If You Need “Me Space” – Sanctuary!

If You Need “Me Space” – Sanctuary!

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This is a high priority among today’s home buyers, whether spoken or not. We long for such a space in our homes, particularly in light of COVID-19 limitations. “Me space” in the home, whether it’s exercising… prayer/meditation… reading… whatever you like to do to relax, re-center, or recharge.

Pandemic fatigue set in for many of us working from home and learning remotely. While most of us found ways to adapt our homes to the realities COVID ushered in, we kept hearing things like parents hiding out in their bathrooms for a few minutes of sanity. Along with work from home and remote learning solutions, personal space took on heightened importance.

Sanctuary Defined Block

In response, we’ve started incorporating a Sanctuary Space™ – your private getaway, directly off your bedroom suite – in select home plans. For example, in the Trufant (plan #29323, below), the 9-foot by 15-foot outdoor storage area can become your Sanctuary Space! Bathed in healthy, natural light and afforded maximum privacy, such a space in your home may be exactly what you’re looking for!

Trufant - #29323 Sanctuary Space Option
Trufant - #29323

Intrigued by this concept? Looking for ways to combat fatigue, increase energy levels, and improve your outlook on life? Ask us about incorporating a Sanctuary Space in a design(s) you’re interested in!

For more ideas on Sanctuary Space in home design, see also: I Need My Space!

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America’s Premier Woman-Centric Home Designer

America’s Premier Woman-Centric Home Designer

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What began as a discussion in January 2003, traveling back from the NAHB International Builders’ Show, has turned out to be one of the most powerful drivers in residential design – a Woman-Centric approach. Design Basics was already at that time one of the largest home plan design firms, yet something was missing. We were seeking and getting great feedback about our home plans from customers – mostly professional builders. Builders loved our home designs and provided valuable insights, positive and negative, into how to make them even better.

But we weren’t enjoying such communication with the home buyers, and in particular, we weren’t hearing much from women about our designs. Could it be that men and women looked at a home’s design differently?

Couple reviewing design

Most architects are men. Most engineers are men. Most home builders are men. Most home building tradespeople are men. Did the sexes look at total square footage differently? Not really, though it’s always a consideration. The home design’s influence on cost-per-square-foot? While price is important, that wasn’t a key differentiator. How about an energy-efficient, green home? That interested both genders, though men were more likely to brag about it.

Without realizing it, as we later came to recognize, the comments and suggestions we had been receiving from our trade customers were mostly being relayed through a set of “male filters.” We purposely embarked on a mission to achieve an ever-greater understanding of, and appreciation for, women’s preferences in the home. Women told us about things they would change if they could regarding home design and construction as well as things they would do differently if they could do it all over again. They also pointed out design challenges that had no obvious solution, but still caused frustration and sometimes regret.

Through focus groups, one-on-one interviews, observing how women overcame design deficiencies in their homes, asking lots of questions and listening – really listening – Design Basics was inspired to develop homes with increased livability and style. Author Marti Barletta had identified that women’s value equation demanded both function and aesthetics. There would be no more entering the home from the garage through a laundry/mudroom. There was a new appreciation for storage, and that storage can be beautiful. Women were tired of dusting big, unused bathtubs. Pets were part of the family, too, and pet accommodations were an important aspect of home design.

We also learned that perhaps even more important than function and form was the two-sided coin of social design: “What this home says about me,” and “How this home makes me feel about myself.” We reveal ourselves – our beliefs, what we care about, who we are – through our homes. The exact same dollar investment in windows might be used to create a remarkable window wall with dreamy views out the back, or to provide standard-size windows on two sides of multiple rooms in the home for increased light levels and cross breezes.

Our research uncovered the four primary “lenses” women reported using to judge a home design’s suitability for her and her household. This became the basis for Livability at a Glance™, using color coding on the floorplans to identify areas corresponding to each of those lenses. As we started to design homes through these lenses, we, too, began to “see” design differently. We even developed a fun online quiz that identifies which lens is most important to you – and your future home – which you can take here.

livability logo
Livability at a Glance Image

Color coded floor plans bring the Livability at a Glance concept to life, making it easier to appreciate design elements and envision how this home ‘lives.’ (pictured: Locklear Grove – plan #42314)

The marketplace has voted. With their dollars. Woman-Centric home designs are seen as different, and better. In obvious and not-so-obvious ways, women’s feedback has inspired so many design amenities that solve real-world problems, like getting the entire family out the door on time in the morning with everything, contributing to a less stressful morning. Design Basics has been recognized for industry-leading design innovation, but really, it’s simply designing solutions to challenges that women brought to our attention.

