Mark Danuser of Tatum Brown Custom Homes Breaks Down Custom Home Trends for 2014

Constantly at the top of the region’s best builders list, and a CandysDirt.com Approved Builder, Tatum Brown Custom Homes are known for their quality and longevity. Founder Mark Danuser works hard to bring great design, excellent materials, and top-notch workmanship to his customers, which are some of the most fiercely loyal in the industry.

Danuser, who has built homes for the creme de la creme of North Texas, knows how to build a home that will capitalize on the latest technology while still producing the timeless structures for which his brand is known. We asked Mark to tell us what prospective custom home clients will see as emerging home building trends in 2014.

“Clients are moving toward a fully functional home – one that works for the way they live every day and for how they entertain,” Danuser said. “Formal living rooms are still on floor plans, but they’re becoming a useable space – often more open to other areas of the home.”

Besides creating multi-functional spaces, decor will have to become more flexible, too, and perhaps even more casual to allow for spaces that serve as hubs for guests.

“We’ve seen a lot of clients move away from the traditional home theater rooms as well, preferring to have multi-use spaces suitable for entertaining and televisions in all common areas, including outdoors,” Danuser added.

While we were seeing the grand double-staircase foyer as a huge trend just a few years ago, Danuser believes homeowners will forego these impact-making additions and choosing to focus space and resources toward the living and entertaining areas.

“Recently, we’ve done several homes with staircases located away from the front entry or homes with a single staircase,” Danuser said. “Our clients are getting more creative with the stair railings as well – cantilevered stairs, mixtures of materials like glass and iron, interesting railing designs, etc.”

And more homeowners are choosing to simplify when it comes to design, too. Danuser says that clean, simple lines continue to dominate. “We’ve seen a big push for all things natural and lighter – from raw beams on the ceiling to sealed-only wood floors with no stain,” he said.

And homes that are easy to care for are a big trend, too, as low-maintenance materials and finishes are coming back in a big way. “Where the trend was all marble for many years, our clients are now asking for materials like quartz that don’t require constant upkeep,” Danuser said. “This is especially true in kitchens.”

That’s excellent news, especially as homebuyers are looking for well-constructed homes that will look brand new for years to come.