Changeable designs, floor plans, or easily moved walls are popular features

Many homebuyers are looking for a house they can grow with, from their days as newlyweds through years with toddlers and teens — and then without them.

But often, walls get in the way.

That’s why flexible options have become popular in recent years, with architects and builders offering changeable floor plans or features such as pocket doors and easily moved walls so that homeowners can reconfigure the house as their needs change.

“This is a major purchase for most families,” said Darlene Williams of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. “They want the opportunity for the house to grow with their life cycle.”

Some builders are sticking with traditional options, such as plans with flexible bonus spaces above the garage, behind the house or in the basement.

At David Weekley Homes, a popular flex option is adding an extra half-story to ranch-style homes. That allows the space to transform from an attic to a game room, media room or playroom, said Len Rao, a division president.

Meanwhile, KB Homes has expanded its flex options into lower price ranges and offers framed-in vaulted ceilings in some homes so that buyers have a choice of adding an extra room in the space.

Others are focusing on smaller parts — especially doors.

Billy Ware, a Dallas architect, said one of the most popular options he’s found is a pair of barnlike sliding doors that close in the center. One in five clients wants the doors, he said, because they can stand up to 9 feet tall and allow owners to separate off a dining room for a small dinner party or expand it to entertain bigger groups.

Elsewhere in the home, between bedrooms and bathrooms, for example, pocket doors are an option for homeowners who don’t want solid walls or doors always in sight, Mr. Ware said.

In its 2007 concept home in Omaha, Neb., the Partnership for Advancing Technology in Housing focused on that type of flexibility. The home featured a collapsible wall by New York Wall Co. that could be assembled by two people in about an hour, said Ms. Williams, who oversees the housing program. It also incorporates wireless light switches, so that homeowners don’t have to remove walls to reconfigure their lighting — a big change from most systems.

Such options are expanding.

Last year, Jeld-Wen Windows & Doors debuted its folding door system, which looks like a series of connected French doors that fold up to completely open the area between a house and a patio.

And some faucet makers are starting to offer options that allow homeowners to change only the top part of the fixture — without having to reconnect all the plumbing underneath.

But Ms. Williams said the options are just beginning. Some builders are constructing homes with mechanical systems in floors instead of walls, which makes later removal of walls easier.

But buyers should ask about the options up front, she said. “The process we have used in building homes really has not changed much over time,” she said. “The consumer has to want it — they have to be aware of the benefits.”

Source:

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