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Even with the slowdown in home construction, there are still amazing homes being built with new designs and trends that are rising to the forefront. The Wall Street Journal has some of the key things to notice these days:

• Lot sizes are shrinking – With smaller lot sizes, designers are looking to maximize the space used in the design and development of buildings. This is having builders redesign to fit the longer thinner lots.
• Designs are using the smaller space more effectively –  “The best-selling La Jolla model by Drees Homes in Fort Mitchell, Ky., puts the front door off to the side of the house instead of at the center, which creates a slanted hallway to the main rooms. Bensalem, Pa.-based Orleans Homebuilders’ Bradford Grand II twists the center staircase so it opens to the side rather than the front, opening up the sightlines throughout the house.
• Sunrooms and specialty rooms are more prominent: Once marketed as a luxurious upgrade, sunrooms are now a standard feature in many builders’ top-selling models. More energy-efficient windows have made it easier to create walls of glass without making the house cold and drafty, builders say; and opening up the outdoor views makes homes look bigger.
• The Dining Room Survives: Those that preach the death of the dining room have overstated the cause. Fear of a loss at resale have kept this stalwart.
• The Formal Living Room Morphs: The formal living room has morphed into a specialty room. The space is either a home office, gaming room, toy room for the kids, or a sunroom.
• Deck and Pantries Proliferate: People are looking for living space how they live today. This means more and bigger decks and in the kitchen, larger pantries for storage.

The larger McMansions are not as popular now due to the high energy costs they consume and costs involved. Smaller but logical homes are becoming the trend. Is this what you are seeing in your neck of the woods?

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