The IFDA predicts how home life in America will change between now and 2020

The popular home design blog ApartmentTherapy recently wrote an interesting article summing up how 2,000 members of the IFDA (International Furnishings and Design Association) predict that home life will change between now and 2020. Here are few highlights of the article that may be interesting to makers of home goods and furnishings out there…

Small is Cool: 76% of the members foresee Americans living in smaller spaces with fewer rooms. When asked the same question at the turn of the Millenium the percentage who predicted a shift to smaller spaces was only 49%.

Goodbye Dining Room: 71% of the members predict formal dining room extinction in most homes by 2020 as the space gets used for other things, such as working from home.

in fact…

Separate Rooms Are Disappearing: A huge number of respondents, 91.5 %, said that the see single-use rooms morphing into spaces that serve many different purposes across the board.

which leads us to the idea that…

Furniture will become Increasingly Multipurpose: 65.7% say movable, modular, small scale pieces are going to overtake things that are built-ins and/or big. They also predict that interest in ergonomics will be up and interest in “designed to be disposable” furniture will have come to and end.

Eat in Kitchens Come Back in Style: As dining rooms disappear, a place to enjoy meals in the space where they are prepared will be the way things shift, which means kitchens are going to get bigger, says 65% of members.

…as…

Masters Get Busier: As homes sizes shrink and the number of rooms lessens, media makes a move to the bedroom as does the exercise room, according to 52.2% of the respondents.

and…

Everyone has a Home Office: More than 75% say that a home office is a given, with 37.3% kicking it up another notch by suggesting that multiple home offices under one roof will be the norm.

Finally…

Here Comes High Tech: The most resounding near-universal prediction is that voice and sensor controls will take over from touch as more and more home equipment and furnishings activation go high tech. 97% of the designers, retailers and other professionals say this is the wave of the (not so distant!) future.

Read the whole article here and also some interesting commentary on the article:
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/news/how-well-live-in-2020-155063