My impressions of the 2007 Madison, Wisconsin Parade of Homes.
I have been so busy lately but not too busy to check out Madison, Wisconsin’s Parade of Homes. This has become sort of an annual tradition for my mom and I so I was happy to bring her along again.
This year there were a lot less homes on the Parade which was actually a good thing for us, we’re both chock full of summer activities and finding a few hours where we are both free can be difficult. Also, I sometimes think the Parades are a bit overwhelming. I remember years in the past where it was all I could do to trudge up another flight of stairs to see a mirror image of the house I was just in across the street.
Our feelings aside, apparently the lack of homes was not a good thing for the builders or the real estate economy. The newspaper reported that there has been such a slump in home sales that not all of last year’s homes moved and so the builders were less likely to sink a lot of money into this year’s Parade home. Which is sad for them, but as a nature-lover I’m actually quite happy to hear that urban sprawl is slowing down.
Another thing I was happy to see this year was a wiser use of home space. The McMansion is not dead but it appears to be on the way out. (Yay!) The homes I saw were still large but much more reasonable and practical. And I was happy to see they were using as much space as wisely as possible.
Exposed basements were the rule and most were not furnished as simply game and play areas but they contained bedrooms and bathrooms. The media room in the basement has also morphed from the OMG Theater to a functional TV room for the entire family to enjoy. Which means the main floors no longer seem to center around the boob tube, a very good thing indeed.
The Madison Parade homes all seemed to feature a pool table. I think this isn’t really a statement on current home entertainment trends as much as it is a statement about Wisconsin’s local pool companies and their excellent promotion departments. I really don’t expect pool tables to become a staple of the home.
I did notice that wine rooms are becoming very trendy. In fact, I’m inspired to create my own in my basement and I’ll be detailing the process once I’ve saved a bit of money and can find the time.
Throughout the main living area the solid buff wall color was still dominant but a slightly darker shade than past years. The carpets have also gone a little bit darker, which I’m thrilled to see. The homes feel much warmer and cozier than the open, empty, cold McMansions in past years.
Another thrilling development was the willingness of builders to experiment with paint. Children’s bedrooms were usually a place for creativity to blossom but now other rooms are taking on brighter hues (could it be they’re getting inspiration from me?!). A bright green was definitely not an uncommon thing and was often featured in the master or guest bedrooms, girls rooms were bright shades of pink, and boys rooms were often two tone blues with an Americana feel. And, believe it or not, faux finishing was again appearing in limited doses in most homes. Of course, I’m a faux finisher so I have some opinions here, but I never liked a house that had treatments in every room but I certainly like the touches of depth here and there that I saw.
So, overall this was a great Parade in my opinion. The homes were not bankbook displays but rather places you’d actually want to live, with space optimized for the family and some design risks that balanced function with flair. Two thumbs up to the Madison Area Builders Association this year.
