How To Make Your Home Grow With Your Family – And How To Future Proof It

It’s the most expensive thing you’ll ever buy, and you’ll have it for many years, so making sure your home can accommodate your family’s needs is key. We spoke to our property partners to find out about the most important areas to consider and invest in to ensure your property delivers as your needs evolve.

Space is at a premium in London, so making sure the layout of a property works hard for your family it key. Choosing between a fixed layout and something more flexible has advantages and disadvantages. “Around 85% of our buyers want that large kitchen/diner at the back of the house, as well as smaller rooms that can be used flexibly as family dynamics change,” explains Robin Chatwin, Head of Savills’ south-west London region. “Ultimately, we’re spending increasing amounts of time in our homes, and therefore the feeling of space – whether it be flexible or dedicated – is an important factor to consider for the majority of our buyers.

Robin continues: “From tots to teens, our homes need to work hard at servicing a family’s needs over an extended period of time and as result, the emphasis on the layout hasn’t waned over the last few years. We see many buyers in search of that additional space, whether that comes in the form of a box room, garden room or loft extension. For example, a smaller bedroom could be used as an office, then be converted to a nursery for a baby, to later make way for a playroom or games room as children grow up. Likewise, a garden room or loft conversion might see a number of uses in its lifetime, catering to families with children of all ages and ultimately future-proofing a home for generations to come.”

Joel Baseley MBE, founder and director of Rampton Basely, has noticed how the needs of the family change as the children grow and often proximity is replaced with privacy. “In our experience, most young families with babies and toddlers looking to buy a family home absolutely love an open-plan kitchen/living space with the ability to have a play area within it,” says Joel. “You tend to find as they grow up and are at primary school, this space is often moved into the back of a double reception room, so slightly separated but still within watching/hearing distance. Often when families have outgrown these houses, it isn’t more bedrooms that they look for but additional living space.

Most families are then looking for a teenage space and basements lend themselves to these types of rooms, or separate reception rooms which are closed off from the rest of the house. We have some clients looking to upsize currently from Earlsfield who are interested in a house through us which has a basement and is absolutely perfect for their teenage boys!”

Bathrooms are another element which are prone to change as the families’ needs develop. “Depending on the layout of your home, having a family bathroom situated by your nursery/children’s bedrooms is ideal,” Joel advises. “We often find clients tend to have their children’s bedrooms in the loft and therefore having a family bathroom (with a bath) close by is incredibly helpful. As children get older showers are preferable, but I would say all houses should have at least one bath. Previously we have sold houses with gorgeous bathrooms but because there is no bath, buyers have wanted to re-do it.”

Our love of outdoor space continues, and since the pandemic has been more important than ever. “Garden layouts are personal and depending on your needs often they can be very different. Most clients opt for the less-is-more approach with the majority of the garden laid to lawn or easi-grass, with some low maintenance raised beds and the same tiles running from the kitchen into the garden to make the garden an extension of the indoors, finished off with some pretty lighting,” Joel observes. “With dining areas in gardens, most people use the patio just outside the kitchen, however others like their dining area to catch the evening sun so we do also see this at the bottom of gardens, making the most of the last of the sunshine while enjoying al fresco dining. We are also seeing more outdoor kitchens with mega BBQ and seating areas – we’ve got a fantastic house in the Magdalen Estate where the garden has an amazing Mediterranean vibe and in the middle of the garden is an incredible outdoor kitchen.”

Be wary of how many child-friendly garden toys you install. Your children will outgrow them and they can be ugly to look at, especially once they’re a bit tatty. “Depending on space, we’ve seen clients sink trampolines or put them at the back of the garden and try to shield them so that they aren’t such an eye-sore! If a client has a trampoline in a relatively small garden, the advice is usually to remove it before marketing the house,” Joel says. “We tend to see play structures in houses with slightly larger gardens. Some buyers love them and want to keep them, and others will ask for them to be removed, so if you are thinking about selling, please be aware that they may need to be moved once the sale completes. They look great when they are first done and in good condition, however if you’ve had one for 10-15 years and it’s looking dated and old, I’d recommend getting rid of it.”

Upstairs, layouts tend to be less flexible but there are some golden rules to follow. “Clients always ask about bedroom layout,” says Joel. “Most buyers want to see a principal suite with an en suite bathroom and dressing area or plenty of wardrobe space. Clients often make the principal suite out of the front bedroom on the first floor combined with the middle bedroom, while others create this on the top floor. I would say this is personal preference, but most people ideally like to be below their children at night and so prefer a principal bedroom on the first floor.

“We had an incredible house on the market last year where beds had been built into the children’s shared bedroom. The room was in the front loft so had a sloped roof and they made the most of this with the design of the beds – the kids loved it and it looked amazing!”

As space is at a premium in Nappy Valley, everyone wants plenty of storage. “If you can add lots of storage, this is fantastic! People love storage for coats and school bags, and built-in wardrobes in the bedrooms. Buyers love a utility/boot room so it’s a huge plus if you’re able to create one downstairs. We had a fantastic house on Trewint Street last year in which the owners had created a brilliant coat/buggy/scooter area and then a sliding door into an amazing utility room with lots of storage and raised washing machine and tumble dryer,” Joel says.

Finally, be wary of being too enthusiastic about having the latest tech. “My advice when it comes to building technology into your house is to be careful,” Joel warns. “Technology changes and dates very quickly! Lots of houses have built-in speakers but these days wireless speakers are so good that most people use Sonos or something similar. Many people like the ability to use Nest/Hive and control things from a phone and systems such as Control4 are popular too. In the kitchen, buyers love Quooker taps or similar. We are also seeing a trend for two dishwashers in larger houses.”