| Americans want homes with uniquely designed interior space. When today’s new-home buyers visit their neighbors, they don’t want to feel like they’re in a carbon copy of their own homes. Home buyers want elegant, comfortable and inviting rooms — they want to feel at home.
This has led to a number of new design trends in today’s homes that were not even considered just a few short years ago. High ceilings are a perfect example. Architects claim that two or three years ago, nine-foot ceilings were rare in new homes. But today, most have high ceilings, and some architects now design rooms with ten-foot ceilings.
Many new-home buyers purchase homes in neighborhoods built around courtyards, not cul-de-sacs. Individual yards in communities that feature courtyards are smaller, and homes are spaced closer together. Courtyards can serve as an area for social gatherings and encourage casual neighbor-to-neighbor interaction.
Many architects design today’s new houses “in the round,” with the family room as the focal point of the interior. Oftentimes, the kitchen is also a dominant room.
Other design features common in newly built homes include:
• Larger garages to house more cars;
• More pre-manufactured and environmentally sensitive materials;
• More high-tech features;
• Easy-to-maintain exterior surfaces; and
• Flexible space. | 
