There's no doubt that Covid has changed how we understand and appreciate our homes. We need houses that help us balance our personal and work lives like never before
New developments need to represent the shift to what has become our ‘new normal’; many of us working from home in a variety of capacities, video calling across the globe, requiring internet speeds that can handle multiple devices being used at once. Outside space is at a premium, with many of us looking back through rose tinted glasses at all those family meet-ups, playdates and catchups with friends in our gardens, yards or balconies (in all weathers!). Family entertaining space is in high demand, where many now relish in throwing dinner parties and socialising in our homes after being apart for so long.
If we are spending more time in our homes, they need to be designed smarter. They need to be slick, stylish and make us delight in our time spent in them. There is demand on how energy efficient they can be and how they can work for us to maximise our output. Smart home technology, electric car charging, green energy and high insulation are all points on current buyers’ ‘wishlists’.
This re-evaluation of ‘home’ should be seen as a chance to consider how we design dwellings for the future and enable a review of the specifications that we currently design to. Add in the need to search for a sustainable approach to building and living, and this becomes a huge opportunity to make design improvements, previously considered unfeasible, the ‘new normal’ and the way forward for residential developments.
Sanderson Young’s new homes division arms developers with the market intel and local experience to consult on what features of new homes should be considered to meet such changing requirements and how to design specific schemes with the target purchaser in mind.
