Houses are like trees: their age is revealed by the layers that accumulate within them.
You can walk into most homes and tell which decade they were built in based on their floorplans, features and fittings. Trends that were once smart and hip grow old and tired. Taste and lifestyle pendulums swing.
Hardwood was covered by linoleum that was covered by carpet that years later was pulled up to reveal hardwood. Walls were demolished to create open floorplans, then later rebuilt to create separate living spaces. Big bathrooms, big kitchens, big closets—each had their time to shine and then fade.
We built a house from the ground up a few years ago, and even at the time I knew every design decision we made would someday scream “2018!” Nine-foot ceilings. Six-inch baseboards. Warm gray walls. Recessed LED ceiling lights. Plastic rocker power switches. USB and HDMI ports. Floors of laminated hardwood, concrete tile, and “luxury” vinyl.
It’s a very nice house that is inescapably of its time.
Our insight from that process is that you don’t design a home for unknowable fashions yet to come or to maximize its future resale value. You design it for the life you want to live. Now. Ideally, you build in enough flexibility to change with the times—walls can be repainted, floors can be redone—but its bones should be timeless enough to last. If its next owners find it old-fashioned, they’re welcome to reshape it to their own needs and taste.
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