Living at home as a grown up kid can be tough – but not when you mix in the latest in home design and trends! The 2018 BUILDER Concept Home, built by Meritage Homes, shows the latest trending forward products and designs in multigenerational homes.
Many multigenerational homes not only offer a place for aging parents, but also for college-age or post-college-aged children. The reNEWable living home features a secondary staircase that gives an older child their own entrance into the home.
From a functionality standpoint this is a great feature, but because of it’s location in the home it can easily be overlooked and not be recognized for its value. Because of this, it was important to highlight it with a feature that gives the area its own “introduction,” and showcasing the more industrial style that complements the Fonzie flat.
The entry to the area from the rest of the house is delineated by using a new stone product from El Dorado Stone in a dark black brick that runs up the entire stairwell wall. This very intentional design feature spotlights the staircase and draws visitors up into the Fonzie flat, plus it makes the area feel distinctively different. This design element is just one way to show that each generation can embrace their own style, which is emblematic with the features in the house.
After moving up the stairs, it was important to continue to incorporate interior design features that would bring comfort to a college-aged GEN Y student, giving them a special space catered to their tastes. For example, the latest faucets feature a matte black finish to give a more industrial feel to plumbing fixtures. Here, chrome is the big “hot ticket” item.
This trend is especially popular with lighting as well. For years now, lighting has become the “necklace” of the home. Without the necklace something is missing. With the evolution of lighting options and specialty bulbs we can see how crucial lighting is to a trend forward look. Now with new finishes available on the market, we are seeing clean lined light fixtures that come in dark finishes like matte black. This can really pull a more industrial look into a home and works especially well in the Fonzie flat where a younger demographic with a more tech savy approach to design can feel at home.
Technology is another important dynamic and is brought into this space with the use of wireless cell phone charging stations that are built directly into the countertop areas, an innovation from DuPont. Here, setting a cell phone on the countertop is the only thing that needs to be done to charge a phone – making it super simple and incorporating amazing new technology for that tech savy on-the-go student.
New colors like Timberlake's truffle appeal to the younger demographic with a more industrial feel.
The latest cabinet colors from Timberlake feature warm hues of medium wood tones that are show a versatile but industrial look versus a more timeless cabinet hue. This color “Truffle” is a great designer color because it allows for a lot of variety in pairing with other colors.
Everything from the tile backsplash to the countertop selections are designed to evoke a clean, edgy style by keeping consistently clean lines and marrying them with dark sheens and raw finishes. For example, instead of a traditional backsplash we opted to go with a linear tile that resembles reclaimed wood. Countertop selections feature clean Zodiac to reflect a smartly styled clean feel against a more rustic backsplash.
The Fonzie flat is just one of the many features that are part of the reNEWable Living Home that will be displayed in January 2018 in Orlando, Florida. Make plans to see it now!
