Lighting and Storage: Underrated Housing Design Opportunities

Lighting and storage showed up unexpectedly in 5 of our 11 recent consumer home design surveys.

Lighting

Builders, designers, and architects need to focus more on lighting for these 4 reasons: 

1. Home offices need great light. Consumers asked for more natural light, better window placement (not behind the desk), and/or improved artificial lighting.

(New Home Trends Institute members can read more here)

2. Bathroom lighting needs to be fantastic. Great lighting is a favorite feature of 1 in 5 homeowners—the second highest ranking bathroom element, after the shower.

3. Smart-tech lighting has a huge adoption potential. 52% of homeowners say they would buy smart lighting products now or in the future.

4. Thoughtful lighting promotes health, from mental health to better sleep. 76% of consumers focus more on their health today than they did one year ago, and great sleep has become a significant trend.

For architects, we suggest devoting even more attention to home placement and layouts, both of which play a role in natural lighting.

For lighting companies, we suggest creating more “value line” lighting products. Value engineering is on the rise and architectural designers prioritize look and feel when selecting lighting.

Storage

Builders, designers, and architects need to focus more on great storage for these 3 reasons:

1. Bathroom storage can make or break the sale. A lack of sufficient storage rises to the top of the “dealbreakers” list for all life stages except Mature Singles and Couples, who deemed storage less troublesome than the lack of a walk-in shower.

2. Kitchen storage has become more critical. When asked what advice they would give to someone designing a kitchen, homeowners’ #1 tip was to include enough storage.

(New Home Trends Institute members can read more here)

3. Home offices need more storage too. Homeowners cite discontent with their home workspace when there is not sufficient storage space to pack everything up at the end of the day or keep a clean background for video calls.

(New Home Trends Institute members can read more here)

If you would like to learn more design trends or the latest in lighting, contact Deana Vidal for a copy of her recent presentation to the American Lighting Association.

Contact Deana Vidal or our other team members for more insight into consumer, home design, and building product trends.