The kitchen is undoubtedly a focal point for a lot of homes today. This is the place where families are most likely to gather and make memories over dinner conversations. Builders need to get up to date with consumer preferences when it comes to kitchen structure and design.

Biggest Selling Point

How a kitchen looks can be a major selling point or a deal breaker for people looking for a home to buy. One of the things that your buyers would probably look at is how your kitchen cabinets are structured. Trends show that most people these days prefer bigger kitchens even if they don’t often cook at home. Studies of these trends also show that buyers prefer functional cabinet systems instead of just pretty-looking ones. As far as appearances are concerned, more people prefer an informal design in their kitchen rather than formal designs. More people are also concerned about the appearance and functionality over the price and flashiness of kitchen systems.

As far as new homeowners are concerned, most prefer to have their kitchens opening to an adjacent room so as to feel that it’s a vital and accessible part of the house. In terms of decorating the kitchen, more people are opting for a cross cultural experience as the popularity of Asian and Hispanic influences in designs are becoming more popular. Rustic colors, distinct geometric designs, a streamlined look, and dark wood are all the rage in designing kitchens these days.

Since kitchen cabinets are usually purchased along with the home, it’s important that builders have an understanding of what systems go along with the design of the kitchen itself. Current designs for kitchen cabinet systems offer an interesting line of choice of cabinets in varied shapes, sizes, and functionalities. New homeowners these days are more conscious not just of the attractiveness of the design but also with the durability of the systems and their functionality. A lot of the newer designs incorporate dark with light wood finish or an antique style finish accomplished through glazing.

Supplying attractive and efficient cabinet systems are not just limited to bathrooms and kitchens anymore. The demand for a better cabinet system is becoming more popular especially in dual-purpose living spaces.

The Growing Need for Organization

As home owners live in a house longer, they naturally accumulate more gadgets, books, and other belongings. The need for ways to integrate organizers into living spaces is continually growing. Examples of such organizers may include more spice racks, roll-out cabinets and trays, pull-down racks, shelves, and more. Added designs and details are also popular for kitchen systems these days, but avoid over decorating or putting too much embellishments on cabinet systems. Consumers these days prefer a casual atmosphere with maximum functionality included.

Many families these days share the warmth of their homes with pets which they treat as a part of their family. According to popular surveys, more than half of American homes have pets. These homes provide shelter for a total of about 77.6 million cats and 65 million dogs. Of course, for home owners, owning pets comes with unique challenges.

Protecting Your Home from Pets

When planning to build a home with pets in the scenario, it’s best to choose your building materials wisely. Opting for hardwood, stone tiles, or laminated finish floors would be better than choosing wall-to-wall carpet for obvious reasons. You can go for area rugs if you want to put some texture on the floors of your home. Wall-to-wall carpets are hard and expensive to clean up and they absorb odors which might make your house smell funny after a while. Bare floors will save you the headache of cleaning up the “accidents” your pet may make once in a while. You may opt to put carpeting on the stairs so that your pets would avoid slipping, especially if your stairs are made of smooth wood or marble.

Weigh down your area rugs with furniture so that your pets won’t scatter them around or think that they’re chew toys. To protect your walls from stains, hair and paw prints, you can also opt for matte finish or the non-glossy finish. You can also use window blinds, roman blinds, and the likes as an alternative to heavy drapes which can accumulate dust and pet hairs over time.

If your pets don’t have a habit of climbing furniture, then you can color-coordinate their beds or pillows on the floor to match your furniture’s upholstery. If your pets like to climb on to your sofa to nap, you might want to cover your furniture with washable cloths.

Making Room For Your Pet

Making room for pets in your new home takes some planning. There are ways to make the spaces attractive so that they go along with the architectural theme of the house. In the kitchen, you can create dens or crawling spaces under the cabinets to keep your pets from getting stepped on while you’re cooking. Laundry rooms can be a great place to make a grooming station for your pet. Feeding stations can be built in as pull-out compartments from kitchen cabinets. For people with cats as pets, you can create a more dynamic play area for your cat by making built in ramps and beams in addition to kitty condos.

There are special carpets that are manufactured specifically for pet owners. These carpets have waterproof backing that is meant to keep your pet’s urine from reaching the carpet.

