Schumacher Homes, a Canton, Ohio-based company that claims to be America’s largest custom on-your-lot home builder, has released its list of the top custom home design trends the company predicts for 2012.

“We expect that the trends … will be our biggest requests in 2012, as well as the growing trend toward more casual, family-focused living,” says Paul Schumacher, CEO of Schumacher Homes, which has been building custom homes for nearly 20 years.

The 10 trends were compiled from some of the most popular design features buyers were asking for in 2011, Schumacher says. The top three most requested items from the list include bonus rooms; screened porches/outdoor living space; and in-law suites/multi-generational living.

Bonus rooms, the builder says, are popular with two groups—“young, growing families, because they allow a homeowner to shift the purpose of the room as their family grows up; and older home buyers, who may be planning for a space that can fit grandkids when they come to visit.” An in-law suite, the builder says, is popular with more-established homeowners who may be just now able to afford to build their dream home and are planning for aging parents.

“People who are building now are making more of the footprint of a new home and are transitioning space to meet multiple needs,” Schumacher says. “Many of the trends we predict for 2012 help customers make the most of their space so they get more out of their investment.”

Though it may seem odd that energy efficiency options and features are not on the list, the reason is that Schumacher considers efficiency to have transcended “trend” status. His company makes energy efficient building a standard feature in all of its homes. “The list compiled is optional upgrades and the physical changes people make to plans that are visible,” he says.

Here are the 10 trends the company says will be most popular with buyers next year.

Learn more about markets featured in this article: Canton, OH.