Luxury homes have long been seen as places for preserving a stately and glorious architectural past. Historic buildings made of stone, archetypes of style and design from 100 years before, occupying the most prestigious locations in any urban center.
However, this picture obscures the other role of luxury homes and luxury home buyers, as the vanguard of future trends and styles. The luxury housing market has been a good place to check in on “what’s next”, so you can stay ahead of what homebuyers up and down the market will be looking for in the years to come.
To that end, here’s a list of some emerging trends in luxury home features. Some represent a return to the familiar, while some look forward to a new and transformed real estate market in the wake of 2020’s many changes and challenges.
So, without further ado, here are some luxury features that today’s home buyers are looking for.
Novel Ceiling Concepts
While the trend of late for ceilings has simply been “tall”, some new trends are developing in the luxury market representing a desire for something different. In many cases, the trend is simply towards “taller”, but you’re also likely to see, with increasing frequency, a range of ceiling designs that will pull the eyes upward to take in interesting textures and geometry.
Some examples to look out for include tray or coffered ceilings, clerestory windows (a throwback to mid-century modern styles), and barrel-vaulted ceilings.
Some of these features can be added to existing ceilings, while others will be integrated with new house designs from the start.
Something to ask yourself going forward is whether a given space has a visual interest in the “up” direction, not just down and around the room as usual.
Increased Tech Integration
More advanced technology for the home has been a “new” luxury feature ever since the first electric light. However, what exactly gets added to the list of must-have technologies will change year to year.
We’ve long been talking about the “smart” home, and we’ll see this trend continue as luxury homes increasingly make use of smart appliances, smart bathrooms, smart home security, and smart utilities.
These tie into some broader trends relating to increased and less obtrusive security and greater energy efficiency. But not all the applications are so practical, look out as well for a variety of novel gadgets, like glass panes that can switch from opaque to transparent with the flick of a switch, or voice-controlled appliances.
Separate Rooms and Spaces
Open plan or open concept designs have long been popular in most housing markets, and they should continue to be so. However, with more people spending more of the day around the house with their families, the need for separate functional spaces has become more apparent.
So, expect to see more homes with either sharply delineated spaces, or customizable spaces, so that everyone in the household can find their own spot to relax or work.
Added to this is a trend towards fully-dedicated home office spaces. No longer will we be carving out a space in the guest bedroom or, even worse, the kitchen table. With the increased number of people working from home, a quiet and spacious office with all the fixings is 2021 and beyond’s must-have luxury feature.
Other dedicated home spaces that luxury home buyers will be looking for:
- Home gyms and exercise facilities
- Media and gaming rooms (replacing the now old-fashioned home theater)
- Indoor garden spaces for all the new “plant parents”
New Location & Garden Trends
2020 has left many home buyers and homeowners re-evaluating and re-thinking what they want from their home space. Proximity to work is simply no longer a consideration for many.
In some areas, significant relocations are occurring as home buyers move away from expensive urban centers towards quiet and spacious surroundings.
This move carries over to the garden. As people look for and move to less-dense locations, they’re also looking for bigger yards with more outdoor space and features. An outdoor feature to look for especially is the well-equipped outdoor kitchen. Entertaining at home with your close friends while getting out of the house itself are the two goals, at the intersection of which lies the all-new luxury outdoor kitchen.
The upshot here is that “luxury” may no longer be a quality of homes that we associate with a certain area, and luxury homes may be popping up in places where we don’t expect them.
Something Extra
It’s been a standard in recent years to advertise kitchens and bathrooms as having stainless steel features and sleek stone countertops. Being simple and easy to clean was seen as the standard to shoot for.
However, a developing trend is for kitchens, bathrooms, and living spaces in general, to have “something extra”. While this isn’t exactly a full-blown call for “maximalism” in interior design (although we’re getting there), you should look for some kinds of special pieces for each space, like home pizza ovens, standing baths, a return of the 1970s conversation pit, and so on.
Summary
So there you have it. The list of what luxury home buyers will be looking for in 2021, 2022, and beyond. A range of varied and functional spaces, new locations, and novel interior features will define the coming years in luxury home buying.
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