The pandemic inspired many to reconsider their relationships with their homes. There’s a renewed focus on comfort, large living spaces, personalized offices, and outdoor entertainment areas. If you’re building a new custom home, you can choose exactly what you desire without compromise.
It seems open-plan spaces with lots of light and multifunctional uses are here to stay in 2022-2023. Of course, between current trends and classic features, there’s a lot to decide if you’re building a custom home. To help you discern, we’ve put together a list of new home must-haves.
Current new home features emphasize eco-friendly building materials, energy-efficient designs, and technological innovation geared towards smart-home living.
As sustainability and energy efficiency initiatives become the norm, consumers and contractors insist that eco-friendly building materials are custom home must-haves. Green building offers a fantastic opportunity to save energy, reduce waste, cut down on greenhouse gas emissions, and conserve natural resources; all while improving water and air quality.
Any building materials that contain phthalates, formaldehyde, toxic flame retardants, or volatile organic compounds (VOCs) should be avoided. Home surroundings impact your health, so using eco-friendly building materials is truly an investment in your and your home’s longevity.
The United States Environmental Protection Agency estimates homeowners can save an average of 15% on heating and cooling by adding insulation in attics. Fitted to the ceiling, roof insulation acts as a barrier between hot and cold air, keeping homes cool during summer. Without it, moisture from rain or thawing snow can lead to toxic mold growth and water damage.
A properly insulated home is healthier, reduces noise pollution, and improves air quality. In addition, insulating your roof prevents harmful pollutants from entering and spreading throughout your home. Due to its health and economic benefits, it is one of the most important must-haves when building a new home.
An average home can save between $10,000 to $30,000 over the lifetime of its solar panel system. When light strikes the semiconductor material of a solar cell, it releases electrons, producing electricity. The more solar panels are connected, the greater the amount of electricity produced. This clean electricity eliminates the use of harmful fossil fuels, and its panels are easy to install.
Not only do they reduce electricity bills, but solar panels can also increase a home’s value by 4.1%. Solar panels don’t require a lot of maintenance, and repair work costs are generally low. As providers of sustainable, renewable, and plentiful energy, they are new home must-haves, helping to reduce carbon emissions and contributing to a more eco-friendly way of living.
But it’s not just about solar panels anymore. In fact, as the world continues to become more energy-conscious, there are some other improvements that can be made to reduce your energy use and have a better environmental impact.
These improvements include:
Superior quality windows are durable and easy to maintain. Windows provide light, warmth, and beauty to our homes. Well-constricted ones are airtight and keep interior temperatures regulated, reducing high-energy bills during winter months. They also protect furniture, flooring, and window treatments from sun damage because they reflect UV rays.
High-quality windows should have a minimum of double-glazing, although triple-glazed are more efficient to combat noise pollution. 2022 has seen an uptick in black window frames and floor-to-ceiling window expanses with furniture places to take in the view, rather than centered around a TV or fireplace.
Smart lighting is one of the many must-have new home features you should add to your list. Being able to control light settings from a mobile or tablet means you don’t have to be in the room or at home to turn bulbs on and off. It saves money, improves home security, and is completely customizable. Smart lighting with LED bulbs also conserves energy without sacrificing the brightness or warmth you’re accustomed to.
Whether it’s shelves, benches, or entertainment units, built-ins are unique and personal to each homeowner. They’re cool things to add when building a house because they provide innovative storage solutions and heirloom display spaces. Functional and decorative, they add personality to the rooms they inhabit.
Most likely due to the work-from-home shift, built-ins are back, as more homeowners desire customized pieces no one else has and improved storage solutions. Remember to consider placement, shape, storage configuration, and architectural details when designing your personalized built-in. A beautiful built-in should seamlessly blend in with the style of your home and never look like an afterthought.
Building a custom home doesn’t stop with the house — there’s also outdoor living space to consider! People have realized the benefits of the outdoors and are extending its functionality. Installing decks, patios, kitchens, bars, pools, and lounges are popular build choices that take full advantage of the outside.
It’s also possible to build semi-enclosed spaces that allow you to entertain outdoors for longer periods during seasonal transitions. Even a simple BBQ area can make a major difference to your outdoor landscape and cause many happy memories.
A trend report by Kleber and Associates noted that 69% of homeowners had increased their outdoor living options, along with landscaping, because they view the outdoors as expansions of their family-time venues.
