Stanton Homes - Building Green in the Triangle

New Homes Raleigh NC

Kitchen Island Styles

New Home Trends and Ideas for the Kitchen

A kitchen island can be an integral part of your new home kitchen design.  When designed correctly, a kitchen island can work well in an extra large or extra small kitchen.

Islands can be accessed from all sides, which makes them ideal for both workspaces and storage.

A kitchen island can feature display shelves, drawers, and cabinetry. 

Kitchen islands can be a beautiful feature in luxury homes or affordable custom homes. 

The style, size, and design depend on both taste and budget. 

Looking to keep your kitchen costs down?  Consider an island with one bank of full cabinets, with a great seating area.

Add some pendant lighting to emphasize this focal point of the kitchen.

In some kitchens, the island can provide the majority of the counter space.

Guests and family can be seated around the kitchen island while meals are prepared.

Homework routines can even revolve around the kitchen island - it's easy to answer those math questions while chopping vegetables!

Thinking of moving the kitchen sink to your kitchen island? 

Here's some thoughts to consider:

- Is there enough room for the dishwasher next to the sink (both depth and width)?

- Can the dishwasher open comfortably, with room to walk around?

- Is there room to include a pull out garbage bin/recycle center?

- Can the silverware be stored near the dishwasher?

- Is it possible to use dual height counters to better hide those dirty dishes?

Want to use the kitchen island mainly for food prep?

Keep these thoughts in mind:

- Are there outlets for small appliances?

- Is the refrigerator and cooktop conveniently close?

- Do you want a prep sink?

- Should you consider a butcher block counter?

Looking to cook at the kitchen island?

You'll want to talk to your builder about:

- Countertop materials: should it be heat resistant for ease of cooking with hot pans?

- Is there at least 18 inches of counterspace on either side of the range or cooktop?

- Can an overdraft hood be added, or is a downdraft cooktop required?  What is the additional cost versus a typical range or cooktop?

- Should a raised eating area be included?

Will you dine frequently at the kitchen island?

Discuss your options for informal dining at the kitchen island.

- How many can you seat comfortably at the island?

- Should stools be tucked away when not in use?

- How much will seating limit your storage options?

- What height should the island be?  Do you want two heights?

Your new kitchen island design should reflect your taste, be fully functional, and be ready for multiple uses and plenty of storage.

Talk to your builder about your ideas for your kitchen island design.  Bring pictures of what you have in mind.  Your builder will help you decide what's right for you, based on budget, size of kitchen, traffic flow, and much more!

More new home design ideas:

Top Trends in New Homes | Smaller, Cozier, and More Cost Effective!

Top 10 Master Bathroom Trends - Ideas You're Going to Love!

Top 9 New Home Features in '09 - What To Look For! Raleigh NC Home Builders Top Tips

"Green" Countertop Options | Green Kitchen Countertops in Your New Home

New Home Trends

Top Trends in New Homes

Today's Homes are Smaller, Cozier, and More Energy Efficient

Here's what homebuyers and builders are focusing on in today's new home market! 

- Focus on Smaller Homes

Many builders are shifting from a focus on homes in the 2500 to 3500 sq ft range to homes mainly in the 1600 to 2500 sq ft range.  The average and median square footage in new homes has dropped for the first time in many years.  Smaller homes cost less too!

- "Great Room" Instead of Formals

More homebuyers are looking for a "Great Room" concept - one large room adjoining the kitchen for entertaining and everyday living, instead of a smaller Family Room and Living Room.

- Fewer Volume Ceilings

9 foot ceilings are still fairly standard on the first floor, but there is a decreased demand for vaulted or two story ceilings.  A floor plan that offers a two story room can be "expanded" for very little cost, with a bonus room or game room added over the family room.

- More Focus on Floor Plan, Less Focus on Features

Homebuyers and home builders are opting out of many of the expensive options they were more likely to choose a couple of years ago, in order to keep overall costs in line.

- More Elaborate Kitchens, But Smaller Dining Rooms

The kitchen has become a focal point of the home.  We cook, entertain, and even eat here, at large islands and seating areas.  In some homes, the formal dining room disappears altogether, replaced perhaps with a home office.

- Three Car Garages

There has been more demand for larger garages, but space can get creative to save on cost.  Tandem garages, where one car parks behind another, can save on the cost of an additional door, and might be more cost effective to build.   Or garages may have a "workshop" or "storage" area or extension.

- Energy Efficiency

According to several recent surveys, many homebuyers are willing to spend anywhere from $5,000 to $11,000 or more to make sure that their monthly energy costs are much lower.  ENERGY STAR and the Energy Wise program both offer lower energy costs.  Energy Wise guarantees 50-70% savings on heating and cooling.

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Looking for a new home?  You may want to check out some of these other ideas!

Staircases - Ideas For Your New Staircase

Geothermal Becoming More Affordable - How the Tax Credits Work

How Much Does a Septic System Cost?  Tips to Keeping Your Lot Affordable

Butlers Pantries - Why You've Gotta Have One (and what is a butler's pantry, anyway?)

