At 4,181 square feet, this year’s New American Home at the 2012 NAHB International Builders’ Show is the small model home in years. That’s not by accident, either.
Every year, the New American Home is created nearby IBS to demonstrate all of the latest and greatest trends in building and design, not the least of which is the shrinking home. Now, “small” hardly comes to mind with a home of this stature, but as you’ll see in the video, this year’s model reflects the growing distance between modern homeowners and the McMansions of the aughts.
Instead, builders and architects are putting a greater emphasis on multifunctional rooms and dynamic floor plans, bidding adieu to more traditional and unnecessary areas of the home. (See: the formal dining room.)
One thing is for sure: The New American Home is smaller and smarter than ever before. If the 2012 model home is any indication, the big, burly brutes of yesteryear are slowly being replaced by a more compact, hardworking homes chock full of technology, gadgetry and amenities — a pretty fair compromise, don’t you think?
