Building a new home or renovating your existing living space is a lengthy process with so many choices it's easy to become overwhelmed.
One of the best ways to narrow down the decision-making process is to look at what's trending, and our new home builders are experts in the industry.
Using our experience building homes for new homeowners, polls, and online research, we've compiled the ultimate list of home-building trends to help with your decision-making.
We welcome you to keep reading and enjoy 10 top home-building trends experts say will dominate 2024 and possibly beyond.
Scroll to keep reading.
1) Smart Homes Are The Way of the Future
Use your fingers and toes to count how many appliances, lights, thermostats, electronics, and other mechanical devices are in your house. If you're not sure then you will want to read this section. Building a home with smart features can solve the following problems.
Do you hate the power company's high energy bill, and that it keeps getting more expensive?
Would you like to be able to control every mechanism from your smartphone without having to walk up and down stairs or into different rooms?
Does your anxiety spike when you leave the house and feel you might not have locked the door or turned off that appliance?
Maybe you have locked your keys in the house and can't get in without waiting for your husband or wife to bring their spare key.
All these situations are solved by building a new home with smart technology.
2023 was filled with record-breaking days of heat, and that helped energy bills skyrocket.
A smart thermostat can help alleviate the high energy bills because it will turn on and off based on the temperature. This way you can reduce energy costs while maintaining a comfortable temperature.
Lights can also be automated. Smart lighting systems allow you to adjust the brightness of your lights and set timers for when they should turn on and off.
Your electronics can also run using smart technology. You control the entire house, meaning you can save energy by automatically turning off TVs and computers.
But, these smart devices don't just save money on energy bills.
Building a home with smart-home features provides the utmost convenience.
Using a smartphone you can start and stop your washing machine and dryer, see who's at your door through your phone, and lock doors.
You can't beat the peace of mind when you own a smart home.
We all fear robberies if we leave the door unlocked. For instance, let's say you go on vacation and realize you didn't lock your front door.
Through your smartphone, you can ensure all the doors in your home are closed and locked.
Smart homes are the way of the future, but even if you're not tech-savvy, you will still benefit from the energy savings.
And speaking of energy savings, let's talk about eco-friendly building materials.
2) Eco-Friendly Building Materials Require Less Maintenance and Keep Bills Lower
It's a recurring theme in this article. We all hate wasting money, and it's like the power companies keep charging more, and more, and more.
Luckily, eco-friendly home construction is here to help you save money long-term.
An eco-friendly home also increases your property value and lessens the time spent maintaining your property.
Here's a list of eco-friendly construction benefits:
Lower Water Bills: Low-flow faucets and showerheads, efficient irrigation systems, dual flush toilets, and managing rainwater will result in lower water bills.
Lower Energy Bills:Â Efficient heating and cooling through energy STAR rate windows and doors will reduce energy costs. As mentioned earlier, having smart-home features installed will also reduce energy costs.
Healthier Living Environment:Â Eco-friendly home construction uses low Volatile organic compounds (VOC). This means the paint, adhesives, sealants, and finishes won't smell and cause respiratory illness.
Increased Property Value:Â The National Association of Realtors (NAR) surveyed a group of homebuyers and found that 68% wanted an eco-friendly home; 46% would pay up to $10,000 more for a home with green features due to the future savings. Finally, 37% claimed they would pay more than $10,000 for a home with green, energy-efficient features.
Less Maintenance: An eco-friendly home requires less maintenance because its materials are more durable and last longer. For example, builders can use wood that's Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified, recycled building materials, and linoleum instead of vinyl.
Building custom homes with environmentally friendly features and materials isn't just good for reducing your carbon footprint, but good for your wallet.
It takes more than eco-friendly materials to build a fully efficient home, which leads us to our next trend, efficient kitchens.
3) The Open Kitchen Concept Is Back In 2024
Think about the past homes you've lived in. Now, imagine you're in the kitchen cooking.
Was there enough counter space? Where did you keep the smaller appliances like the toaster, coffee maker, microwave, or mixer?
Was there any space to keep appliances hidden?
Did the kitchen have space to hang pots, keep ladles, and other large cooking items?
