Everything You Need to Know About a Contemporary House
Mar 17, 2023
When designing the interiors of your house, you might have come across the term contemporary house. A contemporary home is one of the most popular design styles that help you create a one-of-a-kind living space.
But do you know what defines a contemporary house?
Actually, there is no clear definition of what a contemporary design style is. However, it involves using present-day building styles, materials, and techniques.
So, suppose you are designing a new house or renovating an existing one, or you are just figuring out your personal interior design style. In that case, understanding the ins and outs of a contemporary house is important.
In this article, you’ll learn everything about contemporary homes, including all the principles, characteristics, features, and, most importantly, the difference between contemporary and modern houses.
Features & Principles of a Contemporary House
If you plan to design a new home or renovate your old house, you should learn what features and elements should include. There are various principles of a contemporary home that you should consider while designing your home.
1. Open Floor Plans
Open and bright spaces are one of the most important features in a contemporary house design. Architects prefer open-plan rooms instead of walls to effectively use the space you have in your home. You no longer want doors in your kitchen or dining room. Creatively designed walls and changes in the shape of the room are all you need to designate to every room. To create a more open space in your home, architects use large glass doors and windows to avoid boundaries between the rooms indoors and outdoors. Glass can also be used in railings to allow more light into your home.
2. Creative and Distinctive Shapes
Forget those old and simple cubical structures you see almost everywhere. Contemporary homes bring a unique and creative way to create spaces that look elegant and uncomplicated. Curved lines, rounded forms, asymmetry, unconventional volumes, and free-form shapes characterize this architecture. There are endless interior and exterior designs that you can achieve if you go for a contemporary home design style. Contemporary design also uses different and unique types of wall texture design to add depth to the walls.
3. Integrated Smart Home Technology
Contemporary home design focuses on creating a personalized environment to help you with your lifestyle needs. You can turn your home into a smart home, and through simple voice commands, you can control all the aspects of your home. You can turn on your TV, watch your favorite movies, and turn on and off your lights, fans, and everything else.
With smart home technology, you will be able to have better security in your home. You can easily set alarms and notifications for security cameras, doorbells, doors, and window sensors.
4. Integrated LED Lighting
LED lighting can be much more effective than traditional CFL bulbs. LED lights are much more energy efficient and have a remarkably long life. LED lights can be used for around 40,000-50,000 hours which is not the case with CFL bulbs. Plus, LEDs are customizable and are designed to integrate with smart home functions. You will have various options to choose from, whether the design or the color.
5. Green Roofings
The contemporary home design uses the latest materials, technology, and styles. At the same time, it also focuses on bringing a natural feel to your home. Installing a layer of vegetation planted over a waterproof system is another great characteristic of a contemporary design.
6. Flat Roofs
You might have seen, even in your homes too, houses are built with sloping roofs to prevent water and snow from depositing on the roofs. This slight slope on the roofs helps prevent any damage caused by the weight of accumulated precipitation in colder climates. However, the contemporary design style is more towards the flat roofs with raised edges to create shadows around your home. This will keep your room cool in summer and reduce the carbon footprint of contemporary house design.
What is the Difference Between Modern and Contemporary Houses?
Contemporary homes are often mixed up with modern ones when discussing interior design. There is a misconception that these two terms are identical. However, these two home design styles are different from each other. Let’s know the difference between contemporary and modern homes in detail.
What is Contemporary House?
The contemporary house uses present-day designs, materials, and techniques and uses neutrals and strong contrasting colors. This design style uses curved and sculptural lines and mainly focuses on evolving with the latest trends. Architects can showcase their artistic side more freely with asymmetric and free-form building shapes.
What is a Modern House?
Modern house design focuses more on the popular style from the 1920s to the 1950s. The design embraced clean lines and minimalism with warm neutral colors. Natural stone paving is often used on the floors, and other natural materials bring that mid-1900s vibe.
But when comparing these two styles, the contemporary design style will stand out more when it comes to the uniqueness of a building’s shape. This does not mean you can’t be creative and innovative with this design style.
Conclusion
This was all about contemporary home design and its different characteristics. Contemporary home design is an in-demand option for many homeowners, builders, and architects. Though this home design style is on the expensive side, if budget is not the problem, you can easily design your home in a contemporary style.
Frequently Asked Questions
These frequently asked questions will help you understand contemporary in a better way.
Q1. What are the characteristics of a contemporary house?
Flat roofs, open floor plans, distinctive shapes, etc., are among the characteristics of a contemporary house.
Q2. How do you identify contemporary design style?
If you find rounded edges, natural elements, distinctive shapes, flat roofs, and smart home technology, then it’s a contemporary house design.
Q3. What is the difference between contemporary and traditional houses?
Contemporary houses have larger windows and doors, and the interiors look more spacious and creative. On the other hand, traditional home designs have smaller doors and windows and a bit congested interiors.
