If the thought of wasting £25,000 is enough to keep you awake at night, then new research from the House Builders Federation , launched at its annual design conference in Birmingham in association with Design for Homes, reveals that many people could be doing just that if they live in an older properties.
Dr Lindsay Asquith's PhD study into the size, layout and use of space in homes reveals the new home are far more effective at meeting modern living needs than their predecessors.
David Birkbeck, chief executive at Design for Homes said: “Modern homes tend to be more circular in layout, with downstairs rooms interconnecting and hence better used. By contrast, studies of older, more linear or classic house designs showed that people typically only use six of the seven rooms in their house. For example, buy a house with a linear layout and the dining room is rarely used.”
Put another way, 17% of the living space goes unused in older homes. In monetary terms, if you paid £150,000 for your house, £25,000 is wasted. As the price tag of the house increases, so does the money lost. It's cash that could have been better spent.
The way we live in the 21st century is having a profound effect on the design of our homes. Despite greater mobility, life is now much more home-centred than 50 years ago, so the ability to use space to its full capacity is increasingly important.
Due to a combination of technology and demographics, the bulk of entertainment and socialising has shifted indoors and this major social trend is being reflected by designers. As such, the key to the modern British home is less focused on architecture and more on its capabilities to accommodate living needs. All common housebuilder plans are now circular to make the most of available space.
The research also highlights other aspects of contemporary living.
For example, modern working and domestic arrangements have reduced the emphasis on family mealtimes, with convenience and versatility now critical. This has a direct bearing on the size and placement of rooms. Even the classic image of the family crowded round the television has now given way to a less formal and democratic domestic lifestyle, with up to five rooms now having a television set. Housebuilders have listened, and provided addition electrical sockets and computer points.
However, the research produced some unexpected findings for developers. For example, bedroom design should rely on tried and tested formulae rather than experiment with new designs and layouts. Tradition dictates that adult bedrooms (still commonly referred to as the ‘master’) are the largest in the house, often double the size of children’s rooms. However, research suggests that childrens’ rooms are used around twice as much as adults and are often used for twice as many activities, including socialising, homework, watching TV and playing computer games. Is it time to give the kids more space?
Elsewhere, the elevation of the British kitchen from simply an area of food preparation to the hub of the home is now well established. In around one third of British households, kitchens are now used more than any other room. Besides food and laundry purposes, they are commonly used for activities such as reading, playing and hobbies.
“Designers need to be aware of the diverse and numerous activities that take place in kitchens”, says the report. “The size of the kitchen also influenced its use, with those big enough to accommodate family mealtimes being used as an alternative to the dining room, even when a separate dining room was provided.”
But despite strong challenges from kitchens and children’s bedrooms, the family sitting room maintains its place as the single most used room in the average home. Indeed, no fewer than 28 separate activities, from music to socializing, are commonly practiced in the nation’s sitting rooms, according to the report.
“The sitting room could therefore be seen to be the least function-specific and should be designed to provide not only enough space for families to be together, but also flexible enough to change its use to accommodate activities from watching TV and reading, to mealtimes, playing musical instruments and entertaining.”
It seems we all love our living rooms, a fact borne out from recent research by www.new-homes.co.uk which named the lounge as the nation favourite room.
However, despite much-heralded changes in lifestyles and behaviour, some things never seem to change. The data collected suggests that housework, childcare and food preparation are still largely carried out by women, and DIY gardening and computing by men.
Further analysis identified that adult women spend more time talking, reading and on the phone, but men spend more time resting. It seems that modern housing provides the flexibility and freedom to use space better. But but old habits die hard!