It may seem curious, but for much of the luxury home market in Boulder and Broomfield counties, small is the new big.

Smaller square-footage homes with more amenities and attention to energy efficiency have replaced the gargantuan homes of the past. Some of that is because of new building requirements in Boulder and unincorporated Boulder County, which ratchet up the required energy efficiency for larger homes. However, a lot of it is the homeowners' choice.

Green homes, even where they are not required by government regulation, are all the rage, with many luxury homeowners hoping to reach net-zero energy use, according to area homebuilders. But reducing the overall square footage of homes also can leave more money for opulence in other areas.


Green building

By far, going green is the biggest trend in luxury homes, said architect Scott Rodwin, owner of Rodwin Architecture Inc. in Boulder.

"Photovoltaic solar panels are fairly ubiquitous," he said. But an efficient home means more attention to details such as insulation, windows and use of passive solar heat collection, as well.

Pre-insulated walls have become more pervasive through the luxury markets, and so has attention to the walls and floors that can soak up heat during daylight hours and release that heat by night. In some ways, this limits the size of homes without government regulation, as it is much easier to make small homes more efficient.

"A lot of home buyers are willing to explore ground heat pumps," said Richard Sands, owner of Hammerwell Inc. in Boulder. Those have the added benefit of both heating during cold months and cooling during the warm months, as they redirect the ground temperature, usually from 15 to 20 feet below the surface, into the home.


Thermal comfort

The last thing anyone would want after spending several million dollars for a home is that their feet would get cold, so radiant heating of floors is a must-have.

"Radiant floor heating is the one thing that hardly any of them can do without," Sands said. "Everything we build these days is going to have it."

Radiant floor heating actually is a fairly efficient means of heating, the boilers add anywhere from $20,000 up to the cost of the home, but that cost does not take into account those hot summer days.

"Unfortunately," Sands said, "almost everyone is going to want air conditioning, too, so you still have to go in and install the ductwork for that, as well."

Both Sands and Rodwin also noted that when building an energy efficient home, thermal comfort comes down to a number of building and design practices, making sure that one end of the home isn't freezing while the other is frying.


Lighting systems

It wouldn't seem right that you couldn't put down the shades, illuminate the patio and adjust any light in the home without moving from the easy chair.

"People love these electronic systems that break down, and they don't know how to use them in the first place," Sands said. "But they look really fancy and they sound cool and they cost a lot of money."

Low-end cost of these systems is $30,000 and the high end is $200,000, he said.


Smart homes/home security

A big upside to an extravagant electrical system is the ability to run your home remotely — for instance, from your smart phone. That can actually create significant energy savings, especially in homes designed for passive solar, with remote features.

Usually these systems also are intertwined with home security systems, so the whole expense of that elaborate electrical system does triple duty. If rebates are available to saving power at critical usage junctures, they may prove to be a very wise investment — if the utilities figure out how to make that work.


Indoor/outdoor living spaces

Extravagant homes are built in scenic areas, and design for living spaces that seemingly meld into outdoor areas is a given.

"All of these homes are going to come with that design," Rodwin said.

It's more than just having huge windows that open up to great vistas, though. Many of these homes have walls that open onto balconies and patios. The outdoor areas themselves may come equipped, for instance, with refrigerators or brick ovens.

A fireplace that opens to both the inside and outside? Hey, that's a natural.


Added finishes

Part of building smaller means there's a lot more money for added finishes, whether in appliances, wood, stone or other materials. Here again, many homebuyers are looking for sustainable materials, Rodwin said.

For instance, using composites made from recycled plastics, wood and other materials instead of redwood for balconies mean that those areas don't have to be maintained with toxic stains and last a lot longer.

The real hot item these days appears to be our local flagstone — the Fountain-Lyons formation that creates the Flatirons. A number of homebuyers appear to like it because it ties to the architecture at the University of Colorado-Boulder — and aesthetically, it looks natural in the Boulder area's foothills.


Aging in place

Because most of the homebuyers in the luxury market are at least 50 years old, Rodwin said, many are looking to design homes in which they can age gracefully. That may mean in-home elevators or ground-floor master bedroom suites, but it also means designing larger door frames and bathrooms that may ultimately handle walkers, wheelchairs or other aids.


Designing for wildfire

Boulder County has had fire-resistant building codes in the foothills for decades, but today's luxury homebuyer is more than likely to go beyond what is required, Rodwin said. Metal roofs are big, and those composites made from recycled products don't burn as well as redwood.


Wine cellars/wine refrigerators

Sands said wine cellars still command attention, although they don't quite fit in with the idea that smaller is bigger. However, Rodwin said many clients these days just go for a built-in wine cooler. Either way, both said handling wine usually ends up in the mix.


Towel warmers

It's not just your feet that get cold when you get out of the shower. So these built-in devices, which thankfully can run off the same water system as the radiant floor heating, are almost a necessity. "We run into it a lot," Sands said. "It seems that always comes up."