Colorado-Real-Estate-Journal_525593

T hese days, I am rarely home – I’m too busy designing them. Over the past two years, our design team has completed more than 181 model home units across the coun- try for production builders, semi- custom programs, developers and buyers at every price point. That volume creates a unique vantage point. A model home is not just a showcase. It is a live retail environment, where every design decision is tested in real time by how people move, pause and respond. Those behavioral patterns are consistent across markets and price points. When the same elements repeatedly capture attention or drive engagement, it is not anecdot- al. It is data. As a starting point and not a blueprint, leveraging behav- ioral data and patterns does not result in one-size-fits-all solutions. Instead, these insights serve as a foundation for highly tailored, com- munity-specific design strategies. Multifamily oper- ates on those same behavioral driv- ers. The amenity spaces, unit fin- ishes and shared environments that influence leas- ing decisions are shaped by the same instincts that move a buyer to commit to a home. Understanding those instincts, and designing for them intentionally, is where projects begin to differenti- ate. At the same time, expectations for the residential experience continue to rise. Americans today spend roughly 51 fewer minutes per day outside the home compared to before the pan- demic, a pattern b orn of demand that has outlasted its necessity. Whether it’s a 2,400-square-foot bungalow or a 750-sf studio, people are home more, and that kind of thinking is driving higher expecta- tions for the resident experience, whether that’s in a custom home in Westminster or a resident lounge in a multifamily property in in Denver. For multifamily developers and operators, that shift creates both pressure and opportunity. Projects that translate residential design intelligence into multifamily envi- ronments can lease faster, perform longer, and stand apart in increas- ingly competitive markets. n Natural materials and organic environments are better for resident health and leasing performance. For years, cool-toned minimalism dom- inated residential design. Mono- chromatic interiors and “millennial gray” became the default across both single-family and multifam- ily product. As preferences have shifted, that approach is no longer performing the way it once did. But the most effective design has not simply swapped in warmer tones. Buyers want an environment that feels differentiated and curated. They are responding strongly to environments that feel warm, lay- ered and organic. Natural materials, patinaed objects, and color palettes that carry depth and variation cre- ate a sense of comfort that people recognize immediately, even if they cannot articulate why. This is not purely aesthetic. Our bodies innately know what the data behind this trend reveals: Cortisol levels drop in the presence of natu- ral elements, stress recedes, cogni- tive function sharpens and overall well-being improves in spaces scaf- folded by biophilic principles. Softer, nature-derived hues like ochre, amber and terracotta occupy a physiological sweet spot, stimulat- ing enough to feel alive and inviting without elevating cortisol the way INSIDE May 2026 Debt originated at historically low rates in 2020 and 2021 is now coming due Maturing loans PAGE 8 Please see zumBrunnen, Page 4 Christie zumBrunnen Chief design officer, Trio Model behavior: Residential design directions that belong in multifamily Design has become a practical tool for risk management, cost control Reshaping design PAGE 14 Colorado’s affordable housing developers are thinking, acting outside of the box Affordable PAGES 21-26