By Madoline Markham Koonce
Wondering what the latest trends are in home design? You can see them for yourself at this year’s Parade of Homes April 26-28 and May 3-5.
The tour will feature more than 56 homes built by 22 builders in 15 communities across Birmingham and at Lake Martin.
“It’s an opportunity for the builders and suppliers and tradespeople to showcase not only new homes but also trends and new features,” said Scott Underwood, this year’s Parade of Homes chairman and owner of Centennial Homes.
In addition to new houses available for purchase, this year’s tour will also showcase at least one remodel and two new houses available for rent.
“Whether you are renting or buying or remodeling, this is an opportunity to get out there and check it out,” Underwood said.
Each home will have at least one innovative feature, be it trim work, an outdoor living space, or unusual kitchen or bathroom features.
As examples of what home building trends you will see on the Parade of Homes tour, Underwood described features of his company’s two houses, one in The Preserve in Hoover and one on Lake Martin.
Outdoor Living Areas
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, homeowners have been investing more in outdoor living spaces with not only porches but also outdoor kitchens, fireplaces and other amenities.
“We are so hectic and in a hurry all the time, so people are looking to have a place to go and relax,” Underwood said. “It’s great to be outside.”
Underwood said he’s also seeing a lot more swimming pools as a part of new builds post-COVID. Centennial’s Lake Martin build, for example, has a custom splash pool with an infinity edge and a waterfall, all with a sound system surrounding it. It has two outdoor fireplaces on its porches that extend the outdoor season into cooler weather.
High-End Appliances
In kitchens, gas ranges that look more like commercial kitchen appliances are popular, and both of Centennial’s homes feature Thermador appliances in their kitchen, with the one at Lake Martin featuring a range with six burners, a griddle and two ovens.
Underwood is also seeing more homes designed with full-size “column” freezers and refrigerators in kitchens.
“They look great and have a lot more space,” Underwood said.
Furniture-Like Cabinets
Both kitchen and bathroom cabinets are now designed for more than just storage functionality. They also look more like furniture to create more interest, with a mix of colors, textures and door styles. This is especially important in open-concept kitchen designs where the cabinets are such a prominent design feature.
In Centennial’s home at The Preserve, its lower kitchen cabinets, for example, are painted a shade of white with its upper cabinets a natural stained wood to add texture and interest to the design, and in the master bathroom, the cabinets are reeded style and painted a warmer white tone.
“I got to see it a few days ago and it’s beautiful,” Underwood said.
In Centennial’s lake house, the cabinets feature blues, greens, grays and dark grays in different spaces.
Stand-Out Showers
Showers in new builds are also about far more than functionality, although that’s certainly important, too. Both of Centennials’ master bathroom showers feature two showerheads, one a rain head and one a body sprayer, with hardware in a mix of metals and black.
“Hardware on these showers is not just utility anymore, it’s beautiful hardware,” Underwood said.
Accent Paints and Wallpaper
Darker, moodier paint colors are trending in home design and are often used on accent walls and other places to pop in the house.
For example, Centennial’s home at The Preserve has greenish gray paint on a feature wall with a window seat in an upstairs bedroom. Their Lake Martin home features dark-painted shiplap walls in its basement as well as a powder bathroom with dark paint below a chair wall and wallpaper above it.
Likewise, wallpaper is also trending as an accent in homes. Centennial’s home in The Preserve, for example, features wallpaper in the dining room and in parts of the kitchen.
Natural Stone Fireplaces
Underwood said that Centennial is using stone for fireplaces in both Parade of Homes houses. The lake house features a natural rock fireplace with a limestone hearth, and in The Preserve, the fireplace is a Texas limestone fireplace with an Indian limestone hearth and mantle.
“We are doing a lot of limestone now,” Underwood said. “Now you don’t have to pick a fireplace surround out of a magazine that looks like everyone else’s. You can custom design it and and have it cut so each one is unique.”
Innovative Technology
A new build isn’t complete without the right wiring for 2024, and Underwood said Centennial is wiring homes for what residents want, whether it’s whole house sound or security cameras.
“We are hard wiring in wireless internet access points,” Underwood said. “It looks more like a smoke detector on the ceiling.”
From kitchen appliances to hard wiring in the walls to paint colors, you’re sure to find thoughtful home design elements in this year’s Parade of Homes to inspire your current or future home.
Parade homes will be open April 26-28 and May 3-5. Fridays and Saturdays, they will be open 10 a.m.-6 p.m., and Sundays they will be open noon-6 p.m. For more information, visit birminghamparadeofhomes.com.
