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.

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.

If you can cure my asthma I'll be happy to cultivate the Chelsea flower show in my garden.

I know its an old thread - interestingly we have the smallest homes in Europe by way of average square footage and the 'average' home in Japan is around 20% bigger!
I have lived in several 1930's builds which have box rooms and if you were to buy one of these today you had better have £500k + ready to part with - pretty ridiculous really.
Storage in council homes tends to be better - I had a 60's build ex council house which had storage in every bedroom and externally as well.
I am talking London/suburbs here - I grew up in a Victorian house which had bigger rooms, but was terraced and had no garage or much storage, although it had a 'laundry' room.
For sure there should be some guidelines on minimum space and I believe there once was...
The 'depth' of a house can certainly be extended (see Victorian houses for this) and this allows for larger rooms - building cost goes up though - loft spaces can be used - building costs go up again - basements....
The market can sustain anything thrown at it - land sellers charge less, builders make smaller profits and buyers pay more - I wonder which of those is the reality?