Designing for Millennials

There has been so much talk about how to design for Millennials, the game changing age group that is currently sweeping the nation.

Instead of getting advice from other generations that have not walked a day in the life of their shoes, why not just ask a millennial. Crazy concept right?!

Well I am a millennial, and a first time home buyer and a designer. Many of my friends have purchased and renovated their first home (and I have given advice to many of them) Heres what I found from my experience.

Millennials are social people! Not only are we active on social media we also have a need to connect in person. We want spaces that will allow us to sit and talk, or drink some wine, or just play video games…together. And we want to be comfortable doing it. Give us comfortable couches that we can stretch and lay back on with pillows or other opportunities to reconfigure. We want to be comfortable and we want our guests to be comfortable.

Millenials also love to entertain and dine together. We need lots of table space for those pot luck dinners and counter space for prep and serving. Don’t skimp on the amenities here. We love granite or quartz counters and clean tile backsplashes. Also if we hate the cabinet hardware we will change. A clean streamlined bar pull is always a safe choice. (Unless there are small children around, then think safety and don’t underestimate the power of stainless steel as a design choice)

Lastly, Millenials want to work from home as often as possible. We need a well designed office space. But this space needs to pull double duty. It’s often shared within a bedroom, or a excercise room or even a playroom. I personally do yoga in the other half of my home office. Think efficiency here and storage, lots of storage. This space also needs to be connected so provide plenty of data and USB outlets for charging various devices.

At the end of day Millennials have basic needs. We aren’t that scary to work with! Until next time. -D