Box rooms

[Beansonapost]

Why is it that houses in the U.K. are still being built with box rooms?


... and still being built with no laundry/utility room?


I grew up having all massive bedrooms... kitchen diner... lounge/living room... utility... garden... garage etc. This is in the Caribbean. My childhood bedroom could fit two uk sized box rooms.


I've lived in other countries almost all of them had utility rooms... except China where the washing was housed in the bathroom; which to me makes sense. Why would you want to do laundry in the kitchen?

Husband is British so is used to this way of life... but I am confused as it's 2018 and I am certain the way people use their homes has changed. Why are people still being forced to have a box room and do the washing in the kitchen? That slot could be used for extra storage.

We went to look at some new builds... while the house was nice for almost £500,000 it just didn't provide what I would want in a family home (based purely on my experience). I think when people buy a home they don't really intend to move anytime soon unless they have to... so why put a room that is useless beyond the age of 10? Then force people to either sell of "create additional space" why not just build a house people can live in for as long as they need or want?

Also where utility rooms are concerned... in a country where it rains so much, wouldn't a dedicated space for laundry be standard? Wash, dry, iron... leave clothes to dry with windows open. Clothes out of sight.


Why is this the norm in the U.K.?

Also... why are homes still built with such poor storage options? You might get an under stair cupboard, an airing cupboard but that's it?! Why aren't built in wardrobes standard in all bedrooms? Gives you back your floor space and means less furniture to buy.

It seems developers are more concerned about how many people they can cram into these developments than how people will enjoy their homes/space.

[caperberries]

Not all new builds are as you describe This one for instance. But one look at the price tells you why developers are also building smaller units with - God forbid - a box room.

But look at the utility room! Weirdly located off the dining room, rather than by the side entrance, and absolutely tiny.

We should surely be able to build good homes for people to live well in, even if they have to be small!

Agreed. There is no excuse for the poor design that most UK newbuilds exhibit in such abundance

[banivani]

The UK is not alone, but each country has it's idiosyncrasies in this department. Houses and flats are sold on feelings, not always facts. In the UK an ensuite is so desirable it truly affects how marketable a home is, never mind that it's not the most efficient use of space. In Sweden, where I live, nobody cares about that, but spacious living rooms and hardwood floors are super-important. My rental flat was renovated and hardwood floors put in everywhere, including the kitchen. So stupid, they get worn so quickly and it's stressful having to mind the flooring all the time. But it's a "feeling" of "luxury" that enables them to raise the rent. Meanwhile, the storage spaces that used to be available for tenants in the cellars were removed - something that really was useful and raised our quality of living, basically.

[BustopherJones]

I could start a much ragier thread about his and hers sinks. Just what is the point?

[MargaretCavendish]

People are talking as if good design comes free, but it doesn't. Leaving aside the extra costs of building extra rooms, as the OP wants, even just sensitive and thoughtful design for living comes at a premium - there's a reason none of the architects I know would contemplate living in a Barrett Homes -esque new-build, because they all say the designs are done en masse, probably not by people employed for their architectural vision, with keeping it as cheap and simple as possible the goal. But that saves money. It's like asking 'why aren't my Primark clothes as well cut and stitched as couture?', and then insisting that it's a disgrace that cheap clothes often aren't as well-designed.

[timeisnotaline]

It is an odd priority. I’m an Australian and of course I get that we always have large utility rooms because we have more space, but have just moved into a 3 bed flat, not new, with 3 bathrooms! No laundry room. Mum has jokingly suggested I just quietly convert one to laundry / storage and hope the agents don’t notice.

[grasspigeons]

Have you see the pre tax profits of Barratt homes
I bet they could afford an architect

[MargaretCavendish]

Well, sure, and if you see the profits of Primark they could afford better designers. But why would either of them, when people are buying their products just as they are?

[Beansonapost]

@banivani

It would be great if they could carry out some of those studies in 2018. As I'm sure how people use their homes has changed.

I think every generation should demand better homes that suit their modern lives.

Just to clarify the utility is just an example. There are many things imo that could be put into new builds.

[grinandtonics]

It's so odd - our house is over 300 years old and so perfectly designed . Each room is huge and positioned exactly where it should be in the house.

Also it is beautifully built and it would take an earthquake to shake it.

How can we have built such beauty 300 tears ago and build such utter nasty shit now?

[SarfE4sticated]

I get your point about Primark margaret but people spend their lifetimes paying off the mortgages on Barratt Homes, they're not the same as disposable Primark clothes. We should demand quality from our builders.

[MargaretCavendish]

I just don't see what either you or OP mean by 'demand'. People buy the houses they can afford. What's the alternative to buying a house you consider poorly designed, if it's still the best house you can buy? Living on the streets in protest? A mass boycott of new-build until they raise their standards is hardly likely in the current housing market.

[SarfE4sticated]

I'll think of something Margaret

[BustopherJones]

Contact the council about being more discerning about developers’ proposals? Contact MPs about housing regulations?

[MargaretCavendish]

Contact the council about being more discerning about developers’ proposals? Contact MPs about housing regulations?

Given the current lack of action over actual problems with the housing market, it's, erm, sweet to think that either local or central government might step in over a lack of utility rooms.

[BustopherJones]

I hope to slip it in during the Brexit conclusion. Who’s going to notice an extra law or two?

[BustopherJones]

Confusion, not conclusion. Brexit doesn’t look like it’s reaching any sort of conclusion any time soon!

[Bekabeech]

How can we have built such beauty 300 tears ago and build such utter nasty shit now?

Because the nasty shit built 300 years ago has long since been knocked down/ fallen down.

[Beansonapost]

@MargaretCavendish

You wouldn't cut your nose off to spite your face.

[PickAChew]

Grinandtonics probably because your house was built for wealthier people and most working class people likely lived in single rooms or absolute hovels, at the time, if they weren't living in with a wealthier family.

[IrmaFayLear]

I read yesterday that the population of the UK is increasing by 250,000 every year - that's a city the size of Southampton.

I think we as a nation can look forward to living in micropods, not sprawling spaces with utility rooms and generous bedrooms.

[Mightymucks]

Because the nasty shit built 300 years ago has long since been knocked down/ fallen down.

Yep. Most of the West End was a slum at one point. Particularly around Covent Garden and Charing Cross Rd

[IrmaFayLear]

Never mind the lack of utility rooms/bedrooms, to me what is sad is the lack of gardens. I know back in the day you'd be glad of a yard and an outhouse, but in the 1930s ribbon development semis had lovely big gardens (although on another thread someone was saying they hated 30s semis).

I know why yada yada, but I still think that concreting over front gardens should be a criminal offence. Frontages look so horrid now compared with nice privet hedges and lawns 50 years ago.

[MyOtherProfile]

They needed bigger gardens to grow their veg in.

[IrmaFayLear]

When I was young I remember council houses having rows of beans etc in the front garden. The back garden was for sitting in/hanging out washing.

[Sonotcivil]

We have a housing shortage. I know this is controversial but if people can get a house I think that's more important then a utility or a large garden etc.