We’ve already touched on smart lighting, but there are so many more unique custom home features you can add to accommodate your lifestyle. Smart thermostats, doorbells, locks, refrigerators, audio control and security can help simplify mundane tasks and routines. These technological integrations make life easier and more comfortable.
Some of the more popular smart-home tech trends include facial recognition devices, video door alarms, and ultra-modern burglar alarms. On a less complex note, something as simple as a wall socket with USB portals can also make a massive difference when charging and powering phones, audio, and other smart devices.
If you’re building a custom house, we’d highly recommend adding unique home features like a mudroom. Used to store coats, bags, and shoes, mudrooms help keep interiors tidy and organized. These transitional spaces were popular before the 1960s when homes started to embody minimalist designs. They can be multi-functional and used to do laundry or wash pets, for example.
A perennial favorite, kitchen islands double up as workspaces, classrooms, and food preparation areas. Double kitchen islands are one of those useful things to add when building or remodeling a house (if you have the space) because they're multifunctional and fewer compromises need to be made.
One typically serves as a preparation counter, while the other may include a sink, dishwasher, or double-up as a seating area. Interestingly, island countertops often make up less than 15% of the total countertop space; they tend to be used 90% of the time.
A heated garage building can protect your car from freezing conditions in winter and provides a warm working space if you’re the type that uses your garage space for DIY and hobby-related projects. Homeowners with garages attached to their houses often don’t realize how cold air from their garage can leak into their homes.
A warm garage will help your car start quicker during icy days and is a good idea, especially if you want to convert your garage into a living unit at a later stage. It also aids in quick evaporation from moisture and snow, preventing rust formation on cars and other metal tools and equipment.
One of many things to consider when building a house is a bigger garage. Parking is much easier when you have a slightly larger space like that of a three-car garage. Moreover, many homeowners are choosing to transform their garages into creative spaces that aren't just for car mechanics! There’s also the option to transform garage lofts into complete living spaces for elderly parents, and older kids, or rent them out to generate additional income.
Pantry cupboards have long been a staple in older homes, but they’re also growing in popularity in custom homes. Having a dedicated space to store staples makes shopping and meal planning easier and eliminates the need for overhead wall cabinets, which are often hard to reach.
Clever, compact designs, dark surfaces, structured simplicity, and intelligent storage solutions are trending this year. New house must-haves include concealed pantry cupboards that blend in with the interior's modern aesthetics. This works particularly well for homeowners with smaller houses who desire a minimal aesthetic to free up space and improve flow.
When homeowners light the interiors of their houses, they often prioritize illumination over shape, form, and ambiance. Lights and outlets under cabinets are helpful for food preparation but also highlight cabinet features and offer a softer light than overhead ceiling lamps. LEDs and fluorescents are must-haves for a new home kitchen because they don't emit much heat, helping to keep an already warm environment cool. Consider under-cabinet lighting for your space.
Tankless water heaters are an excellent long-term investment. They only expend energy when using appliances or turning on the hot water supply, saving energy and utility bills. On average, they have a longer lifespan, produce an endless hot water supply, take up less space, and are safer.
While tankless water heaters are more expensive to install, the advantages outweigh the initial capital costs. In fact, they can be between 24% to 34% more energy-efficient than conventional storage tank water heaters. Thus, a major advantage of building a custom home is the ability to make energy-efficient decisions you might not have the opportunity to do in a bought house.
Create a more organized, decluttered bathroom by adding outlets to your master bathroom drawers. This will provide built-in solutions for all your appliances, from blow dryers to electric shavers and toothbrushes, allowing them to be powered in these hidden outlets. This will eliminate the tangle of cords and products on your counter for a cleaner-looking sink.
If you plan on having outdoor decorations, appliances, or any power tools, you’ll need an outdoor plug. Ensure your home is equipped with an outdoor outlet, with multiple in different locations to provide the energy your outdoor tools need, without the hassle of extension cords.
If you’re committing to a kitchen overhaul, you might want to consider designing a multipurpose space to accommodate dining, a breakfast nook, or a walk-in pantry area. Kitchen islands are also cool things to add when building a house and offer ample countertop room for cooking and dining, while dual sinks make cleaning easier.
Smart storage design also provides space for recyclable and non-renewable bins and large pantry cupboards if you don’t have space for a walk-in area. Layout and lifestyle play a key role in designing an economical and efficient multipurpose space.
