MULTI-GENERATIONAL LIVING
More and more homes are being constructed for the purpose of housing either the parents or children (or sometimes both) of the house/property owner. As we’ve seen a rise in housing costs and decreasing supply for both starter homes for the young and downsizing homes for the old, more families are making their homes into a multi-unit building that can house 2-3 generations within it. These multi-unit homes can be built inside one building on site, or can have an Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) built separate from the main house.
COMFORTABLE, EFFICIENT DESIGN
Housing comfort has long been something that’s desired by new buyers or renovators, but it was never seen as a valuable return on investment from realtors or people concerned about earning back their investment in a potential sale. With the rising cost of living (including energy costs), and with the availability of grant money for energy efficient retrofits, more home owners are strongly considering renovations or building new homes with energy efficiency in mind for the purpose of reducing housing usage expenses, and increasing comfort within the space.
RIGHT SIZING
We’ve heard the term under-housed for those needing more space and over-housed for those with too much space. As we have a large influx of the Silent & Boomer generations with larger housing stock and a decreasing need for it, we will continue to see more home owners looking to right size their living quarters, either through a sale and purchase/build a smaller home, or this could include renovating their existing home into a 2-3 unit dwelling in order to house their kids and downsize their space within their current home. Right sizing saves on housing costs, and helps with downsizing.
SALVAGE AND REPURPOSE
As it goes with the other items here, salvaging more items for re-use comes with an economic benefit of cost savings, but it is also seen as a design trend. We remember the Pallett Furniture DIYers, or the rage with repurposed barn board, but this trend is also about stepping away from online purchases from Wayfair to look at gently used and stylish furniture and fixtures to feature in a home. We’re seeing more elements of homes and landscapes that are being saved, whether for a practical purpose, or an aesthetic one.
AWAY WITH THE GREY
The greys have been around for awhile and the trend is going away. 2023 will see more people embrace their personalities within their spaces through bold colours and prints. We’ve seen this shift in the last year with some interesting renovations, and definitely through the use of more warm wood tones and brighter colour. We’ve always been advocating for people to build to their own personal taste rather than what is trending, usually people consider this for potential resale purposes. So this will be a refreshing design trend to see home owners feel more confident with their material choices for their home.
