Specialty rooms, new systems, and technologies are all returning as a high priority among homeowners as the housing market continues to improve throughout the country. There is a particular emphasis on products offering energy-efficiency and fewer maintenance obligations. These findings are from the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Home Design Trends Survey for the second quarter of 2013 that focused on emerging home features: systems, technologies and function rooms in the home.

Specialty areas like craft rooms, mud rooms and home offices provide niche market growth and accessory upsell opportunities for closet companies.