Fireplace Surrounds - Types and Trends

Meet the Builder Special Event

5 Easy Steps to Buying a Lot or Land

Top 10 Master Bath Trends 

Stanton Homes Offers Up to the Minute Updates - Right at Home

We're so excited!

Thanks to Feedburner, Stanton Homes now offers a blog feed right on our website.  It's clean, neat, and full of all of our favorite topics and top requested articles.

We've worked very hard to put together topics that are interesting, useful, and ORIGINAL.

Topics include:

• New Home Ideas and Design Trends
• Green Building
• Accessible Homes
• New Home Communities, Lots and Land in the Triangle
• Floor Plan Ideas and Trends
• Raleigh Area Market Reports

and much more!

Here are some related links:

Today's Ceilings Make Statements - Types of Ceilings and Questions to Ask Before Buying Your Next Home

New Home Trends and Ideas - What's the Latest?

Energy Wise - Find Out How to Save 50 to 70% on Heating and Cooling Costs!

5 Steps to Buying a Lot  

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Top 5 Articles - Stanton Homes Favorites!  

Thinking of building or buying a new home?  Check out the top 5 hottest topics for home buyers!

The things that matter most to today's home buyers can be found in the Stanton Home articles requested and read most often. Take a look at the top 5 most popular topics we're seeing in today's home building market.

New Home Trend #1: Types of Ceilings

Learn basic definitions for all kinds of ceiling treatments commonly found in custom homes, starting in very affordable price points.

New Home Trend #2:  Building an "In Law Suite" Home

Mom wants to live with you?  Not a problem!  There's plenty of space in mother in law suite homes designed or modified by Stanton Homes. 

New Home Trend #3:  Wood or Concrete Front Porch, Which is Better?

Front porches are very popular features for custom homes.  The "wood or concrete" debate keeps getting attention - which one is your favorite?

New Home Trend #4:  Comparing Cost of Main Floor Master Suite Homes

More and more homeowners are thinking ahead to retirement, or simply looking to avoid stairs.  Find out how a first floor master bedroom affects the cost of your new home.

New Home Trend #5:  Grey Water Systems - How They Work  

I was surprised to see this as one of the top topics, but the interest in green building continues to grow. 

Energy Wise is another growing trend - we've just completed a 2800+ sq ft home that GUARANTEES a monthly heating and cooling cost of only $80, about 35% of typical cost!!!

Don't see your favorite topic?  Let us know - we're working on more educational articles all the time!

Contact us with questions about building or buying your new custom home in North Carolina.

Or sign up for our monthly newsletter for more great tips on new home trends and ideas, with a special focus on the Raleigh NC area.

Other recent articles you may be interested in:

Butlers Pantries - Why You've Gotta Have One (and what is a butler's pantry, anyway?)

Fireplace Surrounds - Types and Trends

Meet the Builder Special Event

5 Easy Steps to Buying a Lot or Land

Top 10 Master Bath Trends 

We were recently asked this question:  "I like this floor plan, but am concerned about noise between the living and bedroom areas.  What are my options?"

As an increasing number of families are considering one story and main floor master bedroom homes, the end result is that master bedrooms are moving closer to living spaces.  Not a problem in most cases.  There's easy access for midnight snacks, no stairs to climb...  But what if spouses have very different habits?

Noise inside the master bedroom can be a major concern if one spouse works night shifts while the other works days.   Noise is also a consideration when one spouse is a night owl while the other is an early bird!  Here are some options to provide everyone with the best quality of sleep possible.

1.   Add some insulation. 

Interior walls of a home are not normally insulated.  The first, and least expensive, option would be to install R-13 insulation in the walls between the sleeping and living areas.   This will reduce sound levels, but will not eliminate sound.

2.   Increase wall size.

Secondly, the interior walls can be expanded from a 2x4 framing system to a 2x6 framing system, and R19 insulation can be installed.  This is a middle ground from both a cost and sound barrier perspective.

3.   Use top-of-the-line foam to fill it all in.

A third option is to install a solid foam insulation in the barrier walls.  Polyisocyanurate spray foam is a newer technology being used in upper end Green Homes.  Because it is a spray foam insulation, it expands to cover every crack and crevice, creating the most effective sound barrier.  Additional caulking can also be used to cover any small gaps between framing materials.

4.   Or try one of these other options.

Insulation is not the only way to reduce sound transmission, it is simply the most cost effective, however the installation of party walls, and/or dual layer drywall with sound channel are also common options for sound control.  There are far more elaborate systems which will completely deaden sound but most are excessive for bedroom noise transmision.

You may also be interested in these popular articles:

Today's Ceilings Make Statements - Types of Ceilings and Questions to Ask Before Buying Your Next Home

New Home Trends and Ideas - What's the Latest?

Energy Wise - Find Out How to Save 50 to 70% on Heating and Cooling Costs!

5 Steps to Buying a Lot