Our area is growing! In fact the adjacent county is currently one of the fastest growing in the nation.

Land that was formerly ranch land is turning into neighborhoods and the families moving to this area seem to be used to paying significantly more for their homes and property than I am and it seems that they aren’t shocked at paying eighty thousand an acre for unimproved land on a paved road with connections to electricity, water and sewer. The lots in the neighborhood The Social Planner and I visited are one to three acres each.


Recently they put up signs that they had model homes open so of course we had to check them out. There are six homes to view but only five were open. They were all built by different home builders approved by the neighborhood and all of them were beautiful. It was a treat to visit them.






I loved the opportunity to see them side by side and it gave me a chance to see what trends they had in common and some unique rooms. Every home was over three thousand square feet so there is room for all the bells and whistles.
Here are some common trends:
1. Four of the homes had some sort of guest house, efficiency apartment, or mother in law suite. One of the realtors there said that is something that she is asked about a lot. We are seeing more of a multi generational homes due to kids living at home longer and elderly parents moving in with their kids.
I didn’t get lots of shots of the extra spaces because most of them were where the office for the builders were located but did get a few shots. My favorite is the totally separate guest house that was about a thousand square feet.




2. Less of an open concept home is on the rise.
There were more separate rooms in the homes. I have to wonder if all togetherness during the pandemic and more working from home is changing the wide-open, see-everything/all the stuff from the front door trend or if it’s that we have different generations living together and everyone needs a place to escape. There were separate smaller rooms in every home, craft rooms, offices, old fashioned parlors, media rooms, and a bar. When we moved into our house we actually added a wall so I could have a mudroom to stop the clutter. We use it so much we added another bench outside for the really dirty stuff.








3. Pets are starting to be considered in home design more.
Two homes had a whole room just for pets. Another home added pet space to the laundry room.





4. Kitchens open are still a thing but “back kitchens or butler’s pantry’s are solving the clutter problem.
Every home had open kitchens connected to the main room and open but they all had hidden spaces. Those air fryers, crock pots, blenders, charcuterie boards, mixers etc. need a place to hang out that’s out of site.






The kitchens were beautiful but wide open.





5. Master bathrooms are fancy. Really fancy!
It seems like master bathrooms are becoming more and more a retreat. Huge showers, stand alone tubs, lots of cabinets and luxury.



What are you noticing about new homes? It is fun to see what is new and different even if it isn’t always something I would personally want. I loved having the opportunity to to see inside these beautiful places.
Thanks for coming along with us on our trip.
Blessings,
Karen