Building a house gives you a carte blanche to design ample storage areas. Consider how storage pieces can enhance other functions taking place in the room. For instance, if you’re building shelving in your study, you might consider integrating a working desk space.
Maximizing the practicality and aesthetic of wardrobe and closet storage should enhance and not compete with a home’s architecture and interior design. Some ideas include built-in wardrobes under stairs or in awkward nooks and kitchen cupboards built to the ceiling to store items less frequently used.
New HVAC technologies reduce carbon emissions by up to 25%. Installing active solar thermal units and high-efficiency heat pumps is far more eco-friendly than traditional units. Quality HVAC systems clean the air as it cycles, preventing the build-up of pollutants, allergens, and dust.
Some of today’s automated HVAC systems offer individual room temperature control in heating or cooling mode. Not only are these HVAC systems easy to use, but they’re also manufactured with hi-tech noise-absorbing materials that remove operating noise, creating a more pleasant environment.
Heated floors are cool things to include when building a house. Radiant heating, a system of tubes installed under floors, behind walls, or the ceiling, is capable of warming up the entire house. It’s also more efficient than baseboard or forced-air heating because it eliminates duct losses and operates at 84 degrees Fahrenheit.
Exterior custom home-building ideas include strategies to keep driveways free of snow/ice during winter. Installing a heated driveway system can keep your whole drive snow-free, or it can target a section. Often, a single heated wide tire lane is sufficient. Although it comes at a cost, it is well worth the investment if you live in an area with heavy snowfall.
Homeowners have increasingly realized the benefit of choosing a higher ceiling when basement remodeling. It’s more inviting and offers better resale value, in addition to improved usability. The option of larger basement windows also means more natural light.
Desirable homes include basements with nine-foot, ten-foot, or even higher ceilings. With an open space, you can add tall features like arcade games, a large viewing screen, or extended storage space.
If parts of your home lack natural light, then you’ll want to include sun tunnels on your custom home feature checklist. These tubular skylights run from the roof windows into the living areas, providing much-needed natural light.
Whether flexible or fixed, sun tunnels are easy to install and have become a mainstay in eco-friendly architectural projects. Their polished sheet metal tubing acts like a mirror that reflects light down the length of the tunnel, preserving intensity and warmth.
Building the home of your dreams is often a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so it’s worthwhile investing in new home must-haves for sustainable and eco-friendly living that add to your quality of life and suit your lifestyle.
At Zenith Design + Build, we build custom homes with unique designs and superior craftsmanship. As Des Moines’ top home remodeler and builder, we offer comprehensive design and build services to make the process as smooth as possible. Contact us to discuss your custom home project today.
See also:Even if you’ve been using Windows for decades, it’s so sprawling and complex that there might be truly helpful, yet more obscure features that can still surprise you. We’ve tracked down ten little-known Windows features that might just improve your efficiency, your comfort, or possibly even your fun while using your PC.
All of them should work on both Windows 10 and 11 alike, and each only takes a few seconds to try out. Here we go, in no particular order:
Michael Crider/IDG
Whenever I use a new PC, this is the very first feature I enable. Technically it’s part of the accessibility tools, but many users might find it useful no matter what their level of mobility. This setting allows you to activate a window simply by moving your mouse cursor over it, instead of requiring an extra click before interacting with the program. It’s a tiny change, but one that makes a huge difference, especially on a laptop trackpad.
To change this setting, go to Control Panel, then click the Ease of Access Center. Click “Make the mouse easier to use.” Under “Make it easier to manage windows,” select “Activate a window by hovering over it with the mouse.” Click Okay to enable the setting.
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With newer versions of Windows, it’s easy to move windows (sorry) around your screen. Hold down the Windows key on your keyboard, then press the arrow keys. Pressing left or right will instantly move the window to the corresponding half of the screen. Pressing up or down will alternate between halving the window in the upper or lower portion of the screen, maximizing it, or minimizing it to the toolbar.
These shortcuts even work across multiple monitors. It’s a great way to quickly arrange your windows across screens and monitors with minimal effort.
Michael Crider/IDG
If you want to quickly manage windows, you probably pin your most-used programs and tools to the taskbar. If you want to get at them even faster, simply hold down the Windows button and press the number on your keyboard that corresponds to their spot on the taskbar. On mine, opening Chrome is Win + 1, opening Photoshop is Win + 5, et cetera.
