The American Instiute of Architects’ first quarter of 2009 survey “Home Design Trends” tells us that smaller, more efficient homes continue to be in demand by those building new homes.
We at Timber Frame Homes have long held that this trend is more of a movement. In Custom Wood Homes Fall 2008 issue, we noted that both the economy and the consumer were leading us toward homes that consumed less…less to build and less to maintain. Read the entire article here.
We all want homes that are easy to keep and homes that sit more lightly on the land. A small home uses space more efficiently and will save in energy costs for many, many years to come.
The same survey noted that accessibility is important. Fifty percent of the respondents said that open layouts were also important.
Aging in place is a concept that is becoming more important. While most homes are not designed to be fully handicap accessible, a few minor changes, like making sure all doors are wide enough for access and allowing for first floor living or a place designed in for an elevator at a later date are easy to accomplish without major concessions.
Timber frames, with flexible and open concept floor plans, allow clients to plan for their future. This will be more and more important as the “boomers” age.
Focus on the future, but build the home you want. A timber frame, wrapped in energy efficient panels, can help make life better today and tomorrow.
That said, I’ll sign off for now.
