The whole point in building a home is creating spaces that would be wholly personal. The current home construction and renovation trend in UK revolves around space and lighting, both complimenting each other and making it a comfortable premise. According to reports by the Modern British Living, almost half of UKs builders (47%) agree extensions being a major part of home improvement across the country. This can also be reasoned by the asking price of homes. The difference in prices of a 2 BHK and a 3 BHK amounts to £157,202 while adding a bedroom extension will cost just £35,000. The rates are similar in other regions like Scotland and this makes good sense while so many homeowners are going for extensions.
Here are the key trends in building and renovation:
Natural materials / textures
Stepping away from the hand scraped and white marbled floors of yesterday, modern homeowners are more in favor of natural materials and textures. Wooden floorboards with natural and light finishes are more likely to be a part of a new home construction in UK than marble tiles. People are also getting back to the gray and washed wood finishes for an exotic look. When dealing with sealed-only floors, the trend revolves around limed, fumed and bleached woods. Among tiles, porcelain is a likely material. Also, stone floors have begun showing up in UK bedrooms in the past year.
Clean lines and open spaces
As put by Modern British Living, homeowners in UK are looking for spacious apartments. While the price of bungalows is too much to bear, an alternative is to go for design specs that support a broader space. Houses today are less focused on turrets and more on standing seam roofs. Fewer hallways and tiny store rooms are making way for bigger living areas and bedrooms. There is an abundance of glass in the interior architecture, making the space look more voluminous. Similarly, lift and slide doors and kitchens that open to dens and dining areas are more “in”. Overall, modern UK builders are expected to invest in open floor plans and more usable spaces.
Glass and metal
The Glass gives the illusion of a bigger space while metal introduces lines that give the sense of length and breadth. UK homes are even employing glass and metal on their staircases to both induce a contemporary feel and spaciousness. Patterned woods and daring paint colors are other bold risks that UK homeowners are taking and the final output has been breathtaking. For smaller homes on the other hand, there isn’t enough space to bring in changes. This is also where most of the experiments take place.
Kitchen conversations
Experienced home buyers know that kitchens and baths sell properties. Modern UK kitchens are more expansive and expensive that they have ever been. This is reasoned by the kitchens also being used as the dining space and in some cases, even an extension to the drawing hall/meeting room.
Lighting up
LEDs have reduced the consumption of energy to a great extent. As a result, homeowners are finding it easier to install more lighting fixtures to light up dark corners and give a fulfilling appeal to the space. Many homes are also using daylighting as a means to save energy.
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Author Bio:
Phil is a Building maintenance and improvement Columnist and he loves to write blogs and creates infographics for the same. He is also a community manager for various maintenance and improvement Forums.
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