Even though Americans typically spend about 90% of every day indoors, a connection with nature has become increasingly more important for home buyers during the past few years. In fact, “view” was the second most searched term on Realtor.com from January to February. And according to the New Homes Trend Institute, an indoor-outdoor connection is predicted to be the largest nonfinancial influence over home design choices during the next three years.
Finding attractive ways to provide home buyers with that desired connection to nature without disrupting build schedules, blowing budgets, and creating more supply chain frustrations can be tough, but there are ways to include the biophilic ambience through standardized design elements.
“Builders are reducing the amount of structural options that are available just to keep things simple, but indoor-outdoor living is not one of them,” says Erick Felsch, director of production builder sales for made-in-the-USA Western Window Systems.
Some of the easier-to-include options are incorporating natural textures like wood, opening up views, and increasing natural light with larger moving glass doors and windows, as well as utilizing HVAC systems, filters, and air purifiers that improve indoor air quality.
Natural Finishes
Providing the look of nature inside a home through material selection can be an easy way to satisfy a home buyer’s desire for a feel of indoor-outdoor living while they spend most of their time inside.
Real estate agents report that homes with hardwood floors are easier to sell and close by up to 10% more than identical homes without them. Plus, the National Association of Realtors reports that more than half of buyers are willing to pay more for homes with wood flooring, and wood floors in the main living area are in the top 10 of NAHB’s “What Home Buyers Really Want” report.
But builders aren’t limited to just hardwood to achieve the natural look. With today’s realistic-looking options in luxury vinyl planks and tiles, there’s a schedule-friendly, durable, and affordable solution that’s standardized and offers a range of choice in colors and sizes.
Opening up Views
Providing a visual connection to nature and creating opportunities for more natural light with more and larger windows, patio doors, and moving glass panels are other ways to offer a link to nature inside a home.
“Builders are continuing to incorporate more windows and more doors into their homes, which is based on the wants and needs of the homeowner,” says Felsch.
According to a survey by Discover Financial Services, 62% of homeowners planning improvement projects want to enhance their homes’ health and safety features. Plus, A Healthier Home survey found that 66% were concerned that their home may be negatively impacting their health. So the health benefits of natural light and views that help decrease cortisol, improve cognition and memory, and reduce risks of Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure can be enticing.
And with product innovation, what was once only a high-end custom option, large-format moving glass that physically opens up a wall or an entire corner of a room to the outdoors, is becoming part of some production builders' offerings, including Toll Brothers and Richmond America.
“We are making it easier and more attainable to have large door openings by standardizing the products,” says Felsch. “Western has standardized the glass sizes so that it costs less, it’s a more practical price point, and it also decreases lead times so that they stay within the build schedule. It becomes more of a standard for homeowners as an improvement to their lifestyle and their health.”
From bi-fold options to corner multi-slides that seamlessly slide into pockets with a ¾-inch profile that some builders integrate into the substrate or slab so that it virtually disappears, moving glass physically offers grander views of nature while providing the option to open up a home to an outdoor area. They increase the sense of space and perceived livable area while also adding to the value of a home.
“Eight to 10 years ago, I don't think you would have seen one of these doors in Massachusetts or Connecticut, and today they're readily available,” says Felsch. Plus, the company is working to introduce a screen panel to work with the glass doors, and the company’s custom options are “only limited by the elements that we use to make the door systems.”
Indoor Air Quality
Another way to provide more natural living is through improved indoor air quality with better venting systems, exhaust fans, filters, and air purifiers. While each of these is another cost to a builder’s bottom line, many products and systems aren’t difficult to include within a standard design and better indoor air quality is a motivator for home buyers.
About 75% of American home buyers surveyed by the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies say they are concerned about indoor air quality, and another recent survey found that indoor air quality is a priority for 81% of homeowners. It’s not surprising since the Environmental Protection Agency reports that concentrations of some pollutants are often two to five times higher indoors than what’s typically found outdoors.
The innovations in indoor air quality products mean there is a wide range to consider, including whole-house air exchangers, interior fans with high-rated MERV filters, and furnace filters that can be monitored on a smartphone.
The pandemic may have brought a new menu of challenges for building homes, from labor shortages and increased material costs, but the demand for indoor-outdoor living is an opportunity to make smart and strategic building product decisions to deliver what today’s home buyers truly desire.
To learn more about moving glass walls and windows that blend the indoors with the outside, head over to Western Window Systems.