Whether the basis for new home design or modifying an existing home plan for enhanced livability and style, Woman-Centric home design is how we help buyers get the best home for their investment. Woman-Centric home design is having a profound impact on American housing, but it’s not sexist. Rather, in the historically male-dominated home building industry, Woman-Centric design is helping return the pendulum of home design to a more gender-neutral position, appreciating everyone in the household.

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Cover photo: <a href=’https://www.freepik.com/photos/background’>Background photo created by pressfoto – www.freepik.com</a>

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What is a Woman-Centric Home Design?

What is a Woman-Centric Home Design?

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“A guy must have designed this home. No woman would have designed it this way,” a comment overheard during a model home walk-through. The square footage was on par with nearby homes, as were the finishes chosen. Focused on construction efficiency, the builder was proud of his new model, having shaved days out of the construction timeline. But there were no windows in the bathrooms; when opened, doors blocked being able to walk by; and the bathroom linen “closet” was a joke. Gone was the decorative roof dormer with transom windows and brackets in the gables, the craftsman tapered porch columns had been replaced with simple 8×8 posts, and the uninspiring, raised 32-panel garage door was chosen by default.

Woman-Centric home design is rooted in addressing design-related issues women discuss with us, developing new, sometimes innovative solutions to those design challenges. Often, they deal with a home’s livability: making things easier such as a doorless shower (no door to clean!); giving back a little more time (e.g., a direct connection to the laundry room from your walk-in closet); and contributing to everyone’s well-being (increasing natural light levels). Just as frequently they address views and focal points, such as adding a gallery display to a hallway, reducing its perceived length; creating a small alcove at the doorway into your bedroom for visual privacy; and not entering your home from the garage just to be greeted by piles of dirty clothes strewn in your “laundry/mudroom.”

Woman-Centric home design appreciates both style and livability, form and function. Eliminating regrets is one way design is addressed. You love your new kitchen, until you realize there is no provision nor room for a pull out wastebasket drawer and you’re stuck displaying an unsightly tall kitchen wastebasket  that’s always in the way. Or the quandary of keeping kitchen countertops clean and uncluttered, while at the same time keeping small appliances readily available.

Inspired by women – what small appliances do you use most often? Wouldn’t it be great to have them ready to use, yet not cluttering your kitchen counters? Whether part of your walk-in pantry or a dedicated space just outside your main kitchen, a Small Appliance Center solves this dilemma elegantly!

(Click on image to enlarge.)

Appliance Center Concept

Design Basics has long been blessed by invaluable feedback from professional home builders and related tradespeople. Such feedback was, however, also a bit biased, though unintentionally, by the fact that it was mostly coming from men. Therefore, to achieve a more holistic view of home design and how people actually live in their homes, Design Basics goes out of our way to talk about every-day, real-world home design issues with women in the home building trades as well as female home buyers. Rather than being “sexist,” Woman-Centric home design is inclusive, soliciting and acting upon the design deficiencies and opportunities coming from all sources.

Back in 2003, our pioneering research into women’s preferences in the home uncovered the fact that women were primarily using four lenses when looking at a home’s suitability for her and her household. Other research shows women more easily get stressed than men and that women hold on to that stress more and longer than men. It’s no wonder then, aspects of the home and its design that can help her de-stress are design priorities.

In the Slater (plan #29333), the suite’s bayed sitting area, wet bar in the bedroom, sunset deck, plus two bathing options including a doorless walk-in shower in the bathroom can all help alleviate stress. (See also: De-Stressing Concepts in Bathroom Design; Is Your Home Stressing You Out?; I Need My Space!; Take the Stress out of Working from Home)

Entertaining is the second lens and is entwined with how she likes to entertain. Family get-togethers? Dinner parties? Having a few close friends over? The Slater’s open concept has a bit of formality with the columned, arched opening to the great room. A 10-foot high ceiling spans this area, including the dining and kitchen. And the rear patio has a roof overhead, so that the barbecue or study group plans need not be cancelled due to rain. (See also: Entertaining: Planning for Fun; Entertaining: Beyond Four Walls; How do You Like to Entertain?)

Slater - #29333

(Click on image to enlarge.)