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Speaking of the taskbar, the system tray (the little mini-icons on the right side) can often get crowded if you’re using a lot of software. That’s doubly true if you run a lot of programs at startup. But if it’s cluttered, you don’t have to keep it that way. Click and drag any of the icons around to re-arrange them. You can put them in the drop-down menu to hide them (just click the arrow to show them again), or set them to the right to make them permanently visible.
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Those of us who have less-than-healthy computing habits tend to use our PCs late into the evening. You should probably cut it out, but if not, using the built-in night light feature couldn’t hurt. Simply search the Start menu for “Night light” to find the setting that will dim your computer’s screen and lower its blue light output. Once it’s set up, you can toggle this anytime in the quick settings menu (Win + A) or have it turn on and off automatically at specific times of the evening and morning.
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This is an old trick, but with the expanded functions of the Task Manager in Windows 10 and 11, it’s become more useful. From any screen in any program, press Ctrl+Shift+Escape to open the Task Manager. From here you can manually close programs, quickly access the Run command, or click the Startup tab to track down programs that are sneakily starting with Windows.
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If you haven’t done so yet, you really need to start using the official (but obscure) Windows Snipping Tool, which expands the operating system’s rather basic screenshot tool (tied to the Print Screen button) with all sorts of new goodies. Press Win + Shift + S simultaneously to see options to instantly screenshot your entire workspace, just one window, or a freeform selection drawn with your mouse. Your screenshot is then copied and ready to be pasted into a web form or image editor.
In a hurry? You can still access the old screenshot functionality (which saves a full image file in your Pictures>Screenshots folder) by pressing Win + Print Screen. Alternately, you can copy the full screenshot instead with Ctrl + Print Screen, or copy a selection of just your currently active program with Alt + Print Screen.
Michael Crider/IDG
One of the smallest changes in Windows that I’ve gotten the most use out of is this tweak to the way you search through programs for uninstallation. It makes it easy to find the most recent program you installed, and get rid of it if you want to. Press the Windows key, search for “Add or remove programs,” and click it to open the Settings menu. You’ll be presented with a list of every program installed on your computer.
In previous versions of Windows, you’d have to hunt through this long list alphabetically. Now you can search for it, but what if it’s not listed under the same name? Just click “Name,” then “Install date.” The list is now in reverse chronological order, showing your most recently-installed programs. Click the three-dot menu on the right to get rid of any entry. Super easy!
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Most of the time Windows will automatically enable a new monitor or screen when you plug it in. But if it doesn’t, there’s a quick way to adjust your display setup. Just press Win + P to open the “Project” menu. From this pop-out you can select Duplicate (mirror your primary screen to your secondary), Extend (use more than one screen at once), or Second screen only (handy for using just a monitor and not your laptop screen).
This menu is great if you’re using a multi-monitor setup and you want to quickly disable secondary screens, such as for watching a movie or playing a game, then enable them again when you’re done without diving into menus.
Michael Crider/IDG
You probably know that you can adjust the size of what you see in Windows by changing your resolution. But unlike the days of CRTs, your laptop screen or monitor has a very specific resolution it’s meant to run at. Changing that value isn’t a great idea; it can result in a stretched or pixelated image, and video won’t look its best.
Instead of changing the resolution, go to Display Settings, scroll down a bit, and change the Scale setting. This can make text and images look bigger or smaller on your screen without changing the resolution of the image itself. Pre-set values come in 25 percent increments, but you can set a custom value if you prefer (with a system reset). There’s also an option that will adjust just the text size.
Many programs come with their own scaling and text settings, especially text-heavy apps like browsers and text editors. Tweak them to your liking to find the most comfortable combination.
Michael Crider/IDG
If you need to see icons better in an Explorer window specifically, try this quick trick. Hold down the Ctrl button and scroll your mouse wheel up and down. Thumbnail images will get bigger or smaller in response. Scroll far enough and the view will actually change from thumbnails to lists with mini-icons. This works even on the Windows desktop, with no Explorer window in use.
Explorer isn’t the only program to use the Ctrl+mouse wheel shortcut to change the view. Browsers, email clients, image editors, and text editors often use it to zoom in or out or quickly change text scaling. It’s a common tool worth learning.
That just about does it for this roundup of tips and tricks! If you’re looking to go even further down this rabbit hole, check out our roundup of 10 truly helpful Windows tools you might not know about, how to tune Windows for laser-focused productivity, and how to fix Windows 11’s worst annoyances.
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