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DESIGNING A TREND-FRIENDLY HOME

To torque or not to torque, that is the question. The answer, according to a growing number of Twin Cities builders, is a resounding “Yes!” What is torquing? It’s the intersection where style meets performance. Torquing is embodied by high-quality, innovative products that are as attractive as they are functional.

Torquing is one of five “Macrotrends” identified by Iconoculture, a Minneapolis-based leader in consumer trend research and advisory services. In a standing-room only presentation to more than a hundred Twin Cities builders in August, Vickie Abrahamson, Iconoculture’s cofounder and executive vice president of consumer analysis, and Kirk Olson, senior consumer analyst, showed builders how and why to incorporate these trends into home designs. “Macrotrends are signposts of underlying consumer values,” says Abrahamson. “They’re indications of major cultural shifts. Forward-thinking builders are paying attention to these trends and staking out positions and products that resonate with today’s home buyers.”

Builders can’t design trend-friendly homes until they wrap their arms around how their target audience lives. “Builders need to know what’s important to consumers, both inside and outside the home environment,” says Olson. “Builders need to ask questions like: How do the homeowners spend their leisure time? Do they love to cook? Do they spend a lot of time online? Do they have a home office? How old are their children? What are their family dynamics? What are their views on environmentalism? Who and what influences big decisions?”

Dave Sebold of Insignia Development, which developed the new Martin Farms master planned community in Otsego, was intrigued by Iconoculture’s work. He asked the nine builders participating in the Martin Farms project to apply Macrotrend concepts to a designated room in their model home. These “trend rooms” (see sidebar) will be on display in April.

Iconoculture’s findings also made a big impact on Nancy Schoenwetter of JMS Custom Homes, a participating builder. “Vickie’s presentation taught us to sit back and take a good look at why someone would want to purchase a home from JMS,” says Schoenwetter. “We asked ourselves, ‘What would make us the builder of choice? What kind of environment can we create that will make people feel good about what they’re purchasing? And what will separate us from other builders out there?’ Buyers expect a lot today. They’re well educated and do their homework. When we can incorporate features that appeal to consumers’ underlying values, we have a better chance of having our homes feel right to them.”

Iconoculture’s Macrotrends—essentially clusters of current and emerging trends across key demographics and categories—are built on the foundation of six universal themes, as defined by interior design author Louis Sagar. The six themes: Home is a shelter, a safe space designed to meet the daily demands of cover and comfort. Home is a sanctuary, for the nurturing of one’s soul, where we absorb and reflect on the world around us. Home is a territory, in which we stake our claim to personal space. Home is a theater, a place to express our imagination and to develop an aesthetic identity that builds inner strength and self-confidence. Home is an archive, in which we memorialize key experiences, tell the stories of our lives, and document formative moments in the history of our family. And home is a shrine, in which we celebrate a natural, textural, and elemental relationship to nature.

THINK MACRO, DESIGN MICRO

A rundown of Iconoculture’s five proprietary Macrotrends:

1) Torquing. Merging performance and style requires an attitude and materials that push limits and redefine possibilities. Any room in the house can be torqued. In the kitchen, for instance, take an ordinary appliance and crank it up a notch. That might mean multifunction appliances like a convection oven or commercial freezer/fridge, or a high-tech dishwasher with extra settings for china and crystal. As digitalhomemag.com noted: “Smart domestic appliances that can talk to each other and the outside world via a broadband connection are already a reality, and there is every danger that your next fridge will know more about your eating habits than you.”

Not to be out-torqued, Phillips has designed a TV with a coating that doubles as a mirror when you turn it off. Home theaters now come standard with stadium seating, aisle lights, speakers built into walls, ceilings, and even chairs, and high-speed connection for big-screen Internet browsing. Sophisticated pet-operated feeding devices allow Fido to enjoy self-serve meals. Home-based OnStar technology and blackout backup devices keep you safe during emergencies. Applied to the garage, torquing can translate into a ceiling-mounted car wash and better ways to store and organize tools. For your home’s exterior, think smart bricks and IQ glass.

Torque-wise, that’s a full house. But a royal flush is also in the cards. Matsushita is designing a toilet that may some day measure the user’s weight, fat, blood pressure, heartbeat, and other metrics; one flush, and data will be send directly from toilet to doctor. The bathroom is also home to motion-sensitive faucets and a surround shower with multiple heads that doubles as a steam room.

2) En Vogue. Characterized by an intuitive sense of what’s original, distinct, and hip. It shows up in a reverence for design in everything from home furnishings to fashion. En Vogue products—everything from designer teapots and bedding to place settings and home office furnishings—allow consumers to express their personality and aspirations. While torquing’s emphasis is on performance, En Vogue’s chief concern is the coolness quotient. How important is that? In a recent Datamonitor survey, two-thirds of respondents said it’s important for both them and others to view their lifestyle as “cool.”