The efficient kitchen is becoming a big trend in 2024, and more than ever, homebuyers are looking for home builders who can design and construct a kitchen with the following features:
High-Tech Appliances: Your appliances can be smart too. For example, a smart refrigerator's contents can be monitored from your smartphone, eliminating the need to go home and recheck your grocery list has everything on it. Smart refrigerators and ovens can even talk to one another. You can choose a recipe through the refrigerator and the oven will automatically pre-heat to the right temperature.
Design: The kitchen design is important. According to a 2024 kitchen trends study
64 percent of homebuyers want a home built with an open kitchen. They don't want a wall separating the kitchen from the living space, which improves functionality and enhances the ability to entertain guests.
Concrete Countertops and Space: According to the 2024 kitchen trends study, more than 42% of home buyers want kitchens with islands 7 feet or longer. Concrete countertops are also becoming trendy thanks to their longevity, design flexibility, and sustainability.
Hidden Appliances: Hidden appliances are becoming very popular in 2024. According to Forbes Home, this is a continuing kitchen trend from 2023. A custom home builder can keep bulky appliances out of sight by adding panels that complement the cabinets. Smaller appliances can also be hidden providing a visually seamless and clutter-free kitchen.
Duel-fuel Ranges: Luxury appliances are all the rage in 2024, and people love the idea of a powerful gas cooktop with an efficient electric oven. A duel-fuel range helps you cook and bake. The electric oven's dry heat will help you receive crispy results when roasting vegetables, and using the gas cooktop will ensure you sear the perfect piece of steak.
The efficient kitchen is a big trend in 2024 because the high-tech appliances will help you live more efficiently, and the open concept won't isolate you from the family or guests while you cook.
Entertaining guests is what makes the next home-building trend important. Keep reading to learn about outdoor living spaces.
4) Outdoor Living Spaces Increase Your Home's Usable Space
If you want to build a new home in 2024 and love the outdoors, this section is for you.
Do you want your home built that connects you with nature, gives you space to entertain guests, and will increase property value?
Let's list some of the reasons outdoor living spaces are trending in 2024:
Outdoor Lighting:Â 2024 is becoming the year for outdoor lighting. There are new, more efficient LED lights that don't burn out quickly, light up your home more brightly, and can be focused on specific parts of the home vs. lighting a wide area. You can even adjust the ambient lighting to provide the most relaxing atmosphere while you're outside.
Outdoor Fireplaces: Fireplaces, firepits, and burners are all the rage now. They give your home a cozy outdoor seating area, whether on a deck, covered patio, or the backyard. Home builders can even integrate custom fireplaces and pits that add elegance and increase property value.
Lounging and Lounging Areas: Blending indoor and outdoor living is becoming popular. In 2024, we're seeing a rise in homebuyers who want a home built with outdoor kitchens, lounges, and entertainment amenities. Who wouldn't want to watch TV outdoors on a custom patio with a fire?
Pickleball Courts: No list of home-building trends in 2024 would be complete without the Pickleball Court. Pickleball has exploded in the United States, and surveys show homeowners can't wait to install one in their yards.
The outdoor living trend in 2024 goes deeper than expanding your living space.
In 2024, it's becoming popular to give off the impression of a large living space in a small home. That leads us to our next trend in 2024, single-story homes.
5) Single-Story Homes Are on the Rise in 2024
With the housing market becoming increasingly expensive, and inflation not slowing down anytime soon, single-story home building has become trendy in 2024.
The single-story home became popular in the 1950s and as mentioned, regained its popularity recently.
Here are some of the benefits that have made single-story homes trendy:
Perfect for Every Stage of Your Life: If you're a young homebuyer who wants to build a home or a grandparent who's downsizing, the single-story home doesn't have a staircase, making it easier to navigate for children and the elderly. For the average family, a single-story home makes watching children easier and can be expanded with the size of the family.
Easier to Maintain: Single-story homes are easier to maintain inside and out. There's less space to clean and no staircases to navigate with cleaning supplies. Second, you can easily clean and maintain the outside of the house with a small ladder. This makes painting, holiday decorating, and window cleaning a breeze.
