8 Popular Home Design Features for 2022 - Greenwich Real Estate and more...

8 Popular Home Design Features for 2022

There’s a
lot to consider when selling your home, from the market and appraisals to where
you’ll go next. Don’t forget, however, that design is also a key factor. It’s
often one of the first things buyers notice when they walk into a home, and
it’s also a detail that you, as a seller, can easily control.

According
to Realtor.com’s 2022 housing market forecast, home for-sale inventory will
increase from last year, as will the projected number of overall sales.¹
This means, if you’re looking to sell in the near future, now is the time to
consider how you can stand out.

Updating
your home design is one way to do that. Changes like new security features or
upgraded siding can add value to your home now and be highlighted when you
market it for sale later. To get the most out of your updates, focus on these
popular home design features that will wow buyers in 2022.

Keep in mind, not all of these will work well in every house. If you
plan to buy, list, or renovate a property, give us a call. We can help you realize
your vision and maximize the impact of your investment.

Eco-Friendly Fixtures

Millennials
account for the largest share of current homebuyers, according to the National
Association of Realtors.² Sustainable living tops the list of
priorities for this generation. A recent Deloitte survey found that nearly
one-third of millennials initiate or deepen their consumer investment in
products or services that help the environment—this also includes the houses
they choose to live in.³

Here are a
few eco-friendly design features that will be attractive to these millennial
buyers in 2022. Bonus, they can net a significant return on investment (ROI)
for you, as a seller, too.

●
Energy-Efficient Windows: Heat gain or loss from
low-performance windows drives 25–30 percent of home heating
and cooling costs, according to Energy.gov.⁴ Therefore, energy-efficient windows can help homeowners
save money.

●
Low-Flow
Water Fixtures: According to the EPA, replacing your shower head
with one that’s labeled with WaterSense can save four gallons of water with
each shower.⁵ Doing the same with your faucet can save 700 gallons
per year. This leads to cost savings and environmental support.

●
Native
Landscaping: According to the American Society
of Landscape Architects, 58 percent of members report increased client demand for native
trees and plants as a means to combat
biodiversity loss from climate change..⁶ Enhance the eco-friendly appeal of your home with some native plants
in the front yard.

Wellness Retreat Nooks

The
pandemic has had a significant impact on mental health. For example, in an
effort to prioritize mental health, many people are relocating to quieter, more
peaceful homes, with 22 percent of city dwellers planning a move to less
congested residential areas, according to the Home Improvement Research
Institute’s (HIRI) 2021 Insights Summit.⁷

However,
no matter where you live, you can still intrigue buyers by jumping on this
trend. At-home wellness amenities, which were once viewed as luxuries, are now
on many homeowners’ must-have lists. Indoor spaces that function as a retreat
for wellness and self-care have become extremely popular, according to HIRI.

Improve
your quality of life in your home with reading nooks, spa-inspired bathrooms,
and exercise or meditation spaces. Even if your house doesn’t have the square
footage to section off an entire room for relaxation, making simple tweaks to
natural light, air purifiers, and indoor plants can help you feel better in
your home now while enabling future buyers to see the opportunity for their own
space.

Calming Paint Colors

Paint
colors that produce a calming atmosphere will also be a key selling point in
2022. Soft earth tones and natural hues will prevail this year, including
various shades of blue, green, brown, and
beige. Recent research suggests steering clear of trendy paint colors in favor
of a more classic palette to bring the feel of nature indoors in a subtle and
soothing way.⁸

In fact,
the same research found that buyers are often willing to pay an extra $4,698 for
a house with a light blue bathroom or an extra $1,491 for a house with a dark
blue bedroom. Another crowd-pleasing hue to refresh the walls with is BEHR’s
2022 paint color of the year, known as Breezeway.⁹

This shade
of green with silver undertones was created to mimic sea glass. As the BEHR
website describes it, Breezeway “evokes feelings of coolness and peace, while
representing a desire to move forward and discover newfound passions.”

Home Safety Features

Buyers
want peace of mind more now than ever before. According to a 2021 survey from
the American Institute of Architects, members report seeing an increase in the
popularity of these home safety features¹⁰:

● Emergency
backup power generation

● Accommodations
for multiple generations

● Wider
accessible doorways and hallways

● Home
security monitoring equipment

● Interior
ramps and home elevator features

Consider
how you can build home safety features like these into the design of your home
to enhance your quality of life now and attract more buyers later. For example,
you could install a backup generator in the garage and sell it with the house
or update your major doorways to be wider.

Before
making an investment in expensive home safety upgrades, contact us. We can help
you determine what will deliver the greatest ROI for your location and goals.

Designated Work Spaces

It may
come as no surprise that after the pandemic, 63
percent of homebuyers want their next house to feature room for a designated
office, according to the National
Association of Home Builders.¹¹ In addition, 70 percent
of these buyers want the office to be at least
100 square feet (or a 10×10 room).

