, year-round, screened-in building with a fireplace, peaked roof, ceiling fans and retractable screens to provide additional living space in a modest Decatur back yard.
Another key building trend, easily adapted whether remodeling or building from the ground up, is the rising prominence of open floor plans. The move toward larger, more connected spaces means that homeowners are doing away with sequestered formal living and dining rooms.
The Green home also exemplifies this trend with its open floor plan that allows the kitchen to flow effortlessly into the living space of the house. “The openness was the intent, so you could be on one end of the living/dining area and still communicate,” said Greg Green. To achieve that seamless effect, the Green’s state-of-the-art kitchen includes appliances such as two Sub-Zero refrigerators hidden behind cedar panels to unify cooking and living areas with the same rustic theme.
“Because the main kitchen is becoming more of a gathering area, we’re seeing islands get fairly large and even having tables incorporated into the island at a lower height,” said Woody Vaughan of Norwood Architects. He says families want to spend more time with their kids and they are looking to architecture to bring the household together. To that end, he has built play areas in breakfast rooms and homework areas in kitchens rather than in children’s bedrooms. “Parents want to be able to keep a visual on the kids and what they’re doing on their computers,” said Vaughan.
Basement renovations continue to be a growing building trend, with homeowners interested in both maximizing space and saving money by sticking to the footprint of their home. To that end, Nilsson recently designed a $100,000 basement renovation for a Decatur couple that included a ballet studio for the wife, an entertainment area for the husband’s video game habit, and a guest suite.
“People customize their interiors a fair amount now. Since houses don’t sell as quickly, there are a lot of decisions being made on the interior that are more personal,” said Nilsson.
SIDEBAR
More Building Trends
Built-ins are big
In an effort to maximize space and leave no nook unused, built-in furniture is a growing trend in the form of banquettes, desks and storage for children’s toys and books.
Disappearing doors and screens
To create a greater continuity between rooms, doors will often slide back into walls to allow openness when needed. TerraCotta Properties co-owner Ili Nilsson has seen the same trend for openness and disappearing doors in the retractable screens she has been installing in outdoor spaces.
Contemporary is cool
“We’re seeing more and more people enjoying the vintage appeal of architecture,” said Nilsson. “Now ranch is cool. It used to not be cool.”
Going green
In keeping with the growing green and sustainable movements, cisterns to collect rainwater for vegetable gardens and greenhouses are a growing trend as homeowners try to make outdoor space productive.
Smart homes
Home automation systems that allow temperature, music and lights to be controlled remotely was once a pricey feature reserved for high-end homes, but they are now becoming commonplace.
Laundry rooms in master bedrooms
Laundry rooms are moving to the second floor as homeowners relocate this very practical space to the part of the home where it will do the most good.
R.I.P. formal dining and living rooms
These spaces are increasingly becoming endangered species, scrapped in favor of larger communal eating, dining and living areas.
