Construction Companies Need Pinterest

I was reading a post at The Inspired Room the other day and looking at all the gorgeous pictures Melissa had posted from Pinterest that she uses as style ideas.

It occurred to me, not for the first time, that it isn't really housewives, designers and DIY-ers who need to be browsing Pinterest - it's construction companies and property flippers! There are houses of every shape, size and style saved on Pinterest style boards but they all seem to share a few significant features. Ironically, none of those features are typically within the scope of DIY-ers and designers - they are all things that should be factored into a house from Day One.

Here are my pointers for construction companies (or anyone else) looking to build/ renovate properties that will get snapped up and held onto fiercely:

1. Big Windows - and lots of them!

You cannot miss the fact that nearly all the rooms drooled over and tacked up for inspiration have huge (and/or multiple) windows through which natural light floods into a room. Nothing you do ever really compensates for the cave-like gloom that results from a lack of natural light.

Modern technology has made available windows appropriate for every climate, location and style, so let's start paying attention to light patterns and weather trends. Sunlight has antiseptic and anti-depressive properties that are free for the taking - so let's see more windows!


2. Entry ways and mudrooms - they're not optional.

If you're ever lived in a house lacking a proper entryway, you know how seriously inconvenient it is to deal with every day. There's no excuse for houses anywhere to not have a functional entryway.

It doesn't have to be huge or glamorous, but main entries to a house need some kind of functional space for organizing shoes, purses, backpacks, dog leashes, umbrellas, keys - the paraphernalia of every day life. Opening directly into the living room? Postage stamp sized tile squares and tiny closets that end up behind the open front door? Unacceptable.

3. The era of wall to wall carpeting has passed. 
An overwhelming number of homeowners favor wood, tile and other durable, flexible surfaces for the main flooring in their homes. Between a rise in allergies to dust, pet dander and other debris easily trapped in carpets and the need for spaces to often pull double duty (a home office tucked into a family/ guest room, for example), families are looking for functional, easily updated options like bare floors and area rugs. Start with hard wood and real tile and you can't go wrong.

4. Storage solutions are a must.

Despite trends toward simplification and anti-consumerism, modern families have more STUFF than any previous generation. Even great, important stuff - bikes, sports equipment, healthy food, books - takes up space! Homeowners are endlessly creative when it comes to carving out spaces to store things, but a little forethought and provision in the building process for easy storage would go a long way. (I've never heard of anyone being disappointed by too much storage, have you?)


What would you like to see home designers/flippers take into account?