Housebuilder reveals top design features for Grimsby’s new homes

After spending more time at home than we predicted over the past 18 months, Paul Hogan, sales director from Barratt Developments Yorkshire East has revealed the most popular features that are set to transform new build properties over the next year:

After months of working from home, rooms have had to take on different roles during the typical working day, as many make the best of what they have. Kitchen counters, sofas and even dressing tables have become makeshift office spaces, making it difficult to separate work from home.

As a result, adaptable living spaces, such as a downstairs cloakroom, spare bedroom or even a third storey that can be transformed into a dedicated home office to use during the week, have all surged in demand for new homes.

For those homes where spare rooms may not be an option, multifunctional furniture such as wardrobes with built-in desks are now becoming just as popular.

Dressed with comfortable furnishings, flooded with natural light and fitted with efficient storage, these spaces can create a working-from-home space to help maintain a healthy work-life balance.

Similarly, having a dedicated space to relax when the working day is done is of utmost importance, as the lines between business and pleasure continue to blur.

While the importance of personal wellbeing may be nothing new, having access to an en-suite or snug is key in taking some time out to perfect your self-care routine and experience some tranquillity at home.

Being forced to adapt to staying at home has given many of us the opportunity to appreciate the smaller things and explore our local areas.

Outdoor hobbies have been a popular pastime during lockdown, making access to green spaces a key consideration for home buyers.

French doors leading to fully turfed gardens are a popular choice, giving homeowners the opportunity to spend time in the garden planting, bordering, landscaping and observing nature to continue experiencing the positivity that spending time in nature can provide.

Scientific evidence has also highlighted how birdwatching can help boost mental health and wellbeing.

Homeowners have also become more committed to improving their environmental footprint, as bird and bat boxes, hedgehogs highways, ponds and wildflowers are being increasingly seen in back gardens across the country.

In the last 12 months, we’ve noticed just how much of an important role technology plays in our lives. Future-proof, smart homes use systems that will keep your home technologically relevant for years to come and allow you to live in an affordable, eco-friendly way.

Internet reliability has become a vital component for home buyers, but not only as a result of the pandemic. Having the knowledge that data-hungry activities such as video streaming, home-schooling and working from home are able to run smoothly and buffer-free, ensures stress-free living.

As the Government aims for 85% of homes to have access to a gigabit broadband connection by 2025, Barratt Developments has partnered with Independent Service Providers to install ultra-reliable gigabit capable broadband as standard across its developments.

Government schemes are encouraging us all to make more environmentally-conscious choices about the way we live, and as the number of electric vehicles on our roads increases, having access to vehicle charging points enables more prospective home buyers to take the steps to living more ethically and sustainably in the years to come.

Barratt Developments Yorkshire East has sites across Grimsby including New Waltham’s Wigmore Park.

For more information please visit www.barrattdevelopments.co.uk