THE SHRINKING HOUSES

The average house size has been shrinking for some time now, but none more so than in the last decade. Despite having the same number of bedrooms as before, each bedroom has been shrinking in actual size, as more and more developers are forced into building extra units into a smaller area.

This has given rise to smaller footprints, with terraced houses becoming rebranded as townhouses and mews houses, and developers including a third storey as standard on these to increase living area. Many feature a ground floor room, referred to as a tv room, bedroom, or study, together with a garage. The main reception room and kitchen reside on the first floor, and the top floor house the bedrooms. Some layouts dispense with the garage in favour of another reception room.

The problem is exasperated by the fact that in the UK, property is still being sold by the number of bedrooms, despite Europe and the USA clearly displaying the living size in square metres or feet.

A survey done by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors shows that, perhaps due to several factors, rooms are being decreased in size, in exchange for certain luxuries and/or extra rooms. A combination of the change in planning consents, by Labour in 1998, changes in work arrangements (i.e. working from home) and television programmes depicting the benefits of ensuites and the like, have led to a massive increase in room numbers, but reduced size per room.

Apartments have risen disproportionately in numbers, especially in London. And a great majority of these apartments are out of favour with buyers, since they are simply too small.

 

This is one of the reasons why people snub the benefits of a new(ish) home and opt instead for older homes, which may often require more work and costs, but buyers feel this is offset by the more generous living space.

 

Please follow the link below for a more comprehensive look at this story...

http://www.propertyfinder.com/2/pf/articles/homesNotBigEnough.do

 

What does this mean in flooring terms? Well it is hard to deny that rugs have been getting smaller and smaller since the late 70s. This is especially so with those imported into the UK. A 4mx3m rug is now considered a luxury size in London, since many homes cannot accomodate such a large rug in a proper setting.