Jessica Randolph’s custom home in East Nashville’s Shelby Hills neighborhood has an open floor plan and a gourmet kitchen. Aerial Development Group, the builder, added a feature intended to appeal to urban, millennial homebuyers — an Airbnb apartment.
In suburban Nolensville, The Jones Co. added covered outdoor living space and extra walk-in storage space to the home purchased by Ross and Jennifer Wetzel, who have two young children.
Goodall Homes, meanwhile, is offering flex space on the main level that can be used as a formal dining room, an office or as a guest suite complete with a full bath.
“Our customers really like having a choice in how they use that space in the home,” said Laura May, sales manager for Goodall.
Homes for modern living
Homebuilders are offering innovative new floor plans designed to reflect how people live in their homes today.
For Jessica Randolph, including an Airbnb-type apartment in the home creates an opportunity to be part of the “sharing economy.” Many 
millennial homeowners are interested in earning income while enjoying their homes.
“My husband and I wanted to be smart about our home. We worked with Aerial to create a design that would help us to not feel daunted by our new mortgage payment. We both love to travel and have enjoyed staying in other VRBO and Airbnb properties in different cities, so we felt comfortable being a host ourselves,” she said. 
“One of our favorite things about our beautiful new home is sitting on our large porch and meeting new guests as they arrive.”
… Continue reading how Homebuilders innovate to satisfy changing tastes