As we embrace a new normal since the COVID-19 pandemic began, many people have adapted their everyday living to lifestyle changes such as hybrid working. Yet, with the housing market in a frenzy over buyers desperate to move to bigger properties away from city life, how have those that haven’t moved modified their homes to accommodate these changes?
A new survey by Zoopla has investigated how the nation’s room requirements shifted – and how our homes changed as a result.
Among those who changed their homes, more than half (53%) said they completely repurposed at least one bedroom, while one in five households (22%) said they changed multiple bedrooms.
Nationally, this equates to a whopping 8,856,000 bedrooms that have been ‘lost’ amongst the UK’s 24m privately owned homes during the pandemic.
With remote and hybrid working now set to be a mainstay for many, almost half (46%) of those who have made changes have created a home office.
That means more than 4.5m new home offices have emerged across the UK. And over half of homeowners (58%) say they plan to permanently keep them.
Alongside home offices, there are plenty of other ways Brits have reincarnated rooms in their homes since March 2020. Across the UK:
- 1.3m home gyms;
- 984,000 home bars;
- 900,000 home cinemas or music rooms;
- 688,800 dedicated classrooms have been created.
However, converting an existing space to accommodate a new office isn’t always the ideal solution, as it can sometimes be difficult to get the work/home life balance right when you’re in the same surroundings 24/7. If you have the outdoor space available a garden office could be what you’re looking for.
From purpose-built cabins to luxury garden shed offices – there are many options to suit all budgets. What’s more by implementing an outdoor office you aren’t compromising on your indoor living space which means you won’t lose value on your property. In fact, you could be adding value to your home with your garden office – win, win!
