The joy of a vacation is universal across countries and cultures. For many, a second, vacation home can add to the bliss of getting away by providing welcoming comfort in an exotic locale.

But as tastes change, so too do the features that vacation homeowners look for when choosing a design.

“We’ve had vacation homes forever, but today people want to have more flexibility because they’re more mobile than they used to be,” said Ken Pieper, owner of Ken Pieper Signature Plans in Evergreen, Colorado.

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Over the past two decades, tastes and preferences in home design have changed drastically in many respects and very little in others. The House Plan Company dug into the archives to find the top five most popular house plan designs since the late 90s and discovered it’s a diverse collection of styles to fit varying purposes. The only common denominators among all of them, they found, was the attention to detail and open living space in the design.

“Each of my designs delivers as much detail on the exterior of the home as they do in the interior,” explained Ken Pieper, owner of Ken...

One of the most intimidating yet exciting endeavors to undertake as a homeowner is building a new home from the ground up. Yet it doesn’t have to be such an overwhelming process when guided through the various steps and stages by a designer and general contractor, and the benefits far outweigh the concerns.

“The most common reason why someone opts to build a home rather than buy one is that they can’t find an existing home that meets their needs. Custom construction allows a homeowner to create a home that meets their specific needs and taste, while also planning for the future...