If you
can, consider turning a bedroom or a den into a work-from-home office. When
designing the space, make it both functional and aesthetically pleasing. Position a desk near the window for natural
light, install a bookshelf unit, arrange a few succulents on the work surface,
and hang a few framed posters or a cork bulletin board on the wall. You want the
space to foster productivity as well as be a place in your home you enjoy
spending time.

When you
get ready to sell, we can help you highlight your designated work space. Given
the high demand for this design feature, it can help you interest more buyers
and attract more competitive offers—if marketed creatively.

Luxury Kitchen Retouches

The
kitchen has always been a main focal point of interior design, and that’s no
different in 2022. Families will always need this space to come together in
their own homes.

This
year’s buyers want a kitchen with new upgrades and retouches, but you don’t
have to renovate the entire kitchen to make an impact. If you’re not sure where
to start, here are a few tips on how to create a kitchen that buyers will love
without spending too much money on renovations:

●
Repaint the kitchen, keeping the calm and nature-inspired
colors in mind that are most popular right now. Taking a kitchen from dark to
light by painting cabinets and walls can make all the difference.

●
Update the hardware. These kitchen “accessories”
stand out and add personality to an otherwise standard kitchen.

●
Update light fixtures to bring in more light
while also adding a fresh look and feel to the space.

Unique Accent Walls

In a
recent interview with the National Association of Realtors, Brian Santos, the
director of education for Fresh Coat Painters, explains that bold, unique
accent walls are trendy right now.¹² An accent wall gives a home
character while maintaining the calming feel of natural- and neutral-colored
walls.

Santos
also explains that this is part of a design aesthetic that draws inspiration
from the Roaring Twenties, and it’s likely to remain a sought-after home
feature in 2022. Here are some bold colors to consider for your home’s accent
walls:

●
Solid black

●
Jewel or metallic tones

●
Textured wallpaper

●
Painted ceilings

●
Built-in shelves

If you’re
planning to sell in the next year, talk to us before adding an accent wall.
Depending on your target buyer, it may be a design feature that actually hurts
your home’s value. We can run a free Comparative Market Analysis on your home
to help you understand what would resell best in your neighborhood.

Exterior Siding Updates

A new
exterior siding refresh is one of the most affordable renovation projects you
can do to help increase a home’s resale value. The average cost is just $12 per
square foot, but higher-end material options can push costs closer to $50 per square foot.¹³ What’s more,
there are many siding materials available, from fiber-cement, brick, and wood
to vinyl, metal, and stone.

While all
these options can infuse the exterior with character and add curb appeal, fiber-cement
and vinyl deliver the highest ROI. In fact, according to a 2021 Cost vs. Value
Report, a vinyl siding replacement can boost resale value by $11,315 (68.3
percent cost recoup), and a fiber-cement siding replacement can boost resale
value by $13,618 (69.4 percent cost recoup).¹⁴

Give your
home this simple, affordable, and attractive facelift before putting it on the
market. If you’re not sure how to get started yourself, our team can connect
you with a trusted vendor to guide you through the process.

Keep These Home Design Features on Your Radar in
2022

These
design features can infuse personality into your home while helping to close
the deal if you plan to sell in 2022. The average buyer knows just what they’re
looking for in a space they plan to call home, so with some investment and
foresight, you can give your house an edge over the competition—and boost
resale value in the process.

However, you don’t need to make all these changes to attract more
buyers. We can help you determine which design features you should add to your
home by sharing insights and tips on how to maximize the return on your
investment. We can also run a Comparative Market Analysis on your home to find
out how it compares to others in the area, which will help us decide what
changes need to be made. Contact us to schedule a free consultation!

Sources:

1.
Realtor –
https://www.realtor.com/research/2022-national-housing-forecast/

2.
National Association of Realtors –
https://www.nar.realtor/research-and-statistics/research-reports/home-buyer-and-seller-generational-trends

3.
Deloitte –
https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/global/Documents/2021-deloitte-global-millennial-survey-report.pdf

4.
Energy.gov –
https://www.energy.gov/energysaver/update-or-replace-windows

5.
EPA.gov –
https://www.epa.gov/watersense/about-watersense

6.
American Society of Landscape Architects –
https://www.asla.org/NewsReleaseDetails.aspx?id=60427

7.
Home Improvement Research Institute –
https://www.hiri.org/blog/4-major-home-wellness-trends-from-hiri-summit-speaker-dr-jie-zhao

8.
Zillow –
http://zillow.mediaroom.com/2021-07-15-Homes-With-Light-Blue-Bathrooms,-Dark-Blue-Bedrooms-Could-Sell-for-Up-to-4,698-More-Than-Expected

9.
Behr –
https://www.behr.com/colorfullybehr/behr-announces-2022-color-of-the-year-and-trends-palette/

10.
American Institute of Architects –
http://info.aia.org/AIArchitect/2021/0910/aia-interactive/index.html#

11.
National Association of Home Builders –
https://www.nahb.org/-/media/NAHB/news-and-economics/docs/housing-economics-plus/special-studies/2021/special-study-what-home-buyers-really-want-march-2021.pdf?_ga=2.188050984.1824982414.1639512139-1247360189.1639512139