Henry David Thoreau said, “It’s not what you look at that matters. It’s what you see.”
In other words, perception is everything. And while most new housing is built with a balance between aesthetics and practicality, constructed of durable and cost-effective materials, the developers of these structures are savvy enough to decisively factor in how tenants perceive their developments.
Indeed, multifamily developers must rely on every opportunity to improve the perception of both their product’s design and function, no matter how small or seemingly inconsequential.
For instance, small details such as the placement of appliances or the choice of a flooring material can make a substantial difference in how people perceive a space. Reducing visual chaos in small spaces and providing continuity through the choice of exterior finishes creates a polished look without breaking the bank. Though there is no definitive list of do’s and don’ts to ensure what will look and feel right, there are a number of architectural design principles and insights that can be an indispensable resource for housing design.
Reducing Visual Chaos
As residential units get smaller, it’s increasingly important to control visual chaos to enhance the quality of the living space, both inside and out.
Appliance selection for the kitchen significantly impacts the perception of space and quality. In kitchens, right-sizing appliances and coordination with cabinet color creates a built-in aesthetic that unifies the space, making it feel visually calmer. Avoiding placing appliances immediately adjacent to one another, and investing in an undercounter oven with a separate cooktop creates a powerful unifying effect. This strategy allows the front edge of the counter to run continuously across the length of a small kitchen.
Appliances need not be top-of-the-line stainless steel. If cabinets are the right shade of white, less-expensive white-finish appliances can be just as appealing, especially if a separate cooktop eliminates the interruption created by a slide-in range and its high-back control panel. A stainless-steel finish can complement wood-tone cabinets, so it may be the best choice for stained finishes so as not to disrupt visual fluidity.
Another design strategy aiding visual perception is the inclusion of space between the oven and the dishwasher. Placing these two appliances immediately adjacent to each other creates a cluttered feeling. If you lack another option, however, a panel matching the cabinets can be used to conceal the dishwasher.
Ultimately, some manufacturers are better than others in terms of harmonizing their appliances—height, fixtures, and so on. Selecting appliances that match one another and spacing them appropriately enhances the perception of quality and the overall experience of the space.
On the exterior, too, there are many detailing opportunities to reduce visual chatter and bestow an appealing, harmonious composition of multifamily units, including the continuity of the roofline, color selection, and construction materials.
The roof edge is a design element that’s often not only misunderstood but also detailed and built incorrectly. As an example, the roof is either a folded plane or a volumetric roof. In a folded-plane roof, the eave and rake details are edges of the same plane. Therefore, they should have the same detail and relationship to the wall, extending the same length for the entire span of the building.
An example of a volumetric roof is a hip that sits on the building mass. Most often, the soffit expresses itself as volume, but it can also be a folded plane. In either case, the continuity of the roofline and edge details should be consistent across the building.
Consistency and coherence optimize value because they’re pleasing to the eye. Some multifamily projects are designed like suburban townhouses, with each unit featuring a different color to create a unique identity. These varying paint lines, however, create visual incongruity by differentiating the ownership structure. Paint colors and materials that unify the composition of the façades provide a cleaner look.
All the elements of material and design can work together to enhance the visual clarity and one’s understanding of a multihousing building. Corner boards can be painted to match the building and unify the massing or accented for appealing visual contrast. Mitered corners are one such example common in single-family homes but less so in multifamily housing. Mitered corners can add greatly to the perception of the building’s quality with minimal additional investment.
Controlling the edges of a building’s exterior is based on the idea that materials reveal their thickness at the edges. Because people tend to assign more value to substantial volumetric things, how the edges are detailed can control one’s impression of the materials and influence the perception of quality.
For example, inexpensive and durable cherry vinyl-plank flooring can be used in student housing developments to great effect. Because it provides a wall-to-wall, continuous solid surface and the edges are concealed under the original wooden baseboard, it’s hard to tell, at first glance, that the material isn’t wood.
In one development where our firm specified the flooring, students were ecstatic that they had “hardwood” floors and didn’t even notice that the material was actually vinyl disguised as wood. These products have improved over time to look more and more authentic, although it is still possible to detect the difference at the edges, where the vinyl is much thinner than wood flooring. This type of flooring was ideally suited to the building, however, because it could handle all the wear and tear inherent in college life while still lending character to the interior.
In cases such as these, it’s less about what the design team knows and understands about authenticity and more about the impression the general public and potential tenants get when entering the space. Using vinyl flooring is just one way to enhance perceived value using cost-effective materials.
Using high-end materials in smaller volumes or unorthodox applications can also provide quality without the high price. For example, slate shingle is a high-end roofing material that can be used on a small scale to cover a wall, producing a similar effect as some other options, such as brick, at a lower cost.
Such unique applications of luxury finishes can bring expensive materials into the multifamily price point.
Consider the Building's Touch Points
As potential residents interact with the built environment, they associate quality with the experience of their direct physical contact. For example, a nice bronze entry-door handle or the superior acoustic properties and swing of a solid-core door versus a hollow-core door can create an impression of quality upon entering the building or unit.
These elements more easily convey quality to the user than the weight of the roof shingles or the brand of kitchen cabinets. Carefully balance the cost of hidden elements and site costs in the overall project and put those savings in visible places and at key touch points.
A potential resident’s perception is the key determining factor.
Consider another scenario: In one project, we used expensive 1.5-inch trim to get the high-end look of thin trim around the doors. It didn’t have as much coverage on the drywall, so the contractors had to install the drywall much more carefully, which added to the cost. A potential resident touring the space noticed how thin the trim was and was surprised to find out it was more expensive. The design was more sophisticated architecturally than the market was perceiving: The thinness was perceived not as a more-expensive aesthetic detail but as a cheaper trim simply because of its visual size.
Therefore, it’s especially important to understand the market and what key elements are considered as luxury touch points. In recent years, glass showers have been an example of this. When people enter the bathroom and see a larger visual space because the shower has a glass door—that’s something that provides a good return on investment.
Similarly, installing bathroom cabinets so they hang on the wall 12 inches above the floor is another way to add to the perception ofa larger space. This detail allows the whole floor of the bathroom to be in view, so the space feels larger than it is. Conversely, the ubiquitous granite counters in the kitchen and 12-inch marble tile in the bath have become so commoditized in the multifamily market that they’re no longer differentiators.
The challenge for developers is not only to meet the strong demand for new housing but also to find ways to make units more desirable through visual appeal. Design solutions can enhance and extend existing materials and components, guaranteeing that the project stays within budget and on schedule.
What it means to optimize the appeal of a dwelling is subject to perception. By exploring what’s appropriate for the target market, what works best in a space, and what’s possible through attention to details, your team can build better value and greater appeal.