While a home design may identify the intended use for a given space, you may envision that space differently. And some areas in a home can serve two purposes simultaneously. These are examples of flexible living, the third lens. If you work from home, the office suggested at the front would be ideal. Or perhaps you prefer the seclusion and location of the pocket office off the suite’s bedroom. Just as easily, that front office could be a spare bedroom, and the pocket office a second walk-in closet. (See also: Flex Spaces Save the Day!; Flexible Living: You Have Options; Flexible Living: Changing Households)

Slater - #29333 Alt Bath

Another example of flexibility are pre-configured floor plan options, such as the Slater’s optional bathroom layout with a larger walk-in shower but just one sink.

(Click on image to enlarge.)

The Slater’s 12-foot-high ceiling in the suite’s walk-in closet is high enough for three hanging rods + shelves, providing LOTS of storage, the final lens. According to women we’ve talked with, the three keys to storage are: 1) dedicating adequate square footage, 2) locating storage right where it is needed, and 3) organization within storage – think garage or closet organization systems  and kitchen organizing amenities. (See also: Storage…Just Imagine the Possibilities; News Flash – Storage Sells!; Your Garage: Vehicles vs. Storage)

Join us next time for an in-depth look at Woman-Centric home design!

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Futureproofing: Another Reason to Buy New

Futureproofing: Another Reason to Buy New

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Your expectations for the future will have a big impact on identifying the best home for you. How long do you see yourself living in the new home? Life happens! What will likely change, such as kids moving out or parents moving in? Are aging-in-place features important? Is your home easily adaptable to future needs? Wider doorways may not be feasible at a later date. You’re single, so two sinks in your bedroom suite’s bathroom and a private toilet area may not be important to you but ignoring such amenities could be a real drawback in the future.

None of us has a crystal ball. Prior to 2020, who imagined the impact the COVID-19 pandemic would bring? Still, when it comes to our homes, looking at what’s popular today provides some insight into what we can expect to likely be popular five to ten years from now. Continuing the bedroom suite bathroom example – large showers are in demand, particularly “curbless” showers with no lip or threshold to step over. Safer and more comfortable, choosing such an amenity when building your new home is a wise choice, especially compared to a resale home with combination tub/shower or a tub with separate, modest-size shower. Even something as mundane as cleaning the shower is a factor – small showers are harder to clean because there’s simply not enough room to move around when you are standing in that shower.

Storage and organization has become a higher priority with today’s home buyers. Neighborhood restrictions prohibiting sheds, coupled with our seemingly insatiable appetite for more stuff (along with our reluctance to part with it!) has fueled the interest in larger garages with more room for storage. In the Palmer (plan #42057), note the parcel drop at the front porch alongside the garage for securing home deliveries – freeing you up from having to wait around for the delivery driver to pick up/drop off packages for your home-based business. Increased storage extends to the bigger closets in our homes, deep walk-in kitchen pantries and flexible storage areas – particularly those that can be accessed from outside. As a rule of thumb, more square footage is being devoted to storage in today’s new homes than what you usually find in resales, a trend that is likely to continue.

The Palmer (below) provides extra storage in its 3-car garage as well as storage accessed from outside (behind the garage). Look at that kitchen pantry! Another draw – privacy for the covered porch.

Outdoor living space, already a “must-have” for many new home buyers, gained even further importance during the pandemic. Better than a simple patio or deck, prospective buyers wanted a roof over that space so that they didn’t necessarily have to cancel their outdoor plans just because it was raining. The Palmer plan has its covered patio to the side, behind the pantry, providing yet another desired amenity – added privacy. Sure, many resale homes have outdoor living spaces, too, but do they integrate with the home’s design, or look as if they were merely added-on at some point?

We assess an amenity’s value by both what we ourselves personally know and our experience with it.  Something as elementary as a pull-out wastebasket drawer in the kitchen. Once you’ve experienced that simple pleasure, you’ll never settle for less. We also observe the value we see others place in it, especially if we think its popularity is increasing. Millennials have largely ignored and passed over those 5,000 square foot-plus “McMansions” popular with their parents’ generation. Older homeowners have sometimes lost money when selling those larger homes they no longer need or want due to a lack of buyers. But 32-inch wide interior doors throughout the home and laundry rooms that don’t double as the entry from the garage – those are futureproofing must-haves. When it comes to resale, Realtors tell us that regardless of the presence of a tub in the primary suite bathroom, if there isn’t a nice shower, many of today’s prospective home buyers are simply going on to the next home.

