2019 Hot Trends in New Jersey Home Building

While you might not expect a blog about 2019 trends in home building to show up in the latter half of the year, it’s only the fads that have a short shelf life. Trends point to a longer view of how people want to live in their new and remodeled homes. You won’t find anything about finishes and colors in this blog – only what makes it easier to live a better life at home. Let’s get started.

Indoor/Outdoor Living Spaces

One of the biggest trends in architecture right now is blurring the lines between indoor and outdoor living so homeowners can maximize living space and enjoy their property to the fullest. Full kitchens and bars as well as living room sets are now found outside of the house. Other ways to blur the lines between indoor and outdoor living are to add a rooftop deck to maximize space. Another approach is through sliding glass doors or floor-to-ceiling glass walls for a seamless transition between the indoors and outdoors that also brings in a lot of natural light. How about combining some of the ideas we’ve mentioned and adding an expansive skylight with stairs that lead to a roof deck!

Sustainability and Technology

Sustainability in design is a trend that will only grow in the years to come. When it’s married to another trend such as smart home technology, it packs an even bigger cost savings and convenience punch. For example, indoor outdoor spaces, glass, sustainability and technology can all be combined with a large expanse of thermal efficient solar reflective glass walls, doors, and windows. These can be opened or closed automatically depending on the season, time of day and other triggers. Applications that allow advanced control of heating, ventilation and lighting certainly provide the largest energy savings potential of smart home applications. Home builders and architects understand that brick is one of the ultimate sustainable materials since it’s made from clay and soil, but now there are new brick materials that are even lighter, stronger and more energy efficient. The goal is to make sustainability and technology trends part of the early design process. This provides homeowners with a better sense of how they will be living and not just how the spaces will look when completed. It also helps to project into the future for the cost savings that can come from smart control.

The Home Office

The home office has taken on more importance in the age where many of us work remotely, so it’s increasingly common for one or both parents to work at home at least part of the week if not full time. More than 50 percent of global employees are working outside of their main office headquarters for at least 2.5 days a week, according to the 2019 IWG Global Workplace Survey.

While building a new home is truly exciting, it is also a big undertaking with lots of decisions. There are plenty of terms that you will hear for the first time as well as some you think you know, but find they mean something other than what you thought. The difference between “trends” and “fads” is a perfect example. Others are the difference between “sustainability,” “green building,” “eco-friendly,” and where smart technology fits into all of this.

As we move forward with our blogs, we’ll help shed light on lots of different things that you’re interested in as you go through the home building or remodeling period in your life. The goal is to help support your vision with sound ideas and trends that make that vision clearer. Remember, an informed home owner is the first step to ensuring your happy in your new space.