Home design has changed significantly over the past several decades. Ideas on styles, materials, and other areas have shifted dramatically. You can easily find award-winning architects in Melbourne and other major cities who can tell you exactly how.

Thinking of the modern context, then, what are some of the most contemporary features that one would see that help define where we currently are in modern home design? Below are some of the most prominent examples.

1. Clean Lines

Be they straight lines or curves, modern homes are all about clean lines. What’s interesting is that this concept actually seems to traverse multiple areas of design, including automotive design, where bold and clean lines are a hallmark of good taste. Why it is that we like these lines in the modern age is anybody’s guess. Some theories include that we find comfort in them; that they are reassuring and help us think of stability and order.

Clean lines in home design also help to define different spaces, too. With many homes being open plan, clean lines on things like a kitchen counter or breakfast bar helps to identify a clear demarcation between kitchen and dining room, or living room. Finally, clean lines are decisive, fresh and dynamic.

2. Asymmetry

If you thought from our first point that symmetry was still the thing people were chasing, you’d be wrong. Clean lines may be straight or curved, and well-defined, but they do not necessarily mark lines of symmetry. In cultures like China, symmetry is still greatly valued, but in Australia and many other western countries, symmetry is being replaced in favour of its opposite?

Why is this? Asymmetry arguably helps display a more individualist outlook, demonstrating that we are unique and a “bit of a character.” It has a kind of kookiness that many in Australia and beyond find irresistible. It’s hard to argue against the other common-held belief in the design community, which is that asymmetry adds greater visual impact and interest. It keeps the vigilant and busy, examining the entire thing rather than just skimming over half and then feeling you’ve seen it all.

3. Large Windows and Skylights

It’s official, natural light is the order of the day. When you look at new home designs compared to those of the past, you’ll see that windows are larger and more numerous around a house. People updating an older home are even more willing to go to the trouble of installing a light tube to bring sunlight from the roof down to their darkest box bedroom or bathroom rather than just brightening the artificial lights in those rooms.

Natural light is purifying, invigorating and really helps the decoration in a room to come alive. Beyond that, it’s also a practical measure since it helps people cut way down on energy bills.

4. Green Building Materials

From eco-friendly cladding, to solar panels, and solar-powered garden lights, LED light bulbs and more…the takeover of sustainable materials in the realm of construction and house design is complete. Virtually no architect is now not completely convinced that every new home should be made with a prevailing presence of sustainable and eco-friendly building materials.

These materials make homes more energy efficient, and also more innovative and lasting. They can also give the property a higher NatHERS rating, which can make it more attractive and valuable as an investment opportunity.

5. Expansive Interiors

A lot of homes are expanding outwards rather than upwards. Whether it’s an effect of too much apartment living in society or not, but people are increasingly accustomed to and find it preferable to live in what is essentially a bungalow. Many modern homes are built across a sprawling single-storey structure with well integrated outdoor spaces like decks and patios.