In real estate circles, Atlanta has a reputation for being a traditional market: Most metro buyers have a preference for houses that fit a "traditional" or classic look. During the building boom of the 1990s, the two-story, traditional structure reigned supreme. Builders couldn't work fast enough to put up those "five-four-and-a-door" designs: five windows across the second floor, four on the first and a door in the middle. Add a brick or siding to the facade, and voilà: another Atlanta classic was sold.
That isn’t to say that other house styles don’t dot the landscape. Midtown’s Morningisde is known for its brick Tudors, and in parts of Buckhead contemporary designs are wedged between the classic brick ranches. But builders and remodelers looking to please the majority of homebuying clients know a traditional style still takes top prize.
“When it comes to the look of our elevations, Atlanta has always been an extremely traditional market,” said Lisa Brutvan, vice president of strategy and product development for The Providence Group, a local firm currently building at Traditions in south Forsyth, High Pointe at Vinings and the master-planned Bellmoore Park in Johns Creek. “It’s the five-four-and-a-door with a living room, dining room, breakfast room and kitchen on the first floor. That plan probably has 200 iterations in Atlanta, and most builders have a small, medium and large version of it.”
But things are slowly starting to shift. Contemporary buyers are still going for a traditional look, with a tweak. That approach is most evident in the enormous popularity of the Craftsman-style bungalow, a style introduced in the early years of the 20th century and still the hallmark of many intown neighborhoods. The two-story plans, noted for the wide front porch, tapered columns and stone or brick accents, are taking the Southeast — and the country — by storm, says Jamie Roche, CEO of Houseplans.com, a California-based company that sells architectural floor plans for residential properties.
“It really surprised me in last quarter to see that the whole country is leaning toward a Craftsman style house,” said Roche. “It’s either number one or two in every region.”
One reason the Craftsman is making a comeback is tied to a second trend Roche observed. “We’re selling fewer very large houses,” he noted. “The number of plans we’ve sold for 5,000 square feet and below has gone up, while larger plans have gone down by about 77 percent. People are looking at living smaller, but without compromising.”
The Craftsman plan offers that compromise to Atlanta. It’s traditional, which means it will speak to potential buyers when the time comes to resell. It’s smaller and bit less domineering than those big, boxy colonials. And it offers a wealth of accents that give it a distinctive personality, said Roche.
“If you’re looking for a house with a lot of details — nooks, crannies, built-ins, exposed beams, high ceilings — you tend to find them in Craftsman,” he said. “As a house gets smaller, it’s nice to have more texture.”
All four of the company’s best-selling floor plans are a take on the Craftsman concept. Various regions tend to put a local spin on the design, so the Rocky Mountains may go for the lodge look with stonework and exposed woodwork, while the Southwest version may be a bit lighter in color and concept. “But most will keep the classic, tapered columns and the generous front porch where you can imagine a swing or rocking chair,” said Roche.
At Roswell’s Lennar, the company has added more Craftsman-inspired designs in its Atlanta communities, priced from the mid-$200,000s into the high $600,000s.
“That mix of materials and details is very popular,” said Ginny Bryant, Lennar’s director of sales and marketing. “People like the different textures and colors together that you get in a Craftsman look. We have multiple elevations in every community, so buyers can make the selection of those materials based on personal preference.”
No matter what exterior buyers opt for, there is one trend that knows no regional differences: Everyone wants to kiss the boxy floor plan good-bye.
“Almost every plan we have now features what we call ‘the kitchen chapel’, with the altar that looks out over the family room,” said Roche. “That’s the design that works with way we live now. We’re cooking while kids are doing homework or watching TV, all in one communal area.”
Brutvan’s Atlanta buyers are going for that exact design, and not just for family living.
“They’re looking for larger entertainment spaces that flow and work together,” she said. “And everything revolves around the kitchen and the large space that lives off it.”
Because that communal space is the heart of the home, kitchens and their adjoining areas are becoming more like artwork, Brutvan said. “With the amount of time people are spending there, they’re also taking their time and designing cabinetry and picking out just the right knobs to make the area a work of art.”
The growing importance of a communal living and entertaining area means most of today’s floor plans forgo a formal dining room. That space is now being transformed into a guest suite, home office, playroom or an extension of the keeping room.
“A lot of it depends on how many kids the family has,” said Dusty Talbert, marketing manager for the Woodstock-based Smith Douglas Homes. “That extra space can easily be flexible, as a play room or a guest room. Either way, all of our floor plans make the kitchen and living areas the two primary spaces downstairs.”
Young families are also less likely to have invested in dining room furniture, said Brutvan. “They’re living more casually, so when they rate the importance of rooms, they start asking, how important is it to have a space they may only use once a year? Instead, we’ll make that dining area part of the kitchen, a space where they can fit a long table for 12. There are still traditional buyers who think they can’t resell a house without a dining room, but there’s also a strong market for houses where it’s designed so you don’t just lose that space.”
Energy efficiency and downsizing are also driving floor plan preferences, said Bryant. “Those 2-story rooms that are hard to heat and cool are going away; we’re now adding flooring and making children’s retreats, media rooms or a bedroom. The idea is to take advantage of all the space in the home.”
The most popular floor plans also take into consideration what lies beyond the main walls. Easily accessible outdoor spaces, complete with fireplaces, fans and perhaps a kitchen area, are in high demand.
“An outdoor living area remains the number one preference for about 70 percent of our buyers,” said Bryant. “They want a covered patio or a deck that they can walk onto right from the family room because, even at this time of year, it’s great to sit out on a patio with a fire.”
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