The En Vogue “invisible kitchen” features cabinet-front appliances and warming drawers. You’ll also find a built-in coffee system complete with programmable automatic drip, espresso, and steaming wand. There may even be a few high-style appliances that could double as works of art. Work-surface materials like granite or stainless steel scream aspiration and luxury.

The owner’s suite is warmed up with frescoed walls, leather floors, and imported wood doors, moldings, and paneling. The bed is outfitted with luxurious linens. The sitting area is stocked with designer chairs, lamp, and table. Move to the living room and find coved ceilings, hidden lighting, and furnishings created by Ralph Lauren, Armani, or Todd Oldham. The his-and-her home offices—wireless ready, of course—boast glass doors and wood or concrete floors. The fitness center has the feel of an expensive gym with mirrored walls, lap pool, and yoga room.

3) Artisan. Drill down to the core of this Macrotrend and you’ll find a quest for authenticity, beauty, and quality craftsmanship. It’s visible in the return to one-of-a-kind handcrafted objects, as well as individualized services and expressions of personal style. Homeowners are becoming more conscious about creating an environment which they feel is indicative of who they are. As author and designer Louis Sagar observed, “The home becomes the canvas on which we express our own viewpoint and sense of style.”

A central Artisan value is heritage—a connection to the past. An artisan home exterior may be cottage-style. Inside, you may find a Ponderosa theme. Building materials, from hand-painted, glazed floor tiles to quarried stone, are simple, yet elegant. The hand-carved front door is framed with elegant, handcrafted stained glass windows. Custom-built light fixtures, and unique pottery and knick-knacks abound.

The kitchen may have a nostalgic feel through vintage appliances, stone working surfaces, and mid-century fabrications like Linoleum or Formica. French doors, weathered walls, and natural stone floors lend the four-season porch an old-world charm. A potter’s studio may be lurking just around the corner. The dining area is decked with rich wood paneling, ceiling moldings, and decorative joists. The dining set, bookcase, and buffet bear the signature of time-tested artisans like Stickley, Chippendale, and Henredon.

Outside, the landscape references historical or traditional methods—English country garden, Japanese rock garden, French garden with crushed gravel paths, Tuscan garden with pergolas and climbing vines. A hand-carved sculpture or other work of art adds the crowning touch.

4) Inside Out/Outside In. Those who love the great outdoors are drawn to the idea of harmonizing indoor and outdoor landscapes in a unified lifestyle. Bringing the best of nature into our home environments strengthens our sense of environmentalism and serenity and creates a get-away-from-it-all feeling.

In the living room, bringing the outside in can be accomplished by using floor-to-ceiling sliding-glass doors that disappear into walls (like pocket doors) to create an outdoor atmosphere in spring, summer, and fall. Building materials are environmentally friendly—bamboo, recycled wallpaper, recycled floor boards. Décor is rooted in ecological, elemental themes; examples include earthy or airy colors, natural floor and wall treatments (grassboard or quarried stone), and compelling accents (interior fountains).

The owner’s suite may feature large skylights that slide open to let in fresh air, natural light, and a peaceful view of the night sky. The walls of a sleeping porch virtually disappear when homeowners desire the serenity of outdoor sleeping. The bath is adorned with environmentally friendly fixtures like low-flow toilets and sinks that recycle “gray” water. An indoor/outdoor hot tub is surrounded by windows that open or stow away when weather permits.

Bring the inside out by creating entertaining space and cooking space via innovative landscaping. Serve the family dinner in an outdoor “dining room” marked by terra-cotta floors and surrounded by vine-covered pergolas. Or, step outside to relax in a luxuriously furnished gazebo, spa, or even an adult-size tree house. Enjoy a cozy fire via a fire pit or patio fireplace. Commune with nature by creating continuous planting beds adjacent to the house that seem to continue inside; build garden borders or fences with recycled wood, stone, or metal. Yearning to live near the water? Build natural, multipurpose ponds for swimming and water gardening. For the especially adventurous, design indoor waterfalls or an outdoor stream that flows underground and into a pond inside the home.

5) Ready. Set. Go! Stressed-out homeowners are demanding “connovation”— convenience blended with innovation. That means designs, products, and services that simplify their lives and save precious time. This clamoring for fulfillment and flexibility has spawned everything from windows with built-in blinds and one-button lighting systems to modular flooring and in-home Pilates equipment.

This “Quality, quickly!” mindset is written on home exteriors in the form of self-cleaning windows, self-cleaning gutters (or gutter guards that prevent leaf and water buildup), and siding and roofing materials that require little or infrequent maintenance. Zoned sprinkler systems allow homeowners to control where and how much they water the garden.

The Ready. Set. Go! Kitchen is stocked with fully programmable and self-cleaning appliances, and easy-reach cabinets that allow homeowners to use and access every square inch of valuable real estate. This trend is perhaps best exemplified by a two-word phenomenon: laundry integration. It’s getting more common to find front-loading washers and dryers (and even dry cleaning machines) built into bedroom closets, or an auxiliary laundry room set up on the same floor as the owner’s suite. A drying center closet in the laundry room gives homeowners a place to hang and flat-dry fine washables.

