Our clients are a discerning bunch, and part of our job is to make sure we keep them entirely up to speed with the latest developments in home design and technology. We’ve polled the office for the most popular design trends we’re seeing and the results are in. Here are our predictions for the Top 10 home design trends for 2018.
1. Goodbye to the humble study
With the advent of laptops and tablets, the traditional study as a space for work is becoming redundant. Many of our clients want to make better use of this room, so we’ve remodelled them into home gyms, dedicated children’s playrooms or even wine rooms (see below). (Photo credit: Elliott Cable/Flickr)
2. Wine cellars
Many of our clients enjoy drinking fine wine and entertaining at home, and a wine cellar, room or wall is becoming a must-have. As well as their practical storage applications, modern wine cellars can create a beautiful showcase. Types of wine storage systems include spiral cellars which are built from concrete and sunk into the basement; wine rooms which can be installed anywhere in the home; and wine display walls or cabinets for fitting into smaller spaces. (Photo credit: Flickr Creative Commons)
3. Home offices
While studies are in decline, the rise of home offices seems to show no signs of abating. As many more people work from home, a dedicated office, situated in the garden, provides a perfect space to work without the distractions that come with working from your kitchen table. Modern home offices can be purpose-built with heating, insulation and air conditioning. If you’re feeling adventurous, you can even have one made from a recycled shipping container. (Photo © GBC Group)
4. Sustainable tech
Eco-friendly homes are more popular than ever, and our clients are keen to invest in the latest sustainable living technology. With energy prices remaining volatile, people are highly interested in alternative energy technology. Solar has come on a lot since the 1970s – modern panels are many times more efficient than they were. Air and ground source heat pumps claim to reduce your heating bills by as much as 40%. And don’t forget water recycling systems, which store shower, bath or rainwater for toilet flushing, which can reduce your water consumption by up to 50%. (Photo credit: Martin Abegglen/Flickr)
5. Telescopic sliding glass doors
It wasn’t so long ago that bifold patio doors were all the rage – the latest hi-tech answer to dated sliding doors. But now sliding doors are making a comeback, in the shape of telescopic or ‘pocket’ doors. These slide away entirely into the adjacent wall cavity, maximising your door openings and leaving your patio space completely clear. (Photo © IQ Glass)
6. Outdoor living
The lure of the “outdoor room” – turning unused garden space into an extension of your home, has remained popular since garden designer John Brookes first coined the phrase in 1970. The focus today is very much on entertaining and relaxation. Modern advances in material and technology mean that you can now spend your leisure time in the garden watching a weatherproof TV around a sleek, modern gas fireplace while enjoying a slice or two from your pizza oven. Cheers! (Photo © Lush Garden Design)
7. Built-in technology
In 1995 Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft, wrote a book called ‘The Road Ahead’ where he predicted the future of computer technology. In places, he was surprisingly accurate – he foresaw streaming media services like Netflix, for example. Another prediction was the home full of interconnected devices, wired in alongside the electricity. Today, our clients can make this happen wirelessly, with smart home hubs and virtual assistants able to control lighting, central heating, entertainment systems, security – even vacuum cleaners. (Photo credit: Chris Bartle/Flickr)
8. Broken-plan living
Homes built as late as the 1950s had separate rooms for separate functions. After the second world war, the trend was more towards open floor plans – areas within the home whose common spaces have no walls between them, like a kitchen/diner or a dining/living room. Open plan living has been fashionable for decades, with improvements in structural materials allowing internal walls to be demolished to create spacious communal living areas. Now the latest alternative is broken-plan living. While retaining the light, airy nature of the open plan, clever use of materials, bookcases, screens and levels subtly divides the space into distinct living zones, allowing people to enjoy the area more privately. (Photo © helsingHouse Fastighetsmäklare)
9. Cedar cladding
Since the Grenfell Tower disaster, when flammable cladding materials caused the death of 71 people, cladding has received bad press. But many safe materials are available for cladding domestic home exteriors. Prominent among them is cedar cladding. Typically sourced from Canada, western red cedar has a relatively knot-free, clean appearance, and has a natural resistance to decay and moisture absorption. It weathers to a silver-grey finish and can last for 60 years. A more robust, synthetic alternative, Cedral cladding, is made from a combination of wood cellulose, sand, synthetic fibre, water and cement. Cedral cladding is available in 21 colours and, unlike cedar cladding, doesn’t weather over time.
10. Aluminium doors and windows
Yes, as unlikely as it may seem, 1980s-style aluminium-framed glazing is making a comeback. Aluminium windows and doors have come a long way since then, and today’s stylish black or charcoal grey frames are helping create modern, slim-line exteriors. They tone exceptionally well with cedar cladding, as you can see in the two images above. The benefits of aluminium are not just aesthetic – aluminium’s strength enables frames to be thinner, meaning more of your window is made of glass. Aluminium frames also outperform uPVC frames for thermal efficiency. And lastly, aluminium framed windows and doors tend to be cheaper than timber. (Photo © Sheltered Spaces)
