The whole point of building a custom home or doing a major renovation is to create a space that is wholly personal, which means you shouldn’t be beholden to trends. In the interest of education, let’s go through some of the things that happening now.

Natural Selections

Step away from the super-dark, hand-scraped floors for a second. Consider engineered wood with a lighter, more natural finish. Our experts say that white, gray, and washed wood finished are making a comeback. Think about bleached, limed, or fumed woods with matte finished or sealed only floors. Don’t count out engineered products. They aren’t necessarily cheaper, but you can achieve a more exotic look.

Clean Lines & Open Spaces

Our experts say that, on the whole, new construction is going more contemporary. This doesn’t mean that everyone is moving into glorious, Rachofsky-like glass houses, but on the whole, houses have cleaner lines with less focus on turrets and more use of Austin stone and standing-seam roofs. Even those who choose to stay with more traditional exteriors are going with modern, open concepts on the inside. That means fewer hallways and tiny, wasted rooms. Open floor plans afford more useable space — the kitchen that opens to the den and possibly dining areas. An abundance of glass and lift-and-slide doors, designed to open and disappear, bring the outdoors in. Again, efficiency is key. Homeowners are better at understanding that 100 percent of their spaces should be completely usable.

Take Some Risks

Even the most risk-averse person should have some fun when building their dream home. Maybe you’re not ready to wallpaper all the ceilings. Fine. But get on board with the glass and metal trends and employ both on your staircase. In fact, why not create a fabulous, floating staircase? Too contemporary? Consider patterned woods, intricate wood designs, or an iron-and-steel combination. (On a side note, you might only need to do one staircase. It seems fewer new homes have two sets of stairs because they take up so much square footage.)

Pick and choose your moments to make a statement. Not everything can be your statement piece. -Christine Danuser, Tatum Brown Custom Homes