Flexible Designs: Ask your local homebuilder what options are available. A single-story home can have vaulted ceilings, open floor plans, dramatic windows, and skylights. Plus, single-story homes can be designed so additions are easily added later.
Indoor Outdoor Living: Many of these trends blend, and a single-story home can easily appear larger with custom-built outdoor living spaces. A home builder can add a sunroom, large deck, fire pit, or patio to your plan.
Energy Savings: A one-story house is less expensive to build and easier to heat and cool. An open floor plan also helps with heating and cooling because fewer walls allow air to flow more naturally.
At Birchwood Homes, single-story homes have become the biggest trend in 2024. Single-story homes are the rage because you can build them more cheaply with many of the same features a two-story home has, and easily expand them. You get more space in the future at a lower price now.
Up next on our list of the trendiest home building trends in 2024 are natural lighting and biophilic home design.
6) Keep Things Bright With Natural Light and Biophilic Design
Do you hate dark rooms that need lamps for light?
Would you prefer the sun's Vitamin D over the depressing lighting from light fixtures?
How about increasing your home's resale value while getting happiness and health benefits from Vitamin D?
If you answered yes to any of these questions this next trend is for you.
Let's talk about natural lighting and biophilic home design.
In 2024, people want to connect with nature, and home builders are starting to incorporate natural lighting and natural materials with the home's interior.
First, let's list the benefits of natural lighting.
Saves Money: Natural light is an energy-efficient way to save money by reducing the need for internal lights. The process is called daylighting and is when you produce a sun-washed room that provides a place to relax and cut down on the electric bill.
Less Eye Strain: Natural light reduces the risk of nearsightedness and can lead to better vision. This is because artificial light can cause eye irritation and headaches as your eyes strain to see.
More Productivity: Do you feel more productive in the sunlight? A study by Forbes states natural light has a big impact on employee happiness and well-being. If you work from home, the light can improve your mindset.
Health Benefits: A home with natural lighting plays a big role in promoting better health. Studies show natural light and Vitamin D improve sleep, reduce stress and anxiety levels, and lower the effects of seasonal affective disorder.
Makes Money: Homes with tons of light and large windows usually sell for more than homes with artificial lighting. Large, energy STAR-rated windows help rooms feel larger and are considered one the best ways to increase home value.
Now let's talk about biophilic home design.
A biophilic home incorporates natural elements, materials, and light, to connect people with nature.
Why has this trend taken off? Because in the modern world, people spend 90% of their time indoors, and the pandemic worsened it.
Biophilic home design is very closely related to natural light. The influence of nature on the home is shown to reduce stress and blood pressure while increasing productivity and creativity levels.
7) Organizational Structures Help Your Custom Home Keep Clutter At Bay
When you are building a custom home, organization can be overlooked. At Birchwood Homes, most potential customers only think about the closet.
But, we're talking about much more than that.
As your family grows (or has grown), and you've accumulated more stuff, have you felt like space has become limited?
Homeowners constantly struggle with limited storage space, which makes life more stressful.
As you start the home-building process, talk with your builder about what organizational features can be built directly into the home's design.
Here's a list to help you get started:
Kitchen Organization: Rotating shelves, pull-out drawers, extra shelving, appliance storage, spice organizers, wine storage, and hidden appliances.
Closet Organization: Jewelry and drawer dividers, extra shelving, sliding shoe racks, belt and tie slide racks, in-cabinet lighting, and glass shelves and doors (easier to see what you have).
Home Office Organization: Built-in wall shelving and bookcases, file storage, desks, cabinets, and drawers.
Garage Organization: Built-in shelving, modular garage storage systems, cabinets, slats, drawers, bins, and overhead racks.
Outdoor Living Organization: Your home builder can incorporate special storage areas for pets, outdoor lounging items, meal prep stations, cooking storage, and dock storage for a boat.
Clutter has a habit of making lives disorganized and stressful. When you're building a custom home it's best to have the organizational space for clutter built-in.
This leads us to our next home-building trend of 2024, multi-generational living.
8) More and More, Multi-Generational Households Are Becoming Common
This one may or may not surprise you, but multi-generational living is on the rise. Are you a grandparent who wants companionship and family to live with you?
