How have you incorporated trends in your past building and development projects? This was the question posed by the trends team at Pella. I pondered the prompt over a few morning jogs. In hindsight, I could see that we made many decisions on our past projects based on our observance of trends. At the time it wasn’t an intentional practice, it was intuition. Nevertheless, we’ve learned the value of paying heed to various types of trends and intend to be more deliberate in how we use that information in developing future properties to sell.

What follows below is an adaptation of the presentation we prepared for the Trends Summit.

In 2017, Tim and I started dreaming about collaborating on a house renovation project with the intent to sell upon completion. We recognized that our skill sets were complimentary, and we shared the ability to think creatively and to problem solve each in our own way.

One day while building a fence for a client, Tim noticed a vacant house next door. The location was great, but it was completely dilapidated and covered by vines and overgrown shrubs. We contacted the owner and purchased the home off-market. This property kicked off our real estate development careers. We’ve since bought and sold three additional properties and are about to begin two more projects.

**Our first property renovation—before.**

**Our first property renovation—after.**

Our success stems from an ability to see potential in places that others overlook. Also, we work hard to understand who our potential buyers are for each property, and through intuition and research we essentially design a product that not only meets their needs, it also fulfills us as creative people who wish to craft something of quality and beauty.

We recently came across this quote by CS Lewis:

“...no man who bothers about originality will ever be original: whereas if you simply try to tell the truth (without caring two pence how often it has been told before), you will, nine times out of ten, become original without having noticed it.”

How do we tell the truth in the work we do? We endeaver to design and build properties that add significant value to the way people live, by supporting their daily functions, and inspiring them through beauty along the way.

Real Estate Market Trends
One of the ways we discover what buyers are looking for is by observing real estate market trends. Tim has his real estate license, which gives us real time information only privy to licensed agents. Also, we go on runs and family walks almost daily. During that time we are observing what properties are being renovated, how quickly they are selling, and how they are being used. If I had the superpower of invisibility, you know I’d be sneaking inside as well.

Before we dive into our local real estate trends, a bit about the unique town in which we live. Fredericksburg is a small town of about 11,000 residents. It was settled in the 1800s by German immigrants. Folks are drawn to the Texas Hill Country, for its beautiful landscape and the rich community of hardworking and friendly people. Today our number one industry is tourism. Fredericksburg is home to more than 100 wineries and over 3,200 vacation rentals with an average price of $380 per night. Fredericksburg hosts around 1.2 million visitors every year. The average home price is around 550K.

When we began our first renovation the Airbnb concept was quickly growing without restriction. Investors realized that purchasing turnkey houses tailored to the STR market was a solid investment with high returns. The price for turn key Bnbs skyrocketed over the next few years. An average 2/1 in a residential neighbor could easily gross 65-75K a year. Even small 1/1 homes were valuable STR investments. With the rapid pivot towards this business model home remodels became more focused on well designed places while sacrificing functional attributes such as large closets, laundry rooms, large kitchens.

Fredericksburg is unique in that our short term rentals are particularly nice. No thrift shop futons, or polyester sheets here. The local trend is to design luxurious and beautiful guest houses that set you apart from all the competition.

With our first three properties we capitalized on this STR trend. We purchased smaller properties, in good locations, could spend less on renovations but profit more, because buyers were spending more per square foot on investment properties. To up the value of each project, we furnished the space, ran it as an Airbnb for 6 months or so, and then sold it as a successful STR with proven income and rave reviews.

Then the city began actively cracking down on STRs and trying to reclaim residential neighborhoods for families and renters. There was too much uncertainty around the permitting and house valuations were so high that it was evident to us that we needed to move in another direction. As life with Covid ramped up we observed that a large number of people were moving from urban cities and remote working. We began to ask around and learned that affordable office space was a significant issue. Tim stumbled across an overgrown and forgotten commercial lot for sale on the fastest growing side of town. There we built our coworking office.

We’ve since sold that property and have purchased two adjacent lots where we plan to build two spec homes. Admittedly, spec homes get a bad rap for being basic and boring, but we have a theory we are excited to test out on this newest development venture. We refer to it as the turnkey lifestyle project. We are crafting a story about who the buyer will be and are designing a custom home to fit their lifestyle complete with outdoor space for hosting and a few raised garden beds. They will have the benefit of a custom home with character, without the fatiguing decision making and construction headaches.

Behavioral Trends
Real estate market trends help us decide what type of properties to develop. Next we look at behavioral trends to guide our design process. A great case study for this is our coworking project. The coworking concept had already been around for a couple decades, but no one had done it yet in Fredericksburg. This was surprising to us considering our town is home to quite a few remote workers and entrepreneurs. The Covid era made it very clear what people were looking for in their work environments. Sterile, commercial, artificially lit spaces no longer cut it. Professionals wanted healthy environments, conducive to productivity and creativity. They wanted well-designed communal spaces for collaborating and meeting with clients. And of course locally roasted coffee and artisan sparkling waters. This type of programming was fertile ground for all sorts of exciting design solutions.

It was very important to us that we built a structure that was a true representation of the area in which we lived. A lot of the local building trends were less than inspired and felt very dated. Fredericksburg was originally a farming community. The countryside surrounding town is scattered with beautiful weathered barns. We were drawn to the nordic look of these structures and the organic patinaed materials they were made from. Being a work environment, we loved the tie back. We incorporated thermally modified wood siding, and gabled rooflines juxtaposed against the modern metal trimmed windows and bright blue doors.

**Our coworking new construction project.** *Architecture by* *Pluck Architecture. Photography by* *Leonid Furmansky*.

**Old barn at the LBJ Ranch in the Texas Hill Country.** *Image Source.*

Design Trends
Behavioral trends define the problems to solve, revealing how we can provide specific value for our clients. Design trends help us achieve that goal by providing inspiration. I’m not interested in a design trend simply because it's popular. It has to somehow add value and tie back to our goals. Nothing is entirely new right? But we achieve originality when we juxtapose existing ideas in a way that creates new meaning. If we focus on the goal, I believe we will naturally craft something inspired. And from our experience, it will sell.

Let’s look at a few examples of design trends we’ve implemented in our projects:

Biophilic Design
Research has shown that humans have an innate love of nature that induces a positive response when we are exposed to it. Incorporating features like natural lighting, scenic views, indoor plants, outdoor spaces, and water features have been shown to have a positive impact on productivity, stress levels, and occupant’s moods in general.

**Coworking office courtyard.** *Architecture by* *Pluck Architecture. Photography by* *Leonid Furmansky*.

Curves and Circles
Curves and circles are calming. They provide a sense of comfort. This trend ties back to Biophilia in that it’s organic and references the softness of nature.

**Coworking office.** *Architecture by* *Pluck Architecture. Photography by* *Leonid Furmansky*.

Residential Touches in a Commercial Space
Commercial spaces usually prioritize durability over design due to their high traffic. That often leaves the vibe less than warm and friendly. We wanted our space to feel welcoming like a home. We used residential glass doors with full sidelights to create unique office entrances. We placed rhythmic trusses in the vaulted ceiling and oak sills on the interiors of our windows. We also utilized felt light fixtures to provide acoustic benefits. There is nothing more stressful than loud environments.

**Coworking small office entrances with a residential feel.** *Architecture by* *Pluck Architecture. Photography by* *Leonid Furmansky*.

**Rhythmic trusses and felted wool pendant light.** *Architecture by* *Pluck Architecture. Photography by* *Leonid Furmansky*.

Wood walls
I love honest materials, so I enjoy incorporating wood walls into our spaces. We’ve done it in a number of ways, all of which feels timeless. Shiplap of course led the charge. I love it for its graphic nature. It can lean very farmhouse, but we choose to use it in a more modern way by mixing it in with materials and furnishings that reference other styles and eras.

After looking through the design examples, our presentation ended with a back and forth discussion with the Pella folks. They inspired us to think more creatively about window placement and selection. Hopefully the fruit of that will be evident in the design of our next project.

In conclusion, I found it a healthy exercise to process how we incorporate trends in our work. I don’t think of myself as a trend chaser, yet it’s naive to think I’m not influenced by them. When used with purpose and mixed with other sources of inspiration, popular ideas can find new life.

Putting Trends to Good Use

The Value in Looking Back