Outdoors, you can also create a separate space for your cats or dogs so that they will do their digging there instead of dig away at your flower beds. It’s also important to know that making space for your pets in your home means that you’ll need to pet proof it as well. Your garden, for instance, should have no plants that are poisonous when eaten. You can consult your landscaping company for recommendations on the types of plants that you can get for your garden. Also take extra care to close and lock cabinet doors that contain toxic materials because your pet may be able to open them. You can also think about investing in invisible fences to keep your pets from getting run over by passing vehicles.

With a little careful planning, your new home can be a haven for your pet too.

Most people who are in the market for a new house these days build homes for the purpose of having a permanent place to settle down with their families. With the fast-paced lives that people live these days, it’s no surprise that most people are looking to settle down in a place where they can have roots and start a family. Families go through stages too, and a little foresight while planning the construction of a house can help living spaces become flexible enough to accommodate these stages.

Flexible & Interactive Floor Plans

Open floor plans are designed to have living spaces connect to a central space as a hub of interaction. Study rooms, dining rooms and kitchens can open up to a family room so that children and parents can still interact while in other rooms. For example, parents can still interact with children in the family room while preparing dinner. Families tend to struggle with fitting in quality family time as they grow older and everybody becomes busier.

Homeowners can consult with designers to create a flexible space in any part of the house to accommodate the family’s other needs as well. For example, an eating nook can double up as a sun room for the family to have coffee together or have a place to play board games or do homework together. It can be expanded to accommodate some bookshelves, a window seat that can also function as a storage area, and a few additional seats or reading chairs.

Playrooms for children can convert to a den or home office once the children get older. Just install heavier French doors to offer some sound proofing.

The kitchen can be a great focal point for family interactions. A long center island can be a great place to have family dinners or it can serve as a buffet table when entertaining guests. You can also use islands as a bar or a room divider in your kitchen.

If you already have an informal dining area in your kitchen, your formal dining area can serve as a computer or a project room for children when they are still young. As the children grow older, you can convert the room back to a formal dining area to accommodate friends when they come over.

The Bedrooms

Parents might want their room closer to their children’s room when they are still young. However, as children grow older, they seem to require more privacy and more space from their parents. You can anticipate this need and prepare for it by building an extra bedroom with a bathroom at other parts of the house. While the children are still young, they can sleep in bedrooms close to you, and then transfer to a room further from the master bedroom when they are older. Meanwhile, the rooms that aren’t being used yet can double up as a study or game room.

Building rooms over the garage can also be a practical idea because this is usually cheaper to add in during the construction and can come in handy as a game room or a guest room. Basement rooms can also be a good idea as children can decide to move there when they grow older and parents can use the rooms they vacate for other projects. It is better to install a plumbing system in extra living spaces while the house is being constructed because it will be more expensive to add it on at a later time.

It may be better to install separate bathrooms for children so as to keep the peace and avoid fights over bathroom use. Also, to add insulation for the noise, you can put a few buffer areas between bedrooms like a closet space, a small study, and the likes.

A nice option to pick for children’s bedroom is a shared suite. Two bedrooms can be connected by a wide closet space. Each bedroom is accessible through a connecting door in the closet. Siblings can share one room while they’re growing up while the other room acts as a study or a media room. When they grow older and they want their own space, they can move to the adjacent room. The connected rooms can still foster communication and interaction between siblings.

While it may be ideal for small children to have smaller rooms, older children would prefer to have more space for themselves. Design your rooms’ structure so that in the future, as your children grow older, you can move things around with ease.

Storage Areas

It’s highly advisable to put more custom shelves in closets. For children, it’s good to have shelves that they can reach so they can put their toys away in accessible areas. As they grow older, these shelves can serve as places to put their shoes, school books, and other stuff. As years go by, shelves can serve different purposes. What once was a place to put dolls and toys can someday contain trophies and picture frames.

When thinking about storage areas, take into consideration if the additions you make will be permanent or temporary. If you opt for permanent fixtures, think about how your child will appreciate living with the fixtures when they are older.

You may also want to consider putting additional spaces in your garage. It may double up as an extra parking space, a storage space, or a workshop when the kids are have left the house.

Mudrooms and Laundry Areas

Ideally, mudrooms and laundry areas should be in separate rooms. Mudrooms can have lockers, hooks, and storage areas where you and your children can store shoes, boots, and umbrellas. It can also be a storage area for seasonal accessories like beach toys, camping gear, skis, and the likes. You can also design it to be a drop off point where you and your children can put their keys as they go in and out of the house. If you have a spacious laundry room, you can also use this as a hobby room or a sewing room.

