Creating memories and sharing a life with those most important is what home design is all about now. An inviting home is the latest custom home trend and there are many builders that are catching on and offering all the latest and greatest features to do just that.

Trends and Selections

Trends are ever-changing, there’s no denying that. What home buyers are looking for today combine both indoor and outdoor spaces to give the most entertaining domicile possible. Those employing builders for the latest custom home trends are looking for many things.

One of the biggest trends is outside! The outdoors includes entries, backyards and even courtyards. Builders say a courtyard or entrance can create a feeling of calm even before one steps inside. Yards feature outdoor fireplaces, cozy seats and calming water features like fountains and waterfalls. These areas can and do make an instant impression.

Outdoor entertainment is the sole purpose for the backyard. This includes resort-like pools, and things like outdoor kitchens and theaters. Kitchens include more than just a grill. Future homeowners want counter space, sinks and refrigerators. Basically, there should be everything one needs right outside with no need to go indoors for a single thing.

Indoor Elements

Whenever the weather doesn’t permit for outdoor fun, there are plenty of things indoors to entertain. Game rooms, home theaters, play rooms, and more are sought after according to latest custom home trends.

Game rooms may have billiards, football, video games and the like. Theaters have stadium style seating and popcorn machines coupled with a huge movie screen and all the best equipment for a complete experience.

Kitchens

Kitchens are changing much but still keeping some of the same trends seen in the past. For example, stainless appliances are still the best sellers but are very high tech. Many refrigerators have cameras affixed to the interior allowing owners to see inside the fridge before opening it and wasting energy searching. Plus, they are all programmable and very smart in that they can sense what food is inside and decide how long it should be heated for.

On the other hand, many kitchens are featuring fireplaces and brick ovens which bring an old world style warmth. In fact, fireplaces spread from outdoors, to the kitchen and even into the bathroom!

The Master Bath Escape

A master bath is now an escape that’s all about the owner. They are equipped with spa-like amenities such as soaking tubs, negative-edge bathtubs, rain shower heads, whirlpool tubs and more. Showers are also very oversized and feature smart settings such as steam to make an instant sauna.

Think luxury when designing a master bath. It’s “just” for the homeowner and is a sanctuary from the rest of the home.

Yoga and Meditation

With interest in holistic healing, many future homeowners are turning to the latest custom home trend of building a yoga or mediation studio of sorts where they can leave their cares behind and reconnect with simpler things. Instead of having a bedroom that sits vacant for guests, these rooms are made that feature elements of balance and things like piped nature sounds and candles.

Other common elements are large comfortable chairs, a library of healing books, massage tables and even an indoor Jacuzzi or water feature in some cases. This gives the homeowner a quiet place to unwind.

These are just some of the current trends in custom homes to consider if making the decision to build a home that suits the family and will hold plenty of value in the coming years.

“Do you think you will able to dine out on this experience with your friends in Brisbane?” I asked Jane who was visiting from Australia. She sat next to me, but I couldn’t see her as the room was pitch black, of the “can’t see your hand in front of your face” variety.

“Absolutely,” she replied.

Dine in the Dark is an innovative restaurant in Phnom Penh, Cambodia that creates the experience of what it is like to eat a meal as a blind person. Phones, watches and any other things that might produce light have to be surrendered into a locked box in the lobby. The meal choices are western, Khmer and vegetarian. Grant, Jane and I ordered Khmer. Nick – who is Khmer – opted for western. Then Joe, our waiter/guide, introduced himself. We later learned he went blind three years ago from chicken pox.

The manager had me put my hand on Joe’s shoulder and the others lined up behind me. No problem slowly making our way up the stairs behind Joe. Then we went through a heavy curtain. As it draped closed behind us we were in total darkness. My initial reaction was a touch of claustrophobia, but a few steps into the room the feeling subsided.

Joe escorted us to our table. “Sit down here,” he instructed me. I grouped around and couldn’t figure it out. Was it a bar stool I was feeling? No, it was the back of the chair. Once seated I felt around the table. A napkin with a spoon and knife on the right. The fork was to the left. “There is a water glass and one for wine,” Joe commented as he filled them both.

“There are actually two small tables put together,” I announced, pleased I was becoming more comfortable with the environment. “That makes sense as that way they can arrange them for different sized groups.”

Grant suggested we clink glasses in the middle of the table for cheers. Jane was a touch apprehensive at first, but Nick and I managed to connect. There is something about a toast that gives you a sense of accomplishment.

The first of the three courses of the set $18 menu arrived. Another part of the experience is that you don’t know what you are eating until the end of the meal when they show the photos on a tablet. Great salad. I insisted it was mango, as it is popular in the Kingdom of Wonder, as Cambodia is known. Wrong. It was actually milk fruit. Surprisingly I managed it without dropping it all over myself, Khmer style with a spoon and fork.

Next up was the main course. “Chicken, it has to be chicken.” That guess only got a mark of 50 percent as it was actually a small serving of chicken on rice and another one of beef on rice.

“It is interesting,” commented Grant, a retired doctor, “that it is totally dark, but I still see little flecks of white floating around.” The rest of us murmured out agreement. No point in nodding as nobody could see anyway.

Dessert was a bowl of fruit. “There is also more food on the plate,” said Grant. As I felt around I managed to get my fingers covered in syrup. I licked them as I couldn’t think of anything else to do, although I suppose I could have stuck them in my water glass.

Meal over we lined up behind Joe and were escorted us back into the world of the sighted. The sojourn into the world of the blind was an interesting experience, but you wouldn’t want to live there.