There will come a point in time when your new home goes on the market as a resale. Thoughtful design today translates into better resale tomorrow. Take curb appeal. It not only makes your home more attractive now, but it can also have a significant impact on the future resale of your home, both in terms of how quickly you get offers and the perceived value of your home. Example – the humble garage door. As with your front entry door, an attractive garage door enhances curb appeal!

The Rainey plans below share a common floor plan, but exude distinctive exterior styling. While a fairly traditional garage door style can work for the Rainey Gables (left), that simple 32-panel garage door would detract from the Rainey Chase’s contemporary design (middle), and the Rainey Farm’s Modern Farm House design (right). 

Choosing a brand-new home, with today’s most-wanted amenities, will be significantly more attractive to most prospective future buyers than if you’re trying to resell a home that was already 30 years old when you bought it.   

Next time – What Your Home Says About You.

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Cover plan featured: Palmer (plan 42057)

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Beyond Dollars – The Cost of Home Ownership

Beyond Dollars – The Cost of Home Ownership

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Thinking about the cost of home ownership often resides in the “left brain,” which is associated with information, rational thinking, and analytics. Yet we feel other, very real costs, expressed in terms such as happiness/frustration, contentment/disappointment, or confidence/anxiety. Closely related to cost, William Poundstone points out in his book Priceless, “Though a price is just a number, it can evoke a complex set of emotions.” 

The cost of home ownership is more than what we pay in mortgage payments, utilities, maintenance, and repairs. What is the value of living in your dream home? A kitchen in which you can create masterpieces, enough storage that you can feel organized, and outdoor living space that’s fun for everyone?

Yes, we look at costs in terms of dollars. In lieu of the standard shower in the bedroom suite bathroom, the spa shower costs $3,000 more, about $16 higher per month in a 30-year mortgage at 5% APR. But your right-brain (feelings, emotions, story) reminds you that every day you’ll use that shower. It might be that you enjoy taking a hot, relaxing shower. It might be that you want to use the body sprays for an invigorating shower. It might be that you just don’t want to bump your elbows into the sides of the standard-size shower when washing your hair. How would that spa shower make you feel physically? How would it make you feel about yourself? Then there is its impact on resale – a future buyer may fall in love with that spa shower, the amenity that gets you a quicker sale at your full asking price.

 

The spa shower you want might be what clinches your home’s future resale!

Walk-in Shower

Whether we were forced into it or leapt at the opportunity, many of us got to experience firsthand the “joy” of working from home during the 2020 pandemic. Suddenly, we had a new appreciation for home office design. Size, location, privacy, natural light, storage, workspace, seating… even the trek to the bathroom all took on new meaning. Companies discovered some underappreciated benefits of having employees work remotely, too. Now, whether full-time or a couple days per week, millions more of us have jobs working from home. But at what “cost”? For our happiness…our sanity…our productivity, this may mean remodeling or even buying a new home, designed with the amenities and solutions for working from home we need and want. There are a few silver linings, such as the potential home office tax deduction, reduced commuting time and expenses, even “going to work” in your comfortable yoga pants. How do those things factor into the cost of home ownership?

Many of those same issues can be applied to home schooling. At the time this is being written, the jury is out on whether schools will return to their pre-pandemic “normal.” Some have already announced a remote or a hybrid approach, going to 2 or 3 classroom days per week, and issuing laptops or tablets to students for learning/studying at home.

Flex Space - Wall Bed

Flex spaces perfect for working from home/schooling from home became the new must-have amenity with the pandemic. This flex room with a wall bed is perfect for guest space and/or working/schooling from home. (Photo: Closet Factory)

If you have the time, the know-how, and the tools, you may be able to tackle costly maintenance and repair projects inherent in older homes. What is your time worth? If you lack the know-how, what’s the cost, in terms of time and frustration and money, of doing that repair twice? New homes give you back time, like not dusting the whirlpool tub you never use. Staying put, doing nothing seems safer, because we don’t often consider the high costs associated with inaction. 

On May 15, 2020, Seth Godin’s blog read, “The cost of something is largely irrelevant, people are paying attention to its value.” Once we learn to value how a new home can enrich the lives of everyone in our household, positively affect our health and our outlook, even grant our desire for enhanced livability and style, we can take a holistic look at the total cost of home ownership.

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Wall Bed/Flex Room Photo: Closet Factory

Cover Photo: <a href=’https://www.freepik.com/photos/coffee’>Coffee photo created by user18526052 – www.freepik.com</a>

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