Millennial tastes in home design: Wood, stone and purple rain
LED lights in the shower that bathe a user in colour, and a reclaimed wood accent wall near the fireplace. Artisan hand- baked clay tiles as a kitchen backsplash, and a bathroom exhaust fan that turns on and off through a sensor.
A barn door on the master bedroom closet and upper kitchen cabinets that lower to the counter with the touch of a button, eliminating the need for a step stool.
Rustic- tech chic is hot, particularly with millennials who like the yin and yang approach to home decorating.
Some of the design trends that particularly resonate with millennials may seem contradictory: These buyers want modern, sleek lines in their homes, yet they also love rustic looks. Millennials love natural materials such as wood and stone but are also drawn to coloured lights that can turn a shower into purple rain. Smart- home technology is revered, but so are artisanal items that can add a curated look to their homes.
SHUT THE BARN DOOR
Barn doors seem to crop up more and more often in new or remodelled homes, sometimes as sliding doors to define spaces but allowing them to be entirely open and other times in smaller iterations such as a closet or pantry door.
“Farmhouse sinks and mix- and- match faucet handles were everywhere at the Kitchen & Bath show,” says Stacy DeBroff, a brand strategist. “One company at the intersection of rustic style and innovation is Stikwood, which takes recycled wood and turns it into peel- andstick natural wood siding.”
Susan Matus, director of project development at Case Design/ Remodeling in Bethesda, Md., says Stikwood could be used on one wall as a focal point or in a mudroom or laundry room.
“That kind of rustic look is turning up unexpectedly in places where you want to mix textures such as natural wood next to something shiny and sleek,” Matus said.
Julia Walter, manager at a local Boffi showroom, an Italian luxury kitchen and bath designer, says Boffi displays a rustic wood shelf with a modern shape, a metal sink below and a big mirror above it.
“It’s definitely a trend to combine reclaimed wood with a contemporary steel frame,” Walter says. “It’s an interesting play between old and new. People like contemporary lines, but they want the warmth of bringing in an older element into their home, especially the kitchen where people have an emotional connection with their childhood kitchen.”
COLOUR YOUR BATH
On the opposite end of the spectrum from natural wood are coloured LED lights, which are turning up in gas fireplaces, kitchens and even bathrooms.
“Coloured lights that you can control with an app were everywhere at the Vegas shows from gas fireplaces to above-kitchen cabinets to around the rim of a shower,” DeBroff says. “They had shower heads with lights so that you can take a purple shower or a red shower on a whim. Essentially, you can make a space really cool that isn’t otherwise all that interesting.”
DeBroff says high-end toilets are being designed with a built- in night light that illuminates the water in the bowl. She anticipates that in a year or so consumers will be able to find an attachment that adds that feature to regular toilets.
Pops of colour are turning up in the kitchen, too, with small household appliances and pots and pans manufactured in a wide range of colours. Larger kitchen appliances in bright colours and pastels are available from manufacturers but isn’t much of a trend yet, in part because they are much costlier than appliances with standard finishes.
ARTISTIC FEATURES
Handmade items or artistic features bring in an element of personalization that appeals to many millennials, DeBroff says.
Introducing a unique piece of art to your home decor can be costly, but DeBroff found affordable tempered glass sinks from MR Direct that can transform an ordinary bathroom into a museum-quality space.
“These hand- blown glass bowls cost US$79 or US$119 i f you buy a faucet with them, but they look far more expensive and are a budgetfriendly way to personalize your space,” DeBroff says.
Matus said manufacturers are making more multi- dimensional tiles with a wave pattern, for example, for visual interest.
“There are lots of interesting ways to use tile now, including making a rustic wall in your kitchen from artisan hand- baked clay tiles that have kind of ancient character but can look very modern,” Walter says. “You can also find mosaic tiles that can be installed by the sheet.”
A CLEAN LOOK
Colourful and artistic touches can be used to relieve the sea of gray and white in new homes, but millennials still want most of their homes to have clean lines and modern style.
“In homes with an open floor plan, a lot of buyers want an extremely cleanlooking kitchen with less visible sinks, faucets and appliances,” Walter says. “Most appliances in these homes are fully integrated and look built- in. Part of having an open kitchen is treating that area like furniture so that you have an overall connection with the living area.”
“Millennials definitely like a clean look that’s more transitional or modern than traditional,” says Michael Merschat, design studio manager and architect with Wentworth Inc. in Chevy Chase, Md. “If you show them a cabinet with mouldings on it they’ ll ask how to clean it and then choose something with a cleaner, sleeker look.”
Another innovation that keeps a kitchen looking less cluttered is the installation of an electrical outlet strip hidden under cabinets, that includes USB ports as well as standard outlets.
“Technology can be used to simplify the way your home functions and looks,” Matus said. “Even the new door locks that can be operated remotely from your phone are starting to look more beautiful instead of like a big clunky keypad. Things like Sonos wireless speakers can be used to keep your rooms clear of clutter, and they’re portable for entertaining outside.”
SUSTAINABLE
“Millennials are looking for highly efficient appliances to reduce their energy use and want to use sustainable and natural materials everywhere they can,” he said.
Counters made of engineered stone or recycled materials such as quartz and Caesarstone are environmentally friendly and yet also easy to maintain, both aspects of which appeal to millennials.
“Millennials consider sustainability in every sense of the word,” Merschat said. “Environmental impact is driving the selection of materials, but they are also concerned about durability and functionality of the things they buy. For example, a lot of people love the way Cararra marble counters look, but they realize that it stains easily, so they are willing to turn to man-made materials that are similarly beautiful but are a better fit for their lifestyle.”
ORGANIZED
With the advent of Pinterest and Instagram, DeBroff says, millennials have high expectations for their organized spaces to be visually beautiful.
Automated shelving and stacked drawers that slide back to reveal a second layer are particularly appealing to young people who may be buying a smaller home in the city or inner suburbs, Procopio says.
Newly built homes, particularly small but costly condos, f eature built- i n closet organizers and extra storage in unexpected spaces such as a handful of built- in drawers next to a laundry closet.
“A lot of city homes have smaller bathrooms, so we offer solutions like integrated or hidden cabinets that have storage space but don’t interrupt the clean lines of the room,” Walter says. “In the kitchen, we have three- or four-foot-wide cabinets with pocket doors as a designated breakfast prep area so you can close it off and not see the coffeemaker, toaster and juicer out on the counter.”
The open floor plan popular with many buyers today leads some to want a more organized kitchen, since that space is frequently on display to guests and to the family when they are eating or relaxing in the adjacent living and dining area.
“A lot of families want a family command centre or tech space near the kitchen but a little separate since those spaces can be messy,” Matus said. “If there’s space, they want a highly organized mudroom or laundry room on the first floor. If you live in a smaller place, the key is to have extremely well- organized closets with shelves and cubbies in your bedrooms, your bathrooms, your home office and your kitchen.”