One of the most significant advantages of building a custom home is that you don’t have to settle for someone else’s design choices. Imagining a home that is definitively personal—from floor plans to finishes and color palettes—makes the custom home process unique. Although you have the ultimate control over what to include, there are overarching trends that custom home builders are seeing in 2024. 

Here is a list of some of the most compelling of these trends.  

Impressive Entries: One-story homes are common in Florida, but a soaring entranceway can dramatically enhance the elegance of a multi-story home. Two-story foyers are a sophisticated trend that showcases expansive space, artistic chandeliers, or sweeping staircases. 

First-Floor Master Suites: Many people retire in Florida, and others have plans to move their parents in one day. Building a master bedroom on the first floor is a wise investment for the future. Understanding that mobility issues may make climbing stairs difficult one day, having a bedroom suite on the first floor makes future renovation unnecessary. 

Mudrooms:  Florida rainstorms can be impressive, and preventing water and mud from entering the home can be difficult. Mudrooms are a strategic solution that allows homeowners to ditch wet or muddy shoes, clothing, or bags before walking through the main living area. Adding extra storage or building individual lockers enables each family member to change if necessary. The mudroom is also a practical location to hang leashes and clean off muddy paws before your dog heads inside – in fact, many mudrooms include a complete dog washing station.

Game Rooms: Whether you love online gaming, watching movies, or playing arcade games, old-school game rooms are once again trendy in residential homes. While the games may have evolved, the concept is the same – build a space that accommodates your favorite pastimes, with room for family and friends to relax. Add features like a rock-climbing wall or in-home theater for a more immersive recreational experience. 

Home Offices: Although the inclusion of a home office may not seem especially innovative, the concept has definitely matured. After the workplace paradigm shift of the last several years, more people are interested in designing a truly functional home office that isn’t just a spare room with a desk. These offices are designed with high-speed video capabilities, great lighting, ergonomic furniture, and plenty of bandwidth to handle changing remote office needs. 

Private Seating Areas: In open floorplan homes, the bedroom can be one of the few genuinely private areas. Creating a sanctuary within the bedroom is becoming the norm, with seating areas being one of the most popular additions. Whether a small alcove or a small, connected room, these areas allow for reading, listening to music, or binging TV – whatever constitutes personal relaxation. 

Spa Bathrooms: Private bathrooms in the master bedroom have been the norm for decades, but the recent trend toward opulent luxury is undeniable. Whether radiant flooring, multiple rainforest showerheads, or surround sound, the luxury spa bathroom is here to stay. Evolving trends include shower rooms, sauna rooms, and stand-alone vintage tubs. 

Statement Cabinets: The kitchen is the most frequented room in the home, especially now that the kitchen is often combined with dining and living spaces. As one of the most dominant features in that space, the cabinet design is undergoing a creative renaissance – that is, homeowners are stepping outside the conventional options and choosing colors and finishes that reflect their personal aesthetic. Eliminating upper cabinets that are difficult to reach and adding a storage island or walk-in butler’s pantry is another kitchen trend. 

Smart Kitchens: Smart technology has been increasingly proliferating in home design, and the kitchen is the latest room to benefit. Smart kitchen tech facilitates meal planning and preparation, allows kids to browse the refrigerator without opening the door, and includes motion-activated lights and faucets. 

Elevated Outdoor Spaces:  Floridians love the outdoors, and that includes enjoying views and sunsets from our own back porch. Like many of the items on this list, the concept of the outdoor kitchen or entertaining space is not new, but the trend is toward increasingly luxurious and sophisticated settings. From striking stone fireplaces to gourmet kitchen facilities, these are far beyond your parent’s backyard patio.

Custom Home Design: It’s Up to You 

If you buy a tract home, you have limited input on the design details that define the home’s style. Building a custom home, however, allows future homeowners to allocate available budget dollars toward the features that are most important to them.

At Bruce Williams Homes, we have worked closely with clients for five decades and arecommitted to bringing each vision to life. If you want to build a custom home in Sarasota or Manatee County, we are the only call you need to make. 

Check out our gallery of custom homes here.