Home design trends for 2011? Think small, green, urban

Fewer new homes are popping up across the United States, but there are still enough of them to discern trends. An obvious one is the push toward smaller homes, which Green House has previously talked about. Jenny Sullivan, a senior editor of BUILDER, calls this "portion control." She cites nine other trends for 2011.

"Glitz is gone, at least for now," she writes. "Honest architecture is the order of the day as homeowners look to simplify their lives – and, by association, their houses. This mantra of zen is playing out in interior spaces with natural finishes, clean lines, and few frivolous embellishments."

Sullivan also describes a push toward healthier homes as people extend their wellness equation to where they live. She sees growing demand for low-VOC paints, stains, and sealants as well as cabinets and furniture made with natural products such as hay, wheat, eucalyptus, bamboo, and aspen.

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On her top 10 list is the continued growth of green building, which a November report by McGraw Hill Construction projects will double overall in size by 2015. On Jan. 1, California's CalGreen building code takes effect, mandating eco-friendly practices that were previously voluntary.

Along with the trend toward smaller homes is the growing interest in urbanism. "The suburbs are starting to feel more like little cities as planners and developers find ways to weave density and walkability into existing hot spots," Sullivan writes. Here are excerpts of five other trends on her list for BUILDER, a Hanley Wood publication that covers the construction industry:

Bridging the Gap: Little cottages may be the darlings of the homebuilding industry, but there's still a need for homes with high bedroom and bathroom counts, and here's why. Multigenerational households are proliferating for all kinds of reasons: boomerang kids moving home to save money; elderly parents who need family support; young parents relying on grandparent care for their kids; and rapid growth among immigrant families for whom shared living is a cultural tradition.

Accessorize Me: Here's another development that may be coming to a suburb near you: detached accessory units that share lot space with larger houses. No longer a luxury reserved for the well-to-do (fancied as yoga studios or casitas for weekend guests) these stand-alone structures are coming in handy as granny flats for elderly parents, studios for home-based businesses, or rental units for homeowners wishing to supplement their income.

Factory Factor: Whereas "factory built" was once considered synonymous with "trailer park," houses today that incorporate panelized design are nearly impossible to distinguish from conventionally built homes once they're stitched up.

Spec This: Residential architects in the latest AIA home design trends survey report a growing interest in sustainable and cool roofing, tubular skylights that provide natural daylighting, and low-maintenance cladding materials such as fiber cement, stone, tile, and natural-earth plasters. Interiors are poised to see some new finishing options, too. Sub-Zero's trend-watchers predict that "glass will become the next material to face appliances, cabinets, and even countertops [because it] is not only durable and environmentally friendly, but also versatile.

Mix and Don't Match: Nowadays it's cooler to mix different cabinet styles, wood species, and paint finishes, and to accent new stock with an antique here or there. Although the "granite standard" still lingers, many consumers are starting to explore other options for self-expression, such as terrazzo and concrete countertops that can be inlaid with sea glass or pebbles from that recent beach trip.