It’s only February, and we’re already seeing a rise of certain trends in 2021! It’s the new year, we’ve put 2020 behind us, and people are eager to do their home builds and remodels. Check out the latest trends homeowners are looking for in their custom builds and remodels!

Outdoor Retreats with Heating Options

We’ve touched on this in previous blogs before for good reason - more and more homeowners want a cozy outdoor retreat right in their backyard. The new trend in the backyard retreat, however, is heaters and massive outdoor fireplaces so they can continue to use the space well into wintertime. While fire pits have been popular for years, they’ve become more stylish and are now available in different shapes, sizes, materials, weights, and prices. You can even get hybrid fire pits now - fire pits that can run on both wood and gas! Patio heaters are a newer backyard addition, inspired by restaurants using them for outdoor dining. Heating models also rely on different heat sources, and can be stand alone or mounted to a wall or ceiling. Plus, the newest designs for outdoor heaters make them much more weather resistant!

Warmer Palettes

Homeowners are getting tired of gray. As the winter months are (hopefully) about to give way into spring, it’s time to switch to warmer, cleaner, brighter pallets with soft, plush materials. Homeowners are favoring a variety of options: whites with hints of pinks, a variety of whites to create layers of warmth, white layers with natural wood finishes, neutrals with some green or blush undertones, and/or soothing neutrals. You can, of course, go bolder: pink, oranges, and red accents would provide great pops of color against a neutral background!

Multifamily Amenities

With the digital era and work-from-home on the rise, some homeowners are opting to have their own amenities, catered to their hobbies or work, built right into their house. A popular example of this is an at-home recording studio: not only is this a great option for musicians, but podcasts, videoconferencing and more can be done and done well out of a home studio. Another popular option is a home gym, eliminating the need for gym memberships or even the need to leave the house to workout.

Layered Kitchens

Many homeowners with an open floor plan have been finding that there’s a huge downside to not having walls in the kitchen: clutter and dirty dishes aren’t easy to hide. Well, more and more people are opting for “two kitchens in one,” or a layered kitchen, for a solution. Essentially, this means that there is a separate work and living zone in the kitchen. While extra space and funds are needed to complete this concept, if entertaining is high on a homeowners list, they will often work to find the room in their budget to incorporate it.

Typically, the work area is in the back of the kitchen, and this is hidden by a door or a wall. This is where serious food prep and cleanup takes place (also a great area for a caterer to work for catered events!). This area may be part of a large laundry or storage room. The living or show kitchen at the front remains part of the open floor plan. This is where the food is displayed and dished out for guests, keeping the mess of prep and dishes behind closed doors!

Bathroom Oases

How often do you escape to your bathroom for the sole purpose of quiet alone time? With the right features, a bathroom can help reduce stress, something more and more homeowners are discovering and wanting to incorporate into their custom builds. Homeowners are saving up to install soaking tubs, steam showers, aromatherapy shower heads, bathtub fillers to hold a cup of tea or glass of wine, and more!

What would you add to your must-have list for a custom build from this list, or did we forget anything that is a must-have for you? We’re fairly confident we’ll see these five trends continue to be popular throughout the year in custom builds and renovations, and for good reason: we’d like one of each in our houses, please! Give us a call to find out how easy we can make it for you to add one (or all!) of these fun upgrades to your upcoming build or current home.