The prevalence today of brick and stone exteriors, traditional and historic house forms, tile and articulated asphalt roofs, are responses to the desires of homeowners to have a house that feels solid, timeless and protective. Color trends for building exteriors are driven by the need to blend with and show off these materials to their best advantage.

Darker, richer home colors are now in high demand, and the trend will continue as the public at large remains completely unmoved by the beige homes that have proliferated for years and years. Strong but not overbearing colors are big now and will be in high demand as people continue to design homes with a sense of individuality tempered by good taste.

Our customized lives

Probably the biggest trend discussed within CMG is the proliferation of customization in the marketplace in every product from iPods to cars to home decor. This, of course, is great news for the custom builder or designer, who couldn’t be better positioned to make the most of this trend.

Take for example the highly successful Mini Cooper automobile. Buyers can not only choose the upgrades they want on their car, but can actually name it and track its progress through the manufacturing process. Both the Gen-X and Boomer generations have taken to customization in a big way. No one is happy with out-of-the-box products anymore.

Another huge trend that CMG’ers report is the public’s concern with the environment. Globalization has given all of us a new realization that what one country does affects the entire world. We see whole species and open spaces vanishing before our eyes. This has given rise to a new respect for nature and an attendant rise in the desire to have natural elements in our lives.