Making room for the changes that your family can go through is possible with some foresight and creativity.

Not So Big House

The facts are somewhat surprising, but American homes have increased the square footage of their homes by 50% in the last 30 years. Now the trend for smaller home designs is gaining popularity as empty-nesters and green attitudes penetrate the housing market. Smaller homes, which offer energy-efficient and space utilization are more desirable as Americans become more conscious about energy efficiency and downsizing their lifestyle. Sarah Susanka has written a book called the “Not So Big House, Blueprint for the Way We Really Live” which offers insight on designing small homes. She believes the true meaning of home is being distorted by giant sized houses and we can all do better at saving time and energy by reducing maintenance and eliminating useless space. Visit her website for more information. www.susanka.com

Do you want your new home to be the main attraction for formal social settings, sporting events and children’s parties? Then you will need to design with all of this in mind. Here are seven tips to remember when designing your new home.

Dining Areas
Be sure to consider dining proximity to the kitchen for efficiency. Will you want to close off areas for privacy? How large are your parties? Consider two dining areas for larger gatherings.

Living Areas
Today more homes are being designed with living areas and kitchens being used as one area. Perfect for casual entertaining these areas typically utilize focal points such as fireplaces, media centers or large windows to the outdoors. Conversely new attention is being placed on kitchen appearance as well, appliance and cabinetry aesthetic value is to be considered.

Outdoor Fun
When the weather is nice there is no better place to entertain than outside. Grilling areas, decks and landscape should flow nicely with your home. Allow appropriate space for tables and chairs for outdoor parties. Be sure to consider existing landscape. Some trees may need to be cut to allow sunlight in your main areas.

Media Areas
Quickly becoming the most important room in many homes today the media room is a must for the “big game” events with surround sound and HDTVs. Your budget is your limit on the technology available. Be sure to consider where this room will be in your plan. You may consider placing the media room on the other side of the home for noise considerations. Make sure the sunlight doesn’t impede on the HDTV screen. Big games and screen glare don’t mix well.

Private Areas
Make sure other rooms, like bedrooms, can be insulated from the party and away from noise. There may be someone like small children who need privacy and quiet time during party events.

Basements
If your are able to build a basement into your plan these are great places for the above mentioned media rooms or play areas for children. Consider finishing this area out where possible. Be sure to add plumbing and HVAC if needed.

Kids Area
Give the kids a place to call their own and play with toys. Be sure to run the appropriate media cables if you foresee this area a place for gaming devices. These are great place for children to congregate while the adults have their fun elsewhere.

The American Society of Heating, Refrigeration, and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) has generated the following list of the top ten things that homeowners can do to provide good indoor air quality.

Fossil-fuel-fired water heaters and furnaces should use sealed-combustion or be power-vented. When natural-draft appliances must be used, they should be tested for proper venting and should be located outside the occupiable space when possible.

Vent bathrooms, kitchens, toilets, and laundry rooms directly outdoors. Use energy efficient and quiet fans.

Avoid locating leaky furnaces, air conditioners, and ductwork in garages or other spaces where they can inadvertently draw contaminants into the house. Install a door closer to ensure doors between houses and garages do not accidentally stay open. Apply weather-stripping to the doors to reduce airborne contaminant transport around the door edges. If ducts must pass through a garage or other potentially polluted space, seal the ducts well to avoid entrainment of polluted air.

Properly vent fireplaces, wood stoves, and other hearth products; use tight doors and outdoor air intakes for these products when possible.

Put a good particle filter or air cleaner in your air handling system to keep dirt out of the air and off of your ductwork and heating and cooling components. Maintain it or replace it regularly as needed.

Vent clothes dryers and central vacuum cleaners directly outdoors.

Store volatile compounds such as paints, solvents, cleaners, and pesticides out of the occupiable space and away from ventilation air intakes.

Minimize or avoid altogether unvented combustion sources such as candles, cigarettes, indoor barbecues, decorative combustion appliances, or vent-free heaters.

Distribute a minimum amount of outdoor air as recommended by ASHRAE 62.2 throughout the home, using whole-house mechanical ventilation.

Provide operable windows or additional mechanical ventilation to every space to accommodate unusual sources or high-polluting events, such as the use of home cleaning products, and hobby activities.