Re-modelling could be the best option

Most of us will have been using our homes in new and innovative ways during lockdown.

Perhaps we have had to create a work room, an exercise space or an area for home schooling the children.

We might have overflowed into garage, basement or attic space and in doing so might well have realised that it would be nice to make some of these changes much more permanent.

Equally, being at home for weeks on end might have got us thinking about how we would like to create completely new spaces within the home in the future.

A kitchen might be starting to feel cramped and the dining room next door underused – we might therefore be considering removing the wall between them to create new modern, open-plan living space.

Perhaps your bathrooms have not been working for you with so many people at home all the time and you have realised there might be space for an addition en suite shower room or cloakroom to be fitted in.

The beauty, of course, of re-modelling a home – when no extension to the existing footprint is required – is that in many cases the project can be carried out without the need for planning permission.

Architects such as ourselves are able to advise you on this and there is also lots of information on the planning portal.

Re-modelling a home can be exciting and transformational – it can help you create additional living space as your family grows or to section off parts of the home as your needs change.

We can carry out 3D modelling to help you visualise how the interior of your home might look should you choose to reconfigure it.

We can also demonstrate how great balance can be achieved by opening up certain parts of the house where everyone can gather together while also ensuring there are places where you can close the door behind you when you need peace and quiet.

As we start to emerge out of lockdown, it will be interesting to see how many of us have been thinking differently about how we use our homes.

And whether any of the changes in how we have been living might now be presenting themselves as possibilities for more permanent changes in the near future.