Research conducted by Women-Centric Matters, a division of Omaha, Neb.,-based home plan design firm Design Basics, has shown certain things can capture women's attention more than others. That's where women-centric design concepts offer a blueprint.

At last year's International Builders' Show in Orlando, consulting firm Smith-Dahmer Associates revealed that "women directly purchase or have controlling influence in the purchase of 91 percent of all new homes." So it stands to reason that it would benefit home builders and designers to pay close attention to the details that wow women.

The firm's market research, surveys and focus group activity that has been ongoing since early 2003 taught Women-Centric Matters that certain aspects of a home's design can really capture the hearts and minds of women. More specifically, research told the company that women evaluated designs through four primary filters: how the home entertains, how the home helps her de-stress, the flexibility of the home's design and the home's storage.

Women-Centric Matters maintains that focusing on these areas can create a powerful potion that causes women to fall in love at first sight. "If builders can clearly illustrate and communicate the woman-centric design of their home plans to the all-important woman buyer," says Linda Reimer, president of Design Basics, "then they have a better chance of making a positive impression that can help them make their competition irrelevant."