Today's luxury denotes individual wellness, harmony with nature, and rich, exciting experiences rather than extravagance. An image that comes to mind when we think of architectural luxury is probably something lavish and flamboyant, complete with opulent drapes and baroque cabinetry. But as household items and things in general have grown more widely accessible, the idea of luxury—which is really about the unaffordable—has also advanced.

 Interiors that aim for an uncluttered, minimally programmed spaciousness, where significant, frequently wonderfully simple moments can flow naturally, fall into line with architectural elegance. As broader societal values change, design amenities increasingly reflect a respect for quality of life, while spaces tend to communicate a need to connect to nature and our communities. This is true of homes, hotels, and workplaces.

 "People spend an increasing amount of time online. Greg Mottola, AIA, a principal at Bohlin Cywinski Jackson in San Francisco, claims that they lack that sort of genuine connection to people and place. "The design briefs we receive from clients don't always state it this way, but I believe they are yearning for things that feel more grounded and real," says the designer.

 In kitchens, architects are increasingly hearing requests for restaurant-quality appliances that let their customers express their passion for cooking at a fine dining level, or they are seeing requests for clients to move their kitchens outside. According to Mottola, "it's about these experiences, not so much about having something flashy, so we help them by making it possible in the spaces we are designing."

 Mottola mentions a recently finished property that best illustrates the strategy: a single-family home in Los Altos, California. The home, a modernist adaptation of the ranch-style architecture of Northern California, features a wood-fired bread oven outside and a kitchen layout that supports sous vide cooking. The client and I worked together to find the claro walnut for the dining table, which can be used to enjoy the meal. The home is also a representation of the environmental concern of the affluent customer because it has passive ventilation, beneficial solar orientation, and renewables on the roof that help heat water and generate electricity. The main living room's wall of sliding glass doors reflects the public's growing yearning to be outside.

 "Clients are curious in how design might increase their sense of engagement with their surroundings. Like being able to have significant portions of their home open up and link to the outdoors," explains Mottola. "And that's becoming more and more possible as glazing system technology has advanced."

 Indoor-Outdoor Luxury

 Projects by Stuart Narofsky, FAIA, the principal and creator of New York-based Narofsky Architecture, show a strong desire for an indoor-outdoor link in both homes and hotels. All accessible flat roofs have vegetation. There are many outside patios and a lot of glass. Water features are frequently requested, and the Sands Point Residence in Old Westbury, New York, a project finished in 2017, with its sequence of reflecting pools, is one example. According to Narofsky, the Sands Point Residence "extends the inside-outside quality of the house," with light bouncing off the water onto the glass and into the interior.

 Natural, tactile, and often left in their raw state materials further speak to a yearning for the true over the momentarily captivating. "Faux finishes have disappeared in favor of real materials with texture and quality," claims Narofsky, whose award-winning Atix boutique hotel in Bolivia made use of local Comanche stone, flagstone, and wood. Luxury in the hotel equates to toughness, claims Narofsky. We made an effort to use materials that would have a more enduring quality and fit in with the surroundings.

 In these projects, high-tech is increasingly recast as minimal maintenance, just as material selections indicate a desire to "dial it down," as Narofsky puts it. As much as everyone appears to want technology integrated into their project, Mottola believes that in the end, "it needs to be really intuitive and really simple." Some of the people we work for have high-tech lives, yet when it comes to their houses, they actually like things to be extremely straightforward. They do not want to require assistance from IT staff to turn on their lights.

 An outdoor terrace off the master bedroom at the Los Altos home has a wooden Japanese soaking tub that emphasizes health and wellbeing as the new aspirational slogan. (Consider the large number of celebrities and their corresponding lifestyle businesses that are firmly based on wellness.) Mottola clarifies, "But it's not a Jacuzzi with jets and all that; it's just a very simple, lovely wooden tub. It's intended to be a tranquil, almost meditative space for reflection and contemplation.

 The new luxury vocabulary has gone beyond the bigger-is-better mentality to a more human and sensitive approach, past the old displays of opulence toward new ones of wholesome experiences. It is simpler, calmer, and anchored in a more fundamental value system.

 "The days of luxury being more of a flamboyant style are waning," adds Narofsky. "People now value simplicity, elegance, and timelessness more."