{"id":45,"date":"2010-09-03T21:15:48","date_gmt":"2010-09-03T21:15:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.annandjohnvandersyde.com\/?p=45"},"modified":"2010-09-14T21:28:36","modified_gmt":"2010-09-14T21:28:36","slug":"home-trends-quality-over-quantity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.annandjohnvandersyde.com\/?p=45","title":{"rendered":"Home Trends; Quality over Quantity:"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 As the nation continues to recover from the effects of a troubled economy, home sizes have trended downward for the first time in three decades. More Americans seem to have also adopted a longer-term perspective, as homes that are smaller in scale are generally more affordable to maintain over time and have less impact on the environment. However, they are not necessarily less expensive to purchase. Many are situated in prime locations and include more high-end features.<\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 Findings of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Home Design Trends Survey suggests that home buyers as well as renovating homeowners are choosing more efficient floor plans with less square footage. This allows them to indulge their tastes for quality details, and upgraded features with a higher degree of personalization. This key consumer survey also captured the following trends in the home market place in vivid detail.<\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 New priorities trump old rules: \u00c2\u00a0The prevalence of non-traditional, open layouts with spacious kitchen and family room areas continues. Today\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s homeowners are looking for ways to maximize the square foot area of the homes, so larger, more gathering-friendly casual spaces are often replacing rarely-used formal living and dining rooms.<\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 Options create opportunities: \u00c2\u00a0Many builders have incorporated flexible spaces that give buyers the option to dedicate a room to meet their specific needs and preferences or to serve multiple purposes. For example, a formal dining room calls for a chandelier and open access, where as double doors and built-ins can easily create a private home office or library in the same space. It is now also more common for the owners of older homes to alter their floor plans to work better with the way they live.<\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 Focus on accessibility, practicality, and storage:\u00c2\u00a0 A growing number of again baby boomers drive the preference for one-level or two-story designs with a master bedroom downstairs. Storage features such as large closets and rooms with built-ins maximize the use of space in a smaller footprint.<\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 \"\"<\/a>Sketch – Floor Plan<\/a>\"\"<\/a>\u00c2\u00a0Can you believe the average size home in 1950 was 983 square feet?\u00c2\u00a0 In 1970 it grew to 1500 square feet; in 1990 it went to 2050 square feet, to a high of 2479 in 2007. It has been decreasing each year since to 2422 square feet in 2009, the most significant drop ever recorded.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 As the nation continues to recover from the effects of a troubled economy, home sizes have trended downward for the first time in three decades. More Americans seem to … Continue reading Home Trends; Quality over Quantity:<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-45","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-tips-and-advice"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.annandjohnvandersyde.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.annandjohnvandersyde.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.annandjohnvandersyde.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.annandjohnvandersyde.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.annandjohnvandersyde.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=45"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.annandjohnvandersyde.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.annandjohnvandersyde.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=45"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.annandjohnvandersyde.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=45"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.annandjohnvandersyde.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=45"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}