Imagine creating a home that works not for a single homeowner or family, but for an entire category of home buyers—one that will adapt as its owners’ needs change. Remodeling’s sister brand BUILDER has done just that with its Responsive Home Project in Henderson, Nev.’s Inspirada development.
BUILDER partnered with Pardee Homes to create the project’s two concept homes: a modern farmhouse and contemporary Southwestern. Bassenian Lagoni Architects and design director Bobby Berk used home buyer feedback collected by Pardee’s parent company TRI Pointe Group and Ketchum Global Public Relations to make bold design choices, indoor/outdoor living spaces, and smart and energy-efficient mechanicals that would appeal to millennials. They also capitalized on the value of income suites and other flexible living spaces.
“Being able to have the American dream and buy a home but not have it fall into the cookie-cutter version of a home is really important to millennials,” says Sarah Unger, Ketchum’s vice president of insights and strategic planning. To do that, the Responsive Homes feature unique, affordable design and construction ideas to set homes apart. Here are four ideas to steal.
1. Think Beyond the Family
The nuclear family is giving way to nontraditional living arrangements, especially for millennials. With families that now include parents, grandparents, friends, and roommates, both Responsive Homes offer “casitas” with full bathrooms and kitchenettes for more flexibility. The contemporary farmhouse also features a studio-style rental suite with a dedicated entrance, and both homes have spaces where adding one or two walls creates an extra bedroom. Homes that can adapt as families grow and change truly are responsive.
2. Throw Open the Walls
To walk through the Responsive Homes is literally to walk through walls. Western Window Systems’ multi-slide and bi-fold door systems are installed throughout both homes, allowing owners to expand their living spaces beyond the interior footprints. The modern farmhouse, features multi-slide doors in an impressive 90-degree inside corner configuration that opens up the whole house. Steel beams replace standard door headers in this installation to hold up the second floor without a corner post. Berk used Daltile’s Forest Park collection wood-look plank tiles inside and out to further blur the lines of where one space ends and the next begins.
3. Play With Finishes
“There are so many great materials that can go together, and mixing them gives us a chance to put a modern spin on more traditional designs,” Berk says. Coordinated metallics in Kichler’s Cobson pendants in the farmhouse kitchen (second photo) play off the kitchen fixtures. In the contemporary home’s master bathroom, floor-to-ceiling 8-inch black hex tiles from Daltile are softened by light gray grout, a raw wood vanity top, and lots of natural light. The house also boasts bold blue subway tiles and bright yellow penny-rounds for added fun.
4. Be Purposefully Smart
Ketchum’s research team found that millennials like smart home technology, but only when it’s practical and won’t bust the budget. To that end, the homes include smart thermostats from Carrier (right), touchscreen deadbolts from Schlage, and the Smart Host hub from Savant. The selections have affordable price points and can improve lifestyles with ease and convenience.
