In 2021, creating an office space inside the home was one of the hottest new trends in remodeling because COVID-19 forced more people to work from home. This trend of working from home appears to have caught hold in the workforce as companies are desperate for employees, so this year, I expect in-home office remodeling to be very popular with homeowners.
Many times, necessity will force trends in housing. For example, the past couple of years as more people started working from home, the need for office space in the home multiplied. This year, inflation in food and housing is putting a big strain on family budgets, especially discretionary income. Therefore, in my view, 2022 could be the year of the kitchen and dining area remodels as many homeowners decide that eating out is just too expensive. Let’s face it we all love going out for a meal, but it is much cheaper to cook at home than to take the family out to a restaurant.
This trend of eating at home is a throwback to decades ago when families and couples would have dinner parties at their home, and guests would bring side dishes and desserts. One thing to understand, this is not just about the kitchen, it’s also about the dining room. If you look at many homes from the 1950s to 1990s, it was a standard feature in the design to have a dining room in the home. As trends changed in America, builders started to cutdown dining room areas and focused more on entertainment rooms or bedrooms. If indeed the home dinner party is about to have a resurgence, then dining room areas will have to be created, but that is where there may be a modern twist, especially in Florida.
The dining room area can be inside or outside in Florida, and many homeowners may choose to create outside dining space under covered lanais, pool areas, or decks. Homeowners with smaller homes will probably opt for an outside space while those with larger homes will seek to convert existing space to multifunctioning space which includes room for dinning. Homeowners with plenty of money and space could start bringing back the trend of a formal dining area for larger dinner parties.
Once the dining area has been figured out, homeowners will focus on making the kitchen a more resourceful place to feed numerous guests. Modern technology with larger appliances will surely help, but ample cabinet and counter space is a must. Many kitchens will have to be redesigned to incorporate storage solutions like sliding racks and adjustable shelving. There cannot be dead space in kitchen cabinets if the homeowner plans to entertain more guests.
There are four major benefits of remodeling your home’s kitchen and dining space:
A remodeled kitchen is the one area of the home that has been shown to add real resale value to the home time and time again. It is a good investment.
A beautiful kitchen and dining area provide the wow factor that many homeowners desire.
A huge benefit is you can control the cost of dinner parties and still have a wonderful time. The money you save in restaurant bills can help pay for the remodel.
Finally, learning to cook delicious, gourmet meals is the hottest trend going these days. It is a blast learning to cook.
If eating out has become too expensive for you, start looking at your home and see how you can create the kitchen and dining areas that suit all of your needs. In most cases, the cost of the project depends on how nice of space you want to create.
Don Magruder is the CEO of Ro-Mac Lumber & Supply, Inc., and he is also the host of the “Around the House” Show which can be seen at AroundtheHouse.TV.