LEANING INTO THE LANDSCAPE
In certain luxury markets, buyers are drawn to architectural styles that reflect the essence of their surroundings. Often, that translates to homes that are evocative of another era.
For example, in places like Aspen, Colorado, and other mountain resort destinations, affluent buyers are seeking rustic timber homes that blend seamlessly with their alpine surroundings. Even new homes in this region are built to mirror older styles, using natural materials and distressed elements, but with interiors showcasing state-of-the-art kitchens, grand living spaces for entertaining, and every luxury amenity one might need. “Post COVID, we noticed that owners started to incorporate a sense of location into the home,” says Stacey Kelly, an agent at Christie’s International Real Estate Aspen | Snowmass. “From 2020-2022, every place that sold in the area was transformed into the sleek style found in Miami or L.A. Then buyers realized that look didn’t celebrate the mountains and nature that surround us.” In South Carolina’s Lowcountry region, set along the southeastern coast of the U.S., luxury homebuyers have begun to turn away from the modern farmhouse style that has reigned supreme for the past two decades. These homes are characterized by barn-style doors, industrial light fixtures, exposed beam ceilings and clean lines. Instead, buyers are indicating a preference for more traditional antebellum architecture, a neoclassical style popular in the southern U.S. throughout the 19th century. Defining features include pillars and columns, gabled roofs, sweeping open stairways and wraparound porches. “Luxury buyers are wanting more of a cozy Lowcountry feel in their home now instead of the bright white walls and black hardware looks that have been big in this area for a long time,” says Lindy Maxey Kopotic, an agent at Maxey BlackStream Christie’s International Real Estate in South Carolina. “People are moving away from the big open floor plans, too.” In the United Kingdom, Victorian and Regency architecture have been capturing the attention of global buyers thanks to hit shows like Bridgerton and Downton Abbey. These buyers are increasingly eager to embrace a slice of what is considered a “quintessentially English lifestyle,” according to Shereen Akhtar, an agent at real estate consultancy Carter Jonas, exclusive Christie’s International Real Estate affiliate for Great Britain. “Many of these buyers are drawn to heritage architecture over modern new builds because of the character, craftsmanship, and sense of history these properties offer,” added Akhtar. “These older homes often feature unique design elements, such as intricate moldings, original fireplaces, and period-specific detailing, which are difficult to replicate in contemporary construction.”
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, this Athens, Georgia home was built in the 1850s, featuring a wraparound porch, Greek columns and other period elements.
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