Trends are constantly changing and evolving, so to give yourself the extra boost ahead of your competition, you should have all of the latest amenities that buyers are looking for these days (if your budget permits).

A January 5, 2007 article from CNNMoney.com, “6 hot home design trends for 2007," discusses what buyers are going to have on their wish lists this year when they are shopping for a home.

The first trend that we will be seeing a lot more of this year is the use of bright, bold colors. This will include painting rooms, doors, shutters and trim in more bold colors; as opposed to the neutral schemes that have ruled homes in the past.
“According to Doty Horn, director of color and design for Benjamin Moore, Americans have gotten progressively comfortable with the bold look. ‘Before we would use more neutral colors,’ she says. ‘We didn't want to offend anyone.’"

Next, countertops are getting a makeover in “engineered stone" in many trendy homes across the country.
“For the latest in countertops, engineered stone is slightly cheaper than granite but superior in many ways, according to Mark Nash, who surveys real estate pros about design trends."

As for your gates and fences, most buyers are going to want to see wrought iron over chain link.

An interesting trend we are going to see in kitchens or bathrooms, or anywhere else where we traditionally see tile, is glass tiles. “Glass tiles are an elegant alternative to ceramic and the cost differential is slight, according to Nash."
“Donna Greenbush, director of marketing for Oceanside Glasstiles, says the production of glass tiles goes back to Roman times, but it only got restarted in the United States around 1992. Demand has been building ever since."
“She says the product adds a depth of field and luminosity unmatched in ceramic tile. It comes in iridescent, non-iridescent and matte finishes and all seem to ‘glow from within,’ says Greenbush."

A really innovative and convenient trend that is sweeping the nation is putting refrigerated cabinets under the countertop that look like regular drawers but that are actually little refrigerators.
“Sub-Zero's director of marketing, Paul Leuthe, says ‘The design community was expressing a desire for a product that worked in a more decentralized and integrated way.’"
“Traditionally, the refrigerator was a big box set on a wall somewhere that formed part of the kitchen work triangle. But look at the rest of the kitchen and it's mostly cabinets with doors above the counter and drawers below them. The new refrigerators a re configured like that, with drawers below the countertops."

The last trend mentioned in this article is wood “with character," also known as recycled or re-claimed wood.
“‘People want something with character,’ says Matt Nichols, marketing director for TerraMai, a California wood company that uses all recycled woods. The company buys salvaged wood, such as Douglas from old industrial mills in Washington State, teak from houses slated for demolition in Southeast Asia and cedar cider tanks from Pennsylvania. Wood changes as it ages. ‘Wood takes on a different patina over time,’ says Nichols. ‘It has more richness.’"