Here's a look at trends in floor plans from the San Diego Union-Tribune. One of them is outdoor living space:

According to a recent American Institute of Architects report, demand for outdoor living space has grown by 70 percent since 2013. San Diego home builders CalAtlantic Homes, Shea Homes, Pardee, Brookfield Residential, California West Communities, and Toll Brothers are among the developers that feature outdoor rooms in homes of almost every price range throughout the county.

To provide an indoor-outdoor living experience in denser markets, the use of rooftop decks is soaring, as found at Hallmark Communities’ 1125 South Cleveland project in Oceanside. Across the board, exterior spaces are taking shape as sizable outdoor rooms that are functional year-round and are as much a part of the home as its interior spaces. Shading and heating products as well as audio and video technology make it possible to extend entertaining spaces to the outdoors year-round, adding usable square footage to the home.

BUILDER also examines what's changing in how new-home builders design and market their floor plans in this recent story by Leah Demirjian.

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