From micro houses to kitchen islands: 5 new trends for new homes

In this increasingly personalization-happy world, even home design is becoming something you can have more say in. Houseplans.com offers ready-made plans for new home owners who want to build their first house, but want to pick and choose features. The site has over 32,000 different home plans to choose from, and CEO James Roche says, “We have architects and designers from all over the world. They submit their plans similarly to how designers submit their products on Etsy.” We asked him what new home trends he’s been seeing lately.

Bigger is not always better

Once upon a time, having a massive house was a status symbol, and while it still is for the fabulously wealthy, Roche says they’re seeing many more people interested in smaller homes. The increase in requests for smaller home designs through the site is up over a hundred percent from last year, but the extra intriguing new trend is in really, REALLY small homes. “We’re seeing a big jump in micro houses,” says Roche. “These are houses that are 200 square feet or below.” As far as those 5000 square foot “McMansions?” They’re down by 77 percent.

A more convenient truth

While global warming has been a big conversation in recent years, Roche says lately the focus seems to be more on a “market perspective,” or motivated by wallets rather than heroic world-saving notions, when it comes to home features: “People are looking at green or energy efficient more as a way to save money on their heating and cooling bills.” That means cutting rooms that aren’t used as frequently, like formal living rooms and dining rooms, and building with better insulation, while big game changers like solar panels are a little more unusual.

Combo rooms

If the idea of going without a dining room in your dream house is tough to take, Roche says plenty of people are “starting to combine them into [a] kitchen/family room/breakfast nook, with a dining table.” You know how people congregate in the kitchen at every party? Why not just embrace that, and have a big enough table for people to sit at?

Must have

For some people, the idea of designing their own kitchen is a huge draw of building their own home. “Kitchen islands are huge. Everybody wants a kitchen island. As the houses are getting smaller, the concept of the kitchen island that can also be used as a table is gaining some currency,” says Roche.

Nooks and crannies

As Roche says, “I think living rooms are going the way of the dodo.” But with big formal rooms gone, what’s replacing them? Small, intimate, useful spaces. “People love these sort of mudroom/drop zones, where you can come in and take off your wet clothes or put your groceries and your keys down as you wander into the house.”