Refrigerators that talk, motorized floors,and programmable robots that take care of household chores: this was what we all imagined for the future of new home construction, right?
Well, the future is nearing, and, based on a recent Yahoo article, the home we all remember from the Jetsons cartoons may miss the mark. In fact, if you’re like most consumers, you’d trade all those gizmos for a well-designed home with energy efficiency, healthy indoor air quality, and longevity.
Energy Efficiency Focus
After reading Yahoo’s article about a poll taken of builders on what the “New Homes of 2015” would look like, I couldn’t agree more with the energy efficiency focus. In the survey, builders said that, in the future, they would be “embarking on the energy science that goes into a house and why it’s important for our homeowners”.
It’s just fantastic that other builders are saying to themselves: “In 2015, we will become a more energy efficient builder” It made me think: What about today?
No More Living Rooms
The Kingfisher home plan features large open spaces and combined living and dining areas
The article also points out that homes in 2015 will not include a living room. A living room? I don’t know about you, but that’s the one room in my house that only gets the weekly dusting visits. The article explains that living rooms will eventually (in 2015, mind you) “merge” into the Great Room and other areas, allowing for a decrease in square footage. Possibly a den/study option?
Again, I couldn’t point out more that this article is right on the money: in 2015, builders will eventually begin to merge their living rooms into other areas of the home. But what about today?
More Spaces in Other Places
Lastly, the Yahoo poll taken from nationwide builders suggests that in 2015, they expect building to change to accommodate spacious laundry rooms, walk-in closets, porches, eat in kitchens, two car garages, and ceiling fans. They also suggest that we’ll see fewer formal dining rooms and 4+ bedrooms.
Again, I couldn’t agree more with these suggestions about what consumers will need in the future. What about today?
Schell Brothers Offers the Future, Today
Today, in the year 2011, I am proud to say that Schell Brothers has already listened to the needs of our customers and we’ve built the so-called 2015 innovations into our current homes.
We’ve adopted High Performance standards that allow us to provide impressive energy ratings and HERS scores that mean lower utility bill and healthier living for our customers.
Our designs have brought 2015 ideas into the present tense, with open floorplans, merged areas, walk in closets, two car garages, large utility rooms and the minimization of formal dining rooms. We recently released Courtyard series floorplans in response to direct customer input, with unique designs that focus on the most important areas of the home, while merging indoor and outdoor spaces.
Although the Jetsons’ world doesn’t look promising for the future of new homes, it seems that today, Schell Brothers already has the high performance home of the future firmly in our grasp.
Read the Yahoo article “New Homes of 2015: Yahoo”
