With 2016 already feeling like a distant memory, Hanse Haus’ Head of UK Sales, Oliver Grimshaw, takes a closer look at what’s in store for custom and self-builders in 2017.
More Plots
Last year was a big year for self builders. The Right to Build Act, which came into force last October, has been designed to help aspiring custom and self builders fulfil their dream of building their own home.
Local councils are now required to keep a list (“register”) of all those expressing an interest in building their own home and are responsible for helping to source serviceable land and a sufficient number of plots to meet the register’s demand. With fewer hurdles to overcome and more support from government legislation, the future of custom and self-build is looking bright. It’s also labeled as the potential cure to the UK’s startling housing crisis. Further details on the act can be found here.
Prefab is Back
Pre-manufactured homes have had a revival in recent years and this trend is only set to continue in 2017. Having shed its 1950’s stereotype, “pre-fab” has emerged as a compelling choice for smart self-builders.
With government backing and its numerous benefits, such as speed, low energy consumption and cost control, off-site construction is seeing a resurgence and certainly a trend to take seriously in the coming year.
Almost Open Plan
While open-plan living can come with many benefits, at times, having individual private spaces also has its place. Semi-open plan design offers more individuality and the option to change functions of any given space. Having the ability to subdivide and reconnect rooms as and when you require them enables a home to adapt to changing needs and circumstances.
For example, when designing a new home, more people are making spaces adaptable. What might start as a large, communal children’s bedroom, can be divided as they grow, and, with foresight, living areas can be opened up when having guests, or compartmentalised when needed into office space, or children’s play areas.
This ties in with a growing trend to isolate the television from the rest of the house and place it into a dedicated space, usually named the snug. Our tellies are getting bigger and bigger, and so are our speakers. So to spare non-Strictly-fans (which believe it or not exist) from the booming Christmas final, dedicated mini-cinemas are becoming ever more popular.
Have more Personality
We are all individual, and our homes should be too. Interior design trends change year on year in the same way as seasonal fashion. We’re now experiencing a shift in trend from simple, streamlined and futuristic designs, to interiors that incorporate individuality, mix and match furnishings and splashes of colour. All of this adds texture and warmth, making a home feel like a home.
In case you were wondering, jewel tones, such as rich rubies, purples and blues are said to add charm and character in 2017. Meanwhile Pantone has named “Greenery” its colour of the year, which it describes as “a fresh and zesty yellow-green shade that evokes the first days of spring when nature’s greens revive, restore and renew”. Er, quite!
Consider yourself up to speed.
Oliver Grimshaw, Head of UK Sales, Hanse Haus GmbH
Oliver Grimshaw is the Head of UK Sales for premium German supplier of pre-manufactured, high-efficiency homes. Founded back in 1929, Hanse Haus now erects some 400 homes annually Europe-wide and has been active in the UK since 2006.
With over 85 years’ experience in the construction industry and boasting more than 30,000 completed homes, the company is also a certified builder of the remarkable Passivhaus; a home that loses almost no heat through its walls, roof and windows, thanks to extremely high levels of thermal insulation.
