COVID Pivot Produces New Home Amenities.

'Our needs have drastically shifted while sheltering in place, putting additional demands on our homes: work, school, family life, exercise, respite. In many cases, we have found that the interior layouts no longer work' as well as they once did when we weren't in our home 24/7," says Rita Wilkins, interior and lifestyle design specialist and author of Downsize Your Life, Upgrade Your Lifestyle: Secrets to More Time, Money, and Freedom.

"COVID has caused us to pivot in so many ways and one of them is how we will want and need homes to function now and in the future.

'When COVID first hit, we immediately were challenged to 'make it work.' We had no choice," points out Wilkins. "Our kitchen tables became the new place to homeschool our kids. Our dining room table became our new home office, our place to work. Our guest bedroom became the other home office and maybe doubled as the home workout area."

None of these solutions were perfect, nor were they intended to be long term. "The lack of dedicated space for certain activities like work and school make it difficult to focus," Wilkins notes. "The increased amount of noise and clutter makes it difficult to concentrate and be productive. The need for privacy, a place to escape from it all has become more and more evident.

"While these temporary fixes may have worked short term, now that many people will continue working remotely long term, these evolving needs of existing homeowners and new homebuyers have captured the attention of remodelers and builders alike."

Here are five emerging home design trends:

Closed floor plan. "As popular as the open floor plan has been for the past 35 years, the noise, lack of privacy, and sheer...