A new home
presents an opportunity to make it your own. According to the 2018 Houzz Kitchen Trends Study*, more than a quarter of homeowners remodelled their kitchen to personalize a recent purchase (28%). An even greater share of homeowners in urban centers agree (34%), compared to those in rural and suburban areas (28% and 27%, respectively). That said, kitchen projects are also triggered by homeowners who can no longer stand their old kitchen (41%) and those who wanted to do it all along and finally have the means (36%). We took a look at what is most important to kitchen remodelers.
As homeowners
look to personalize their kitchens, storage and style are at the forefront of their functional and design priorities. Urban upgraders enjoy entertaining and find it to be a huge functional priority, compared to their rural counterparts (63% and 59%, respectively). Suburban homeowners prioritize things that add resale value to the home, more than urban upgraders do (29% and 20%, respectively).
As homeowners
look to personalize their kitchens, storage and style are at the forefront of their functional and design priorities. Urban upgraders enjoy entertaining and find it to be a huge functional priority, compared to their rural counterparts (63% and 59%, respectively). Suburban homeowners prioritize things that add resale value to the home, more than urban upgraders do (29% and 20%, respectively).
Master bathrooms are getting a style makeover, according to the 2017 U.S. Houzz Bathroom Trends Study,* which found that 90% of renovating homeowners change the style of their master bathroom during upgrades. Of those making a change to the overall style, contemporary (25%), transitional (17%) and modern (15%) lead in popularity. Design decisions vary by generation, with Millennial (25-34) homeowners opting most often for modern style master bathrooms, while contemporary is most popular among Gen-Xers (35-54) and Baby Boomers (55+).
White continues to gain popularity in renovated master bathrooms, with even more countertops and walls appearing in white this year (40% and 19%, respectively) compared with 2016 findings. Additionally, bathroom features are increasingly contrasted against gray walls and cabinet surfaces (35% and 14%, respectively, compared with 30% and 9% in 2016, respectively).
Given the popularity of photos and stories related to small spaces on Houzz, we surveyed our community* to find out how people living in small homes use creative decor and storage options to make their homes feel more spacious.
Considering that the two most popular characteristics of small home interiors are lots of natural light (57%) and easy access to the outdoors (54%), it seems homeowners incorporate external factors into their design decisions to give their homes a bright and airy atmosphere. Of those who upgraded their homes in the past two years, nearly one-third renovated outdoor spaces (30%) and more than a quarter created an open floor plan (26%) to extend their living areas.
The survey found that homeowners also choose room-defining area rugs (48%), limit the number of furniture pieces in each room (36%) and add mirrors (35%) to optimize their space. Many homeowners reduce clutter in their small homes by putting their stuff in exterior storage areas, like garages (44%), basements (34%) and yards or other outdoor spaces (31%).
While certain tasks, like storing things or hosting visitors, may be more challenging in small homes (as reported by 60% and 55% of homeowners), the above solutions show that there are many ways to live comfortably in a small space. In fact, nearly two in five homeowners report that their home is just the right size for their needs (39%). Furthermore, more than half say that relaxing and keeping spaces clean are especially easy in their small home (58% and 42%, respectively).
Today we want to talk about color. More specifically, dark hardwood floor colors. Lets put all the technical specs and industry terms to rest for now and just talk about color. We understand that although the specs, species and width may all be very important to you, we know that the bottom line is that you want it to look nice in your room space. With that said, color is a one of the key factors that comes into play when deciding a floor. For some people it is the only factor besides price that they care about and that’s okay with us. We can talk color all day long and we love it. Even a discussion about hardwood floor colors can become intense and way in depth, but we will keep it simple, and we will keep it fun.
Going into a showroom can be intimidating to say the least, there are hundreds of different brands out there and they all have tons of colors on display. We have nearly 100 colors to choose from and that can be a bit overwhelming if you don’t know where to begin! A great starting point would be to figure out whether you’re team light hardwood floor, or team dark hardwood floor. Once you figure out if you like dark or light hardwood floors or what would work best in your home, the rest is a piece of cake. You can go into tones, shades, and everything else afterwards, lets just focus on dark hardwood today. Next time we will talk about light hardwood floors. STAY TUNED FOR THAT!