Do you want your children and their grandparents to live together and share a deeper bond?
Maybe, you want more family living in the same home to help with upkeep, childcare, and bills.
It's not just grandparents fueling the trend by moving back in with their children. Young adults are more frequently moving back into their parent's homes.
Overcoming stress is why this has become a popular way to build a home. It's not for everyone, but let's dive in and look at why multi-generational living is trending in 2024 and how it helps us relieve the stresses of life.
Shared Responsibilities: A multi-generational dwelling allows family members to care for one another more easily through childcare, cleaning, or running errands.
Saves Money: When multiple generations live in the same home more people share the cost of living.
Elderly Care: Moving into a retirement home or senior center can be expensive, and many seniors find moving back in with their children makes more economic sense. They can also receive the assistance they need as they age.
Those are some of the main reasons multi-generational living is trending, but what are some features of a multi-generational home?
Accessibility: Home builders construct custom homes to be accessible to all ages. This means each area of the home and its features are easy to reach. This way the home stays comfortable for as long as possible, for every generation.
Sound Proofing: Multi-generational homes are built with clear separation and extra soundproofing. This allows kids to be kids and not disturb their grandparents living in a separate wing of the home.
Multiple Living Areas: New homes built for multiple generations might have separate living areas. For example, the children can play with toys in a great room, while grandparents can relax in a den. Some new homes are designed and built with 2 kitchens, so families can cook and eat separately, or together when they want.
Separate Entrances: A multi-generational home can be built with separate entrances. This makes the home feel like two individual living units. An extra entrance that's more easily accessible by the elderly or those with disabilities can also be added.
Large Common Areas and Open Designs: We previously mentioned open concepts in the kitchen section, but this also applies to multi-generation homes. Great rooms, open kitchens, and extended outdoor living spaces let big families congregate comfortably.
Being at home and together is healthy for families, even if they sometimes get on your nerves. That leads us to our next trend.
Building a home with remote work in mind.
9) Building A Home With An Office Is Becoming A Necessity In 2024
Since the pandemic, remote work has become more prevalent. Are you a full-time or part-time remote worker?
If you are, are you regularly getting distracted by family members and other responsibilities?
Is the easy access to entertainment keeping your productivity levels low?
Then you might be a good candidate for a custom home with a built-in office.
An office that's specifically designed to be an office is much easier to work in than a bedroom that has been converted.
For example, the office can be built further away from louder areas of the home to eliminate distractions from kids or TV.
An office can be soundproofed with built-in features like kitchens, a desk, a meeting table, storage areas, filing cabinets, bookshelves, and more.
10) Pickleball is the Home Building Trend Taking 2024 By Storm
This one is funny, but we had to include it! Pickleball is the fastest-growing sport in America, with 36.5 million players.
It would take 25,000 new courts to meet the demand. That's a lot for your local parks and recreation office to handle.
Which is why homeowners are turning to the backyard pickleball court.
It's not only trending to have one added to your existing home, it's becoming a trend to build a custom home with the court already installed.
Constructing these courts can cost up to $30,000, which is why it's more common to build a home with pickleball being a feature.
It drastically increases the resale value, provides endless fun and exercise, and makes your home the ultimate place to entertain guests.
A pickleball court pairs seamlessly with all the other home-building trends in 2024.
You can build it with eco-friendly materials and add it to your outdoor living space, multiple generations can play together, it's a great break from remote work, single-story home costs help make it affordable, and since you play outside, your home is being built with biophilic design in mind.
You can't go wrong with a pickleball court.
To Conclude "10 Home Building Trends Experts Say Will Dominate 2024"
2024 is certainly a great year for new home-building trends. We are taking steps toward the future with smart home technology, eco-friendly building materials, and pickleball courts.
But, we're seeing the rise of trends that were thought gone.
Multiple generations are living together again in single-story homes and open floorplans are back in style.
You can't deny these are exciting times to be a custom home builder, and that's where Birchwood Homes is here to help.
We are professional custom home builders in Virginia, here to help bring your dream home to life.
Whether you want all of 2024's trending features or something you came up with, contact us for a free consultation so we can start your home-building journey.