Bottom line? Understand Macrotrends and you’ll understand what consumers look for in a home. “We’re all a portfolio of needs, wants, and desires,” says Abrahamson. “We don’t just live in one dimension. Builders can only design the perfect home when they become fluent in the language, lifestyle, and culture of their clients.”

MACROTRENDS ON DISPLAY: THE “ULTIMATE ROOM” TOUR

Martin Farms has set a new standard for residential living in Otsego, a northwest suburb of Minneapolis. Woven through the new 300-acre master planned community are four separate communities offering private parks, neighborhood pool and picnic areas, barbecue pits, soccer fields, basketball court, and other play areas. The natural beauty of woodlands, wetland areas, and open water areas has been leveraged to create scenic trails, green areas, and open-space vistas. The perimeter of the development is lined with stone columns connected by white double-rail fencing.

The theme behind Martin Farms can be boiled down to a single word: community. “It’s all about connecting with neighbors,” says Dave Sebold of Insignia Development, the project’s developer. “That’s a driving force in people’s decision making. People today think, ‘Wouldn’t it be nice to raise our own kids the way we grew up, running around the neighborhood with our friends?’ Well, in Martin Farms, they can. Parents don’t have to pile the kids in the car and drive around all day. They have access to all these amenities right outside their front door.”

Recognizing that this sense of community and family values ties right into Iconoculture’s Macrotrends, Sebold asked all nine Martin Farms builders to apply and showcase these trends in a select room inside their model home. The operative word is “inside”; the impending Minnesota winter prevented builders from using their home’s exterior as a “trend canvas.” This “Ultimate Room” tour will be open to the public on Thursdays through Sundays from noon until six p.m. beginning April 2 (see www.martinfarmsotsego.com for more details).

Consciously integrating trends—and their underlying values—into home designs is a win-win situation for both builders and consumers. “Iconoculture’s work is valuable to builders because it focuses on how people make buying decisions,” explains Nancy Schoenwetter of JMS Custom Homes, a participating builder. “As builders, we get caught up in what everybody else is doing and what we think are the latest trends. A lot of that focus tends to be on decorating items. But Macrotrends aren’t just about paint color or maple versus oak cabinets, they’re about identifying values like performance, quality, innovation, and style. They’re about making homeowners’ lives easier, more enjoyable, and less time consuming.”

Take the Artisan Macrotrend, which focuses on heritage and nostalgia. “From a builder’s perspective,” says Schoenwetter, “we’re thinking, ‘What can we incorporate into a home that gives people the feeling of being connected to the past?’ Some of those things are rich use of color, natural products like tile and granite countertops, and faux painting to perhaps remind them of grandma’s house. Creating a feeling of old-world charm is one of the factors driving some people’s purchasing decisions.”

JMS Custom Homes’ featured trend room is the master bath. The convenience of closing the door on the outside world and luxuriating in a personal spa retreat is a pillar of the Ready. Set. Go! Macrotrend. The Artisan Macrotrend is brought to life by the warm colors of the tile and floor materials. Torquing is represented by motion-detection faucets and state-of-the-art shower system and whirlpool tub.

Christian Builders’ trend room is the kitchen. Project facilitator Gretchen Hempel and her team got into the Macrotrends spirit by consulting with a chef from Kitchen Window (a kitchen specialty shop in Calhoun Square in Minneapolis’ Uptown area) and conducting consumer focus groups. “If not for Iconoculture’s presentation, we wouldn’t have spent as much time on our kitchen design,” says Hempel. “It was helpful to get input from our target audience as well as an expert’s advice on how to begin.”

After hearing from homeowners that they didn’t want to have to trudge downstairs or out to the garage while entertaining, Christian Builders added a refrigerator/freezer to the pantry, making sure it was wide enough to hold large serving trays. Based on the feedback they collected, Hempel and her team also added a second sink and went with a one-level, nine-foot-long kitchen island. “A single-level, longer island is ideal for entertaining a large group,” says Hempel. “It provides a place for everyone to sit when they’re congregating in the kitchen, whether they’re preparing food or eating buffet style.”

Iconoculture also preached the importance of open spaces, which led Christian Builders to separate the dining area from the living room by carpet, hardwood, and a three-sided fireplace. “Creating room definitions through floor lines and ceiling heights rather than through walls creates nice open spaces,” says Hempel. “The dining room naturally extends into the living room, which allows the homeowner to seat a lot more people.”

The Martin Farms “Ultimate Room” Tour list:
• JMS Custom Homes’ (master bath)
• Christian Builders’ (kitchen)
• Wayne Homes (exercise room)
• Boese Homes (laundry room, closet, home office)
• Keyland Homes (kitchen)
• Northwoods Custom Homes (kid’s room)
• KRJ Homes (garage)
• Stellar Homes (living room/great room/home office)
• Medalist Homes (lower level rec/family room)

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