Highlights from the Utah Valley Parade of Homes 2016

My buddy Toni {from Design Dazzle} & I enjoyed touring a few of the homes in the 2016 Utah Valley parade. We have a tendency to go to the houses that are closer to our neck of the woods - Lehi, Alpine & Highland. The houses were bright with nice floor plans, incredible windows & very high ceilings. I noticed some trends this year that I wanted to share with you. 

Home 23 - Foster Custom Homes

Home 40 - Raykon Construction

Home 21 - PureHaven Homes

{Click the blue bar below to see the rest of the post.}

As you can see, most of the living areas featured very calm color palettes in the living areas. The splashes of bright color were reserved for craft, laundry, & children's rooms.

1 - BOLD TILE - One trend that I saw coming, but didn't expect it to be so widespread so soon is tile with distinctive patterns. Some of the colors are very bold. I LOVE IT! Would I recommend the bold patterns to my clients? In a word, no. Tile is expensive & difficult to change. I always propose conservative choices. 

2 - PAINTED CABINETRY - Many bathrooms featured eye-catching cabinetry in gray, blue & green hues. {Also see photo above.}

3 - BEAUTIFUL DOORS & HARDWARE  - Actually, I shouldn't call this a trend because they knock it out of the park every year. 

4- WALLPAPER - It's ba-ack! If loving wallpaper is wrong, I don't want to be right. I know - it's a pain to remove. But used sparingly - on one focal wall or in a small room - it can be so marvelous. 

5 - LARGE WINDOWS WITH BLACK PANES - Swoon. Give me white walls & black windows & I will melt every time. {They were everywhere.}

Other noticeable features - ginormous {real word} refrigerator/freezers & the most spectacular {although I was filled foreboding at the thought of cleaning them} range hoods!

VERY large fridge {on right} & freezer {on left}

 - Beautiful, but scary, stove hood -

Thinking of attending the Parade of Homes? My best tip is to buy your own shoe covers {available here or at the home improvement store} & bring them with you to each of the homes. That way you don't have to wear the cootie infested previously worn booties that are provided. 

And here's one more photo - cute Toni taking pictures of absolutely everything! And check out